Automation Rules

The rule engine lets NeoMind respond automatically without human intervention: device data crosses a threshold → auto-notify, send commands, trigger an AI Agent. Rules are defined in JSON and created via Web UI, CLI, REST API, or AI Chat.

The Automation page has two tabs: Rules and Transforms. This doc covers Rules; for data transforms see Data Transforms.

Prerequisites

At least one device onboarded (rules reference device metrics as data sources)
Notification channels configured (if using notify actions)

Interface Overview

Click Automation (branch icon) in the left nav to open the automation page. The default tab is Rules:

Automation rules page — rule list, enabled status, Import/Export

The page displays all rules in a table, each row containing:

Column	Description
Rule Name	The name you set
Trigger	Data Change / Schedule / Manual
Condition	Text preview of the condition (e.g. `temperature > 30`)
Actions	List of actions in this rule (Notify / Execute / Trigger Agent)
Status Toggle	Enable / disable switch
Actions Menu	Edit, delete, execute now

The Import / Export button in the top right lets you bulk import/export rule JSON.

Rule Structure

A rule has four parts — name, trigger, condition, and actions (optional duration and cooldown):

{
  "name": "High Temperature Alert",
  "trigger": { "trigger_type": "data_change" },
  "condition": {
    "condition_type": "comparison",
    "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature",
    "operator": "greater_than",
    "threshold": 30
  },
  "actions": [
    { "type": "notify", "message": "Temperature too high: {value}°C", "severity": "critical" }
  ]
}

Creating a Rule via Web UI

Step 1: Open the Rule Builder

In the Rules tab, click the Create button to open the full-screen rule builder:

Rule builder — basic info area: name, description, trigger selector

Fill in the top of the builder:

Field	Description
Name	Display name for the rule
Description	Optional, explains the rule's purpose
Trigger	Select the trigger type (see below)

Step 2: Configure the Trigger

Trigger Type	Description	Use Case
Data Change	Auto-evaluates when referenced metrics have new data	Real-time alerts, threshold monitoring
Schedule	Triggers on a cron expression	Scheduled reports, periodic checks
Manual	Only triggered manually (API / CLI / UI button)	Debugging, on-demand execution

Cron uses 6-field format: sec min hour day month weekday. "0 */5 * * * *" = every 5 minutes.

The data_change trigger automatically extracts referenced data sources from the condition — no need to specify sources manually.

Step 3: Configure the Condition

Rule builder — condition config area: select data source, operator, threshold

Conditions determine when a rule fires. Three types are supported:

Comparison condition — compares a value to a threshold:

Operator	Meaning	Threshold Field
`greater_than`	Greater than	`threshold` (number)
`less_than`	Less than	`threshold` (number)
`greater_equal`	Greater than or equal	`threshold` (number)
`less_equal`	Less than or equal	`threshold` (number)
`equal`	Equal	`threshold` (number/boolean)
`not_equal`	Not equal	`threshold`
`contains`	Contains (string)	`threshold_value` (string)
`starts_with`	Prefix match	`threshold_value`
`ends_with`	Suffix match	`threshold_value`
`regex`	Regex match	`threshold_value`

source uses DataSourceId format {type}:{id}:{field}, e.g. device:sensor-01:temperature.

Range condition — fires when value is within a range:

{ "condition_type": "range", "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature", "min": 20, "max": 25 }

Logical condition — AND / OR / NOT nesting multiple sub-conditions:

{
  "condition_type": "logical",
  "operator": "and",
  "conditions": [
    { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature", "operator": "greater_than", "threshold": 30 },
    { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-01:humidity", "operator": "less_than", "threshold": 20 }
  ]
}

Step 4: Configure Actions

Rule builder — action config area: notify, execute command, trigger agent

Actions execute when the condition is met. A rule can have multiple actions, executed in order.

Action	type value	Description
Send notification	`notify`	Message template supports `{value}`, `{source_id}` interpolation
Execute command	`execute`	Send control command to a device or extension
Trigger Agent	`trigger_agent`	Call an AI Agent for deep analysis

notify action — severity values: info, warning, critical, emergency

{ "type": "notify", "message": "Temperature too high: {value}°C", "severity": "critical" }

execute action — send a device control command:

{ "type": "execute", "target": "humidifier-01", "target_type": "device", "command": "power_on", "params": { "level": 3 } }

trigger_agent action — call an AI Agent:

{ "type": "trigger_agent", "agent_id": "diagnostic", "input": "sensor-03 is offline, please diagnose" }

Step 5: Duration and Cooldown

Field	Description
For Duration (seconds)	Condition must be continuously met for this duration before firing, filtering out sensor jitter
Cooldown (seconds)	Minimum interval between triggers, default 60 seconds

Click Save to save the rule.

