# Troubleshooting plugins

## High-level overview

If a Plugin supplies data to the main app it's doine either vie a SQL query or via a script that updates the `last_result.log` file in the plugin folder (`front/plugins/<plugin>`).

For a more in-depth overview on how plugins work check the [Plugins development docs](https://github.com/jokob-sk/Pi.Alert/blob/main/front/plugins/README.md).

### Prerequisites

- Make sure you read and followed the specific plugin setup instructions.
- Ensure you have [debug enabled (see More Logging)](https://github.com/jokob-sk/Pi.Alert/blob/main/docs/DEBUG_TIPS.md#1-more-logging-) 

### Potential issues

- Bugs
- Unexpected input (e.g. special characters in names)
- Dependencies changed how data is output

#### Incorrect input data

Input data from the plugin might cause mapping issues in specific edge cases. Look for a corresponding section in the `pialert.log` file, for example notice the first line of the execution run of the `PIHOLE` plugin below:

```
17:31:05 [Scheduler] - Scheduler run for PIHOLE: YES
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] ---------------------------------------------
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] display_name: PiHole (Device sync)
17:31:05 [Plugins] CMD: SELECT n.hwaddr AS Object_PrimaryID, {s-quote}null{s-quote} AS Object_SecondaryID, datetime() AS DateTime, na.ip  AS Watched_Value1, n.lastQuery AS Watched_Value2, na.name AS Watched_Value3, n.macVendor AS Watched_Value4, {s-quote}null{s-quote} AS Extra, n.hwaddr AS ForeignKey FROM EXTERNAL_PIHOLE.Network AS n LEFT JOIN EXTERNAL_PIHOLE.Network_Addresses AS na ON na.network_id = n.id WHERE n.hwaddr NOT LIKE {s-quote}ip-%{s-quote} AND n.hwaddr is not {s-quote}00:00:00:00:00:00{s-quote}  AND na.ip is not null
17:31:05 [Plugins] setTyp: subnets
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] Flattening the below array
17:31:05 ['192.168.1.0/24 --interface=eth1']
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] isinstance(arr, list) : False | isinstance(arr, str) : True
17:31:05 [Plugins] Resolved value: 192.168.1.0/24 --interface=eth1
17:31:05 [Plugins] Convert to Base64: True
17:31:05 [Plugins] base64 value: b'MTkyLjE2OC4xLjAvMjQgLS1pbnRlcmZhY2U9ZXRoMQ=='
17:31:05 [Plugins] Timeout: 10
17:31:05 [Plugins] Executing: SELECT n.hwaddr AS Object_PrimaryID, 'null' AS Object_SecondaryID, datetime() AS DateTime, na.ip  AS Watched_Value1, n.lastQuery AS Watched_Value2, na.name AS Watched_Value3, n.macVendor AS Watched_Value4, 'null' AS Extra, n.hwaddr AS ForeignKey FROM EXTERNAL_PIHOLE.Network AS n LEFT JOIN EXTERNAL_PIHOLE.Network_Addresses AS na ON na.network_id = n.id WHERE n.hwaddr NOT LIKE 'ip-%' AND n.hwaddr is not '00:00:00:00:00:00'  AND na.ip is not null
17:31:05 [Plugins] SUCCESS, received 2 entries
17:31:05 [Plugins] sqlParam entries: [(0, 'PIHOLE', '01:01:01:01:01:01', 'null', 'null', '2023-12-25 06:31:05', '172.30.0.1', 0, 'aaaa', 'vvvvvvvvv', 'not-processed', 'null', 'null', '01:01:01:01:01:01'), (0, 'PIHOLE', '02:42:ac:1e:00:02', 'null', 'null', '2023-12-25 06:31:05', '172.30.0.2', 0, 'dddd', 'vvvvv2222', 'not-processed', 'null', 'null', '02:42:ac:1e:00:02')]
17:31:05 [Plugins] Processing        : PIHOLE
17:31:05 [Plugins] Existing objects from Plugins_Objects: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] Logged events from the plugin run    : 2
17:31:05 [Plugins] pluginEvents      count: 2
17:31:05 [Plugins] pluginObjects     count: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] events_to_insert  count: 0
17:31:05 [Plugins] history_to_insert count: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] objects_to_insert count: 0
17:31:05 [Plugins] objects_to_update count: 4
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] In pluginEvents there are 2 events with the status "watched-not-changed" 
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] In pluginObjects there are 2 events with the status "missing-in-last-scan" 
17:31:05 [Plugin utils] In pluginObjects there are 2 events with the status "watched-not-changed" 
17:31:05 [Plugins] Mapping objects to database table: CurrentScan
17:31:05 [Plugins] SQL query for mapping: INSERT into CurrentScan ( "cur_MAC", "cur_IP", "cur_LastQuery", "cur_Name", "cur_Vendor", "cur_ScanMethod") VALUES ( ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
17:31:05 [Plugins] SQL sqlParams for mapping: [('01:01:01:01:01:01', '172.30.0.1', 0, 'aaaa', 'vvvvvvvvv', 'PIHOLE'), ('02:42:ac:1e:00:02', '172.30.0.2', 0, 'dddd', 'vvvvv2222', 'PIHOLE')]
17:31:05 [API] Update API starting
17:31:06 [API] Updating table_plugins_history.json file in /front/api
```

In the above output notice the section logging how many events are produced by the plugin:

```
17:31:05 [Plugins] Existing objects from Plugins_Objects: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] Logged events from the plugin run    : 2
17:31:05 [Plugins] pluginEvents      count: 2
17:31:05 [Plugins] pluginObjects     count: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] events_to_insert  count: 0
17:31:05 [Plugins] history_to_insert count: 4
17:31:05 [Plugins] objects_to_insert count: 0
17:31:05 [Plugins] objects_to_update count: 4
```

These values, if formatted correctly, will also show up in the UI:

![Plugins table](/docs/img/DEBUG_PLUGINS/plugin_objects_pihole.png)