How can I tell if it is working? How do I use this plugin?

[jobiegermano]

I have this plugin installed and by all accounts it seems to be running correctly, but I can't figure out how to interact with it or verify that it is doing anything.

The most information I can find in the logs from is shown by restarting the child bridge from which it runs:

[Plugin Update] Restarting child bridge...
Got SIGTERM, shutting down child bridge process...
[Plugin Update] Child bridge process ended
[Plugin Update] Process Ended. Code: 143, Signal: null
[Plugin Update] Restarting Process...
[Plugin Update] Launched child bridge with PID 1425
Registering platform 'homebridge-plugin-update-check.PluginUpdate'
[Plugin Update] Loaded homebridge-plugin-update-check v1.0.2 child bridge successfully
Loaded 1 cached accessories from cachedAccessories.0EB3152A3616.
Homebridge v1.8.0 (HAP v0.12.0) (Plugin Update) is running on port 51558.

When I configure the Accessory to display as a dashboard widget and click on it, nothing happens, and nothing is recorded in the logs. I would assume there to be some sort of acknowledgement that the plugin was launched manually and status if it found a updates to existing plugins or not?

Am I misunderstanding the purpose of this plugin? I believe that the purpose of this plugin is to periodically check for updates to both the HomeBridge service/UI and any installed plugins, right?

How often does it check for updates? How does it know if updates exist for all the plugins I've installed that are unrelated to your software? Is it doing a check by name/version listed in the JSON file for each plugin? How do I verify that it is doing anything at all other than "being loaded" and "running" on a port?

I apologize if I've misunderstood everything and am just being a dunce lol

[JurgenLB]

you must configure this like;

{
    "name": "Plugin Update",
    "sensorType": "leak",
    "platform": "PluginUpdate",
    "_bridge": {
        "username": "xx",
        "port": 38666
    }

then you wille get a leak warning every time there is an update detected.

[ohhmyjawwsh]

@jobiegermano I have mine setup as an air quality sensor instead of a leak sensor so it doesn't trigger any Critical Alerts. I have an automation setup to trigger a URL request when the air quality is poor, and that sends me a custom time-sensitive (but not critical) notification I setup within PushCut which tells me "Homebridge Plugin Update Available".

The plugin automatically checks regularly to see if there are any updates available and runs almost invisibly in the background but rest assured, it is running. When an update is pushed and seen by the plugin, it will update whichever sensor you've chosen/exposed to HomeKit. I've found this is the best setup for myself as I can customize a notification I receive within the PushCut app instead of checking the sensor manually in HK all the time or freaking myself out when a critical alert goes off since I reserve those for my alarm system, but you can set it up however works best for you.

Suggestion for testing: setup the plugin and your choice of sensor/notification (requires an automation), then downgrade one of your other plugins to a previous version (plugin settings within Homebridge > manage versions > choose the previous version), then reboot HB. Give it a minute or two and you will see your notification come through or your sensor state change.

Hope this helps! If it does, you can close this ticket request. Let me know if you have any other questions.