Having just discovered more power is available in 3rd party rule apps than using the smartthings routines and smartapps. My Question is which is the best to invest my time and effort in? CoRE, Smartrule etc etc or are there other options?
Personally I use CoRE for everything.
Only a few things run locally on the hub.
If you have a device that runs locally Smart Lighting runs locally and therefore does not use the cloud. These should run quicker and also not be affected by loss of Internet connection.
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CoRE is a powerful tool.
CoRE. Not even close. (no disrespect to other apps, developers, but nothing can do as much).
and CoRE runs in the smart things cloud with out relying on another service other than the smartthings cloud?
correct.
and to add
Smart Rules has a user friendly GUI but CoRE is by far way more sophisticated. Only disadvantage CoRE is since it not officially supported, you will need to update the app when new versions are released. Highly recommend the Github approach when explained in installation.
Each rule engine has its place. I use these three based on when I want to automate:
CorREis most powerful and free. It can do almost “everything” (and more). Setting up automations is fairly complicated though and it takes some learning. It usually takes a some time to configure a rule right.
For Smartrules you have to pay if you want to set up more than a couple of rules. Setting up rules is very quick and intuitive thanks to the great user interface but options for how complicated for rules can be are are limited.
Smart Lightning (the SmartThings app) is very limited in what it can do but if the devices you use in the rules have the default SamrtThings device type the rules run local on your Smartthings hub - no delay from the cloud other other system issues. THey will still work when your internet is down. Good for if your automation needs to be more reliable.
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Another option that comes in handy and is free but is limited is IFTTT.
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Thanks all for the reply’s going to go with CoRE for now.
Do everything you want that’s possible in Smart Lighting first, don’t let the word “Lighting” confuse you, I use it for plenty of other things that aren’t lights. It can do a LOT more than people realise, especially when combined with virtual switches.
That being said, after that, anything that isn’t possible in Smart Lighting, use which ever method fits your needs, a lot of people use CoRE but don’t forget @obycode 's SmartRules (Apple/iOS only)!:
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Like many here I use a few.
- SmartLighting for any basic rules. Runs locally and has the fastest execution time. I have many motion or door opening rules living here.
- Routines for Goodnight/Good morning/Away/etc. Mostly used to turn off lights at night and when we leave.
- Nest-Manager for any rules to my thermostats.
- Core for everything else.
With regard to rules running locally using Smart Lighting, do they only run locally if the internet is down, otherwise always in the cloud? While helpful in many ways I don’t feel this SmartThings article concretely claims that local processing will definitely occur while your internet is still online. https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-gb/articles/209979766-Local-processing
I only ask because I setup a Smart Lighting rule for an open/close sensor (Iris) to turn on a Cree Connected bulb in the pantry when the door opens, but it still was somewhat erratic in many successive attempts, sometimes response in <1sec sometimes closer to 10s. I had verified the devices and my rule displayed available for local processing as indicated in the article, I was just expecting much faster, or at least consistent, responses. I didn’t really notice any change.
Here is my experience with smart lighting.
I have a many motion rules then turn on lights (Iris Motion or contacts/GE zwave switches). Rules in Smartligthing with internet take about half a second from motion detecting to turning on light (looking at the motion sensor light). Same with contact sensors. Hardly ever more than a second. Occasionally up to 2 seconds. I would say 95% of all actions less than 1 second. 99%+ under 2 seconds.
Same rule in Core usually takes about 1-2 seconds had it take as long as 10 before. Not bad, but noticeable.
With internet down (ethernet unplugged) smartlighting rule then takes 2-4 seconds. Not sure why.
You can alway check logs and see when the rules are firing. Perhaps you have some mesh issues and the commands get delayed sometimes.
Here are some urls you may find useful.
You probably have them but if not…
Local Devices:
US: https://graph.api.smartthings.com/localDevice/
UK: https://graph-eu01-euwest1.api.smartthings.com/localDevice/
Local SmartApps:
US: https://graph.api.smartthings.com/localInstalledSmartApp/
UK: https://graph-eu01-euwest1.api.smartthings.com/localInstalledSmartApp/
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Take a look at @bobbles links for locally running apps and devices. If they appear on that list they will always run locally unless the configuration is changed (like if you add a bulb that’s not locally support).
Thanks guys! As I am understanding it now, rules/devices on that list will ALWAYS run local and skip the cloud as long as the criteria are met. Thank you!
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That’s only a partial list, as there is more than one US shard. SmartThings will let you sign into the wrong one, but then the list will always be empty.
There’s a full list kept in the community – created wiki:
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