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Version: Next 🚧

Debugging Guide

Tips and techniques for debugging the Tibber Prices integration during development.

Logging​

Enable Debug Logging​

Add to configuration.yaml:

logger:
  default: info
  logs:
    custom_components.tibber_prices: debug

Restart Home Assistant to apply.

Key Log Messages​

Coordinator Updates:

[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator] Successfully fetched price data
[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator] Cache valid, using cached data
[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator] Midnight turnover detected, clearing cache

Period Calculation:

[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator.periods] Calculating BEST PRICE periods: flex=15.0%
[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator.periods] Day 2024-12-06: Found 2 periods
[custom_components.tibber_prices.coordinator.periods] Period 1: 02:00-05:00 (12 intervals)

API Errors:

[custom_components.tibber_prices.api] API request failed: Unauthorized
[custom_components.tibber_prices.api] Retrying (attempt 2/3) after 2.0s

VS Code Debugging​

Launch Configuration​

.vscode/launch.json:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Home Assistant",
      "type": "debugpy",
      "request": "launch",
      "module": "homeassistant",
      "args": ["-c", "config", "--debug"],
      "justMyCode": false,
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}/.venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Set Breakpoints​

Coordinator update:

# coordinator/core.py
async def _async_update_data(self) -> dict:
    """Fetch data from API."""
    breakpoint()  # Or set VS Code breakpoint

Period calculation:

# coordinator/period_handlers/core.py
def calculate_periods(...) -> list[dict]:
    """Calculate best/peak price periods."""
    breakpoint()

pytest Debugging​

Run Single Test with Output​

.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/test_period_calculation.py::test_midnight_crossing -v -s

Flags:

  • -v - Verbose output
  • -s - Show print statements
  • -k pattern - Run tests matching pattern

Debug Test in VS Code​

Set breakpoint in test file, use "Debug Test" CodeLens.

Useful Test Patterns​

Print coordinator data:

def test_something(coordinator):
    print(f"Coordinator data: {coordinator.data}")
    print(f"Price info count: {len(coordinator.data['priceInfo'])}")

Inspect period attributes:

def test_periods(hass, coordinator):
    periods = coordinator.data.get('best_price_periods', [])
    for period in periods:
        print(f"Period: {period['start']} to {period['end']}")
        print(f"  Intervals: {len(period['intervals'])}")

Common Issues​

Integration Not Loading​

Check:

grep "tibber_prices" config/home-assistant.log

Common causes:

  • Syntax error in Python code → Check logs for traceback
  • Missing dependency → Run uv sync
  • Wrong file permissions → chmod +x scripts/*

Sensors Not Updating​

Check coordinator state:

# In Developer Tools > Template
{{ states.sensor.tibber_home_current_interval_price.last_updated }}

Debug in code:

# Add logging in sensor/core.py
_LOGGER.debug("Updating sensor %s: old=%s new=%s",
              self.entity_id, self._attr_native_value, new_value)

Period Calculation Wrong​

Enable detailed period logs:

# coordinator/period_handlers/period_building.py
_LOGGER.debug("Candidate intervals: %s",
              [(i['startsAt'], i['total']) for i in candidates])

Check filter statistics:

[period_building] Flex filter blocked: 45 intervals
[period_building] Min distance blocked: 12 intervals
[period_building] Level filter blocked: 8 intervals

Performance Profiling​

Time Execution​

import time

start = time.perf_counter()
result = expensive_function()
duration = time.perf_counter() - start
_LOGGER.debug("Function took %.3fs", duration)

Memory Usage​

import tracemalloc

tracemalloc.start()
# ... your code ...
current, peak = tracemalloc.get_traced_memory()
_LOGGER.debug("Memory: current=%d peak=%d", current, peak)
tracemalloc.stop()

Profile with cProfile​

python -m cProfile -o profile.stats -m homeassistant -c config
python -m pstats profile.stats
# Then: sort cumtime, stats 20

Live Debugging in Running HA​

Remote Debugging with debugpy​

Add to coordinator code:

import debugpy
debugpy.listen(5678)
_LOGGER.info("Waiting for debugger attach on port 5678")
debugpy.wait_for_client()

Connect from VS Code with remote attach configuration.

IPython REPL​

Install in container:

uv pip install ipython

Add breakpoint:

from IPython import embed
embed()  # Drops into interactive shell

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