Human in the Control Loop

This solution shows a simple control-panel pattern where a human operator sees live status on a dashboard and decides when to run an action.

A hidden background action keeps the displayed status up to date, while the dashboard only shows the operator control you want them to use.

preview

How it works

  • Pump ON - 5m is the only visible action on the dashboard. The operator starts the pump when they choose.

  • Update Water Level is a hidden action that runs on startup and on a schedule. It prints dummy output (Water level 47%) that OliveTin keeps in the action logs.

  • A most recent execution dashboard component shows the latest output from Update Water Level, so the operator always sees the current reading without clicking a refresh button.

When the pump action finishes, it triggers Update Water Level so the displayed value can be refreshed after manual control.

Configuration

config.yaml
---
logLevel: "WARN"
checkForUpdates: false
showFooter: false

actions:
  - title: Pump ON - 5m
    id: pump_on_5m
    icon: restart
    shell: |
      echo "Pump started"
      sleep 300
    triggers:
      - Update Water Level

  - title: Update Water Level
    id: update_water_level
    shell: echo "Water level 47%"
    hidden: true
    execOnStartup: true
    execOnCron: "*/1 * * * *"

dashboards:
  - title: Human in the Control Loop
    contents:
      - title: Water tank
        type: fieldset
        contents:
          - type: stdout-most-recent-execution
            title: update_water_level
          - title: Pump ON - 5m

Customising this pattern

  • Replace the dummy echo commands with scripts that read real sensors or call your APIs.

  • Change the cron schedule on Update Water Level to match how often the status should refresh.

  • Add ACLs if only certain users should see the dashboard or run the pump action.

See also