If You Use MQTT and Tasker...

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whitedavidp

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Nov 12, 2025, 10:38:36 AMNov 12

to Tasker

As Tasker itself has no built-in MQTT support (nothing against the dev who is amazing and has so much other stuff on his plate), I have been barely managing to use Tasker for MQTT using this plug-in for some time now. While it works for me, I have stumbled into limitations that I am not prepared to solve in the plug-in (and it sure is not being actively maintained). For example, while I have not fully characterized the issue, this plug-in appears to not be able to handle being used in multiple Tasker profiles.

So on multiple occasions, I have gone looking for an alternative to the plug-in. I found nothing until recently when I discovered this app and I just want to make you aware of it.

While this app is not specifically a Tasker plug-in, it is able to send broadcast intents to Tasker. It also does many other things on its own and via its built-in scripting mechanism (which is where you find the send broadcast ability). In the latest version, the author added an HTTP API that allows other apps to control its behavior and query its condition. This generic approach means that it can likely be used with other apps as well.

Over the last month or so, I have communicated quite a bit with the app's author and he has been highly responsive and open to suggestions. This is where both the send broadcast and API came from. It is impressive to find someone who is so willing and able.

Unlike the plug-in mentioned above, this app is also capable of publishing MQTT messages. So it also provides an alternative to this plug-in (which I have never used). And this too can be used via the HTTP API.

Two things to note:

While the app is free, access to the scripting mechanism is a paid feature. I gladly paid the US$1.99 + tax via Play Store to get it.
The same author offers another app that is a "tablet" version. While very similar it is not the same, seems to have fallen behind in updates/features, works horribly in portrait mode, and I see no reason why it should even be needed as the app I have seems to work fine in landscape mode. So I would avoid that one - at least for now.

So FYI!

whitedavidp

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Nov 22, 2025, 12:22:38 PMNov 22

to Tasker

FYI - they just released 1.3.5 of the app and it appears that the Tasker plug-in is quite complete. I have not yet tested it, however. There are plenty of other changes and improvements. Unlike many app, the documentation here is very good. So look for it in-app.

There are 2 things to be aware of:

1. They still have not quite perfected the checking of in-app purchase state upon app startup. This can result in being prompted to purchase pro (needed for Tasker plug-in, multiple server support, and some other very great features) - which just errors-out saying you already have purchased. When this happens, it is best to exit and kill the app and then re-start it. At that point, the nuisance goes away. They know about it - it has been there for a bit now - and are working it. But if you find this or other issues, be sure to alert the dev. They are remarkably alert and helpful.

2. Unlike this plug-in, the app in question will give up trying to connect to a server if:

(a) there is network connectivity and

(b) the app is unable to establish a connection to a server within 3 consecutive tries split by 5 second intervals.

Once this has happened, no attempt is made to connect to that server until the app is opened or the app is triggered to try again via the Tasker plug-in OR the HTTP API. In my case, this happens every night when I take my Mosquitto server offline during full system backup. And I usually find the app not connected - and NOT trying to connect - every morning.

For those of us, like me, who really want the MQTT client connected at ANY TIME it can be successfully connected, this loss of service is something of a problem. I have reported this and the dev added a Tasker plug-in event to notify when the attempt to connect has been abandoned. In this way, Tasker can get notified on the re-connect abandonment and can start a profile to poll the server until it is again sensed - via ping or something. When the server is sensed again, the plug-in can be used to trigger a re-connection attempt.

I am not yet sure how well this will work in practice. I personally would prefer the app itself continue to try to re-establish connection on its own - at some, less frequent interval - until the server is again responding. I have suggested this behavior be included as an option. The dev is concerned about the battery drain overhead of such a practice. But it would be much simpler for all parties, I think. If you have an opinion about this, be sure to let the dev know.