milo
January 11, 2026, 7:47am
1
Here’s another extreme / confusing case I’m currently seeing, which might be related to item registry / UI timing issues.
GitHub issue:
opened 08:47AM - 31 Dec 24 UTC
bug
### Problem:
In openHAB 4.3.1, the reload of rules files does not function as ex… pected. After making changes to the rules file, the system does not seem to reload