JSON Structure Reference

Complete JSON field reference

{
  "name": "Sustained High Temperature",
  "trigger": { "trigger_type": "data_change" },
  "condition": {
    "condition_type": "comparison",
    "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature",
    "operator": "greater_than",
    "threshold": 30
  },
  "actions": [
    { "type": "notify", "message": "Temperature above 30°C for 5 minutes", "severity": "critical" }
  ],
  "for_duration": 300,
  "cooldown": 60
}

Other Creation Methods

CLI

# Create a rule (JSON format)
neomind rule create --json '{"name":"High Temp","trigger":{"trigger_type":"data_change"},"condition":{"condition_type":"comparison","source":"device:sensor-01:temperature","operator":"greater_than","threshold":30},"actions":[{"type":"notify","message":"Too hot"}]}'

# List all rules
neomind rule list

# Enable / disable
neomind rule enable <rule_id>
neomind rule disable <rule_id>

# Execute rule immediately (manual trigger)
neomind rule test <rule_id> --execute

# Delete rule
neomind rule delete <rule_id>

REST API

# Create rule (JSON body)
curl -X POST http://localhost:9375/api/rules \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "High Temp",
    "trigger": { "trigger_type": "data_change" },
    "condition": { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature", "operator": "greater_than", "threshold": 30 },
    "actions": [ { "type": "notify", "message": "Too hot" } ]
  }'

# View execution history
curl http://localhost:9375/api/rules/<rule_id>/history

AI Chat

Just tell AI Chat:

"Email me when the temperature goes above 30 degrees"

The LLM auto-generates and creates the rule.

Import / Export

The Import / Export button in the Rules tab supports bulk management:

Operation	Description
Export	Export all rules to a JSON file (`neomind-rules-YYYY-MM-DD.json`)
Import	Upload a JSON file to bulk import rules, with incremental import (skips existing rules with the same name)

Rule Validation

When creating a rule, NeoMind performs context-aware validation:

Device/extension exists
Metric name is valid
Command parameters match the device type definition
Agent ID exists (for trigger_agent actions)

Validation failures return detailed error messages listing which field has the problem.

Complete Examples

1. Temperature & Humidity Combined Alert

High temp + low humidity: notify and turn on humidifier:

{
  "name": "Temp-Humidity Combo",
  "trigger": { "trigger_type": "data_change" },
  "condition": {
    "condition_type": "logical",
    "operator": "and",
    "conditions": [
      { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-01:temperature", "operator": "greater_than", "threshold": 30 },
      { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-01:humidity", "operator": "less_than", "threshold": 20 }
    ]
  },
  "actions": [
    { "type": "notify", "message": "High temp low humidity: {value}°C", "severity": "critical" },
    { "type": "execute", "target": "humidifier-01", "target_type": "device", "command": "power_on", "params": { "level": 3 } }
  ]
}

2. Scheduled Energy Report

Trigger Agent at 8 AM daily to summarize energy:

{
  "name": "Daily Energy Report",
  "trigger": { "trigger_type": "schedule", "cron": "0 0 8 * * *" },
  "actions": [
    { "type": "trigger_agent", "agent_id": "energy-reporter", "input": "Summarize yesterday energy data and send report" }
  ]
}

3. Sustained Anomaly Triggers Agent

Device offline for 10+ minutes triggers diagnostic Agent:

{
  "name": "Device Offline Diagnosis",
  "trigger": { "trigger_type": "data_change" },
  "condition": { "condition_type": "comparison", "source": "device:sensor-03:online", "operator": "equal", "threshold": 0 },
  "for_duration": 600,
  "actions": [
    { "type": "notify", "message": "sensor-03 offline for 10 minutes", "severity": "critical" },
    { "type": "trigger_agent", "agent_id": "diagnostic", "input": "sensor-03 is offline, please diagnose" }
  ]
}

Execution History

Click the actions menu on any rule row to view execution history:

Trigger time
Whether the condition was met
How many actions executed
Result of each action (success/failure/reason)
Evaluation duration

Integration with Other Modules

Module	Description
Notifications	`notify` action routes to configured notification channels
AI Agent	`trigger_agent` action calls an autonomous agent for deep analysis
Devices	`execute` action sends device commands
Data Transforms	Rules can reference derived metrics from Transforms
AI Chat	Create rules in natural language, LLM auto-generates JSON

Best Practices

Add for_duration for debounce: Sensor data is noisy; use "for_duration": 120 to filter transient spikes
Set cooldown to prevent spam: High-frequency data sources need cooldown to prevent alert storms
Tiered notifications: Regular alerts severity: "info", severe alerts severity: "critical"
Prefer rules over Agents: Deterministic logic uses rules (millisecond evaluation), fuzzy judgment uses Agents (seconds of LLM analysis)
Idempotent actions: Design device commands as idempotent (e.g. power_on safe to call repeatedly), preventing side effects from rule retries

Last updated: 2026-06-16

Prerequisites​

Interface Overview​

Rule Structure​

Creating a Rule via Web UI​

Step 1: Open the Rule Builder​

Step 2: Configure the Trigger​

Step 3: Configure the Condition​

Step 4: Configure Actions​

Step 5: Duration and Cooldown​

JSON Structure Reference​

Other Creation Methods​

CLI​

REST API​

AI Chat​

Import / Export​

Rule Validation​

Complete Examples​

1. Temperature & Humidity Combined Alert​

2. Scheduled Energy Report​

3. Sustained Anomaly Triggers Agent​

Execution History​

Integration with Other Modules​

Best Practices​