LAB02-Research/HASS.Agent v2022.3.27

on GitHub

The first .NET 6 version, ánd this release contains the new 'satellite service'!

You can use the satellite service to run commands and sensors without having to be logged in, and configure sensors that require elevated privileges (not added yet, but the first round will be hardware-info sensors like CPU temp, etc.).

I tried my best to make it really easy to use, all through HASS.Agent's own UI. If you use the installer (which by now is recommended), everything will be setup for you. There are two places where you can tinker with it:

• Main window -> new 'Satellite Service' button

  • Configure the fun stuff, ie. the sensors and commands, and the not-so-fun (MQTT) configuration
  • Use the 'copy from hass.agent' button on the MQTT tab to easily copy the current configuration (will use its own client id)
    • Remember to always click 'send and activate' afterwards

• Configuration window -> new 'Satellite Service' tab

  • Configure the service itself, ie. start/stop/disable/reinstall
  • Normally you shouldn't have to use this, only when debugging
  • Use the 'open service logs folder' to go to the service's logs

Some notes:

• You can optionally set an 'auth ID'

  • When configured, only HASS.Agents that have to correct ID set can communicate with the service
  • Leave empty to allow all instances to connect (which is the default)
  • Only relevant when you use multiple HASS.Agent instances on the same PC

• Not all sensors and commands can be executed through the service

  • The 'create new command/sensor' windows will tell you what's possible
  • Note that you have to think about this yourself when setting a custom command

• All settings on the 'general' tab of the new service window are optional

• The service installs into your ProgramFiles directory

• You can choose to disable the service through Configuration -> Satellite Service

  • If you don't configure the service, it'll do nothing, but you may still want to disable to save cpu/battery
  • Don't uninstall; if you do, it will be reinstalled during the next update (if you use the installer)

If something goes wrong, please send me as much info as possible, and the logs of both HASS.Agent and the satellite service. Thanks!

Features & improvements

• User interface improvements!

  • Manage commands/sensors/quick actions:
    • Cleaner way to show the stored items
    • Naming has been simplified and made more human-readable
  • Add commands/sensors:
    • Easier to see which commands/sensors are available
    • Naming has been simplified and made more human-readable
  • Multiple tweaks throughout

• Added 'open logs folder' to Configuration -> Logging

• Added 'execute port reservation' to Configuration -> Notifications

  • This will recreate the firewall rule en port reservation
  • Use this to make sure your PC can be contacted, normally done through onboarding

• Added 'show test notification' button to Configuration -> Notifications

  • This will show a test notification, to make sure Windows is configured correctly
  • This does not prove your PC can be contacted

• Added show/hide password buttons to password fields

• Added 'close without saving' button to Configuration

• The wiki received some much needed attention

  • Contains troubleshooting help, examples and general info
  • Anything to add? Anyone with a github account can edit, or just tell me - thanks!

Known bugs

• I've spent many hours trying to get DPI scaling to work nicely, but it just won't look completely ok since switching to .NET 6
  • So for now, I've reverted to basically no scaling
  • If you have Windows set to 100% scaling, there's no difference
  • But otherwise, the interface will be a bit blury instead of crisp (like a badly resized picture)
  • This is really annoying, and I'll keep working on it, sorry

Bugfixes

• When using automated updating, HASS.Agent now removes its icon from the tray (thanks Nejc)

  • Manually updating will still leave a ghost icon in the system tray

• The custom executor command now correctly shows its description in the info pane

• Not really a bug, but Coderr has been removed

  • The logs provide more info than a single exception report
  • Wasn't really comfortable with anything being sent from your PC, even if it was opt-in