Constantgraph & Hubitat

I noticed that there is an (existing?) integration with Smartthings.
https://www.constantgraph.com/

Could their API be used to connect into HE?
https://www.constantgraph.com/help/addingdata/data-api

I mean from reading this site, you can do everything like that in Grafana/influxdb or simpler graphs in webcore.

Yes, should be no problem.
If they really wanted to get HE customers, they could do something on their end to take data right from MakerAPI. Short of that you would need to create a custom app that uses their API, similar to the Alexa or Google HE apps where you pick the devices and then all events are sent over via the API.

Would not be difficult, but would take some time to create.

i smell a project in your future :sweat_smile:

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I’ve seen where people had tweaked random SmartThings apps created in their (defunct) IDE to run on HE, but probably not the case with the current integration w/Smarthings Constantgraph touts. Too bad Constantgraph hasn’t considered working w/HE.

If it ran in the old groovy ide for Smartthings then it should be posible to port it. Just be aware you may find performance issues depending on how well it was written. The Smartthings cloud could easily make up for poorly written code, but the 4 core arm chip in the HE is a limited resource.

When Influxdb logger was ported it suffered some performance issues initially and is basically the same idea.

If they are using the new Smartthings API then it is a hard no for porting it.

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Unfortunately, Constantgraph wasn't released as Groovy code.

Raised the awareness of HE to the folks over at Constant Graph. Their initial reply. FWIW …

“Thanks for reaching out. We are always open to new integrations but there is a limited amount of time we can invest in learning new platforms.
The existing Ezlo integration we have consists of a native app that sits on the Ezlo hub and talks to the ConstantGraph API (Constant Graph).
Does Hubitat have a similar concept of plug-ins? If so, do you know how to access people who might be willing and able to write one?
ConstantGraph can provide support for any API changes that might be necessary.”

What is the reason someone would pick this option over Webcore with Hubigraphs, or Influxdb with Grafana?

The problem is not if it can be done. It most certainly can, but someone has to have enough reason to write the integration when there are already very viable options already that have been proven to not impact stability.

Meme Reaction GIF by Robert E Blackmon

Influx / Grafana might be a stretch for some people. I think you can do it with free cloud based accounts now, so you do not need to self host which would get some people over that hurdle. But you are pretty much on your own for coding dashboards in Grafana, above many peoples skill level.

Is there a guide anywhere for settings up some charting on Webcore? I dont even know that I have even seen many examples of what it looks like. Or wondering how complicated it is to setup? How reliable?

Yes, called Apps (not plugins). The place to find someone to code such an app would be right here on this forum. Also, they could make a special API endpoint that will just take output from MakerAPI and then no special app on HE is needed at all.

Webcore integrated Hubigraphs. You don't actually need webcore to set them up

Compared to those examples, Constantgraph looks pretty slick. They have examples on the site. Looks about as powerful as Grafana, and I would hope much less of a learning curve to setup.

Hubigraphs / Webcore: Solution is easy(?) and free to make basic charts.
Constantgraph: could be easy to setup (with HE app), I would hope it is easy to create charts on their platform. Visually looks great and flexible. Has free and subscription options.
Influx / Grafana: most complex setup and chart creations, but very powerful with advanced capabilities. Can be free, cloud (I think) or self hosted.

Now I am not saying I am going to go create a free app for them. If they want customers they can get the app developed themselves or pay for it. What I am saying is that it should not be dismissed, it seems like a perfectly viable option. Do not underestimate the number of people willing to pay for services that makes things easy. Look at some of the third party dashboards for example.

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Well I asked the question because I was hoping for someone with personal experience to speak for it.

Now that I have used InfluxDB and grafana for so long i really don't see it as hard to work with either. With the new version of InfluxDB logger I can setup a new environment with a free cloud account in probably 15 min. I do think the catch though is going from capturing the data to useable graphs. Whether it is Grafana, or the built in InfluxDB tools, creating the graphs is probably the most difficult. The nice thing though is it is also possible to create Templates and share them with other users.

I was really hoping for some good information as to how easy it was for creating graphs.

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Setting up Influxdb and Grafana requires setting up a local system to run that. Constantgraph is a cloud solution that requires you to upload your data to them.

Not exactly true since early this year when Denny and I worked on updating the app to support SSL and InfluxDB2.0. You can use it with a free Cloud InfluxDB cloud account since that update.

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You should do a how to with that option..

I'm with you there @jtp10181. As a non-coder I could never bring this to bear myself; Influx/Grapfana is a non-starter for me as well. I've atleast encouraged CG to look at the HE Community, Maker API doc., et. al. As they say - you can lead a horse to water ... but can't make him drink. I guess I'll await any feedback from CG if they do decide to make an in-house effort to understand the HE platform. Maybe even the folks over at SharpTools could help co-develop a SuperTile based upon CG's data visualizer to drop onto a SharpTools dahboard - that would be sweet!

I have moved this walkthrough to the below thread.

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What is it you want to do. Allot of time one simple example is all it takes to get started or get exactly what you need. It can look intimidating, but once a few things are clear it is generally not to bad.