I find the need to turn on logging of rules manually and in three parts a little challenging. Invariably the time I want the rule to log is when something isn't working as planned and I want to trace it. But of course the logging is not turned on by default so I have to turn it on and wait for the situation to arise again.
So what is the option, turn on all rules to log by default? Since the log is filterable there shouldn't be any issue with this other than overwhelming the system doing it or using up too much space? Most rules are not firing that often.
Related to this - I don't see a way to see which rules are logging - other than to wait for it in the log or check them all manually? And related to this - no way to select a group of rules and apply logging levels to them?
And a way to filter rules based on what is in them. For example filter to all rules that mention this device, or use mode.
And while I am at it - a way to group rules in folders or something similar. I use the Rule Machine Manager app which is very clean - but that should really be native capabilities.
Feels like you need to form this up as a feature request, but more likely as multiple requests, there are some very different features you are listing. All good ones. Some have been requested in different forms in the past, so it may be worth looking around a little to see what has been discussed in the past (I'm thinking more about some of the ones in your last post).
Personally I like to keep everything out of the logs until I have an issue or want to verify something. The more traffic in the log the less data you can see, as it can only hold so much data.
That does mean that when an error occurs the logs will be of no help, but if I turn them on I get more data, and when it does occur there is more of a chance of it still being in the logs by the time I am able to check it.
The likelihood that one size fits all is very low, especially if there are a lot of rules. I'd venture to guess that most simple rules never need logging at all. Forcing logging from the parent seems like it would never be desirable, either too much or too little. There is no happy medium (read my mind, log any rule I might have a problem with).
Yikes! A whole new level of complexity for people to figure out, misunderstand, get confused about.... I really don't think this makes sense.
I was thinking of something in the parent app to allow someone to manually adjust the logging on a list of selected rules in one go, similar to how we can do it for devices using preference manager.
I had thought about having defaults defined for new rules that are created, but not fussed either way if that was included, you can always set that when creating the rule.
So you envision the parent app growing an entirely new UI for setting the logging of individual rules? I'm sorry, that just doesn't make sense to me. You would still have the OPs issue of a given rule not having the right logging at the time some problem happens. I work with a lot of rules almost on a daily basis, and have never found it so hard to turn on the logging I might need in an individual rule when its needed, I just don't see that as a burden that's needs lifting. Seriously, how often are you challenged by the logging setting?
Personally I wouldn't need it that often either, but I can see a benefit at times to being able to select, say 4-5 rules that may be setup for automating a common thing, say motion lighting in a room, and being able to turn on the trigger and actions logging for them in one go. It wouldn't solve all the situations from the OP, just this one:
Don't get me wrong, if you don't think it would work, I'm not too worried, was just an idea for where / how I thought it could be done, but happy to let it go.
The last thing I would want to do is help create a UI - not my expertise.
My preference has always been to log everything and then have adequate tools for filtering the log quickly so it doesn't become burdensome to find something quickly. I use the Splunk add-in to move logs to a docker and then use that to really interrogate with filtering capabilities that don't exist natively.
As for rules, as mentioned it would be nice to filter rules based on things like referenced devices, etc. I do like the feature in a device that tells me which rules it appears in but being able to look the other way would be nice. Also, knowing which rules are called by other rules.
Either way, happy Hubitat user with 4 hubs powering my house so no complaints here, only thoughts.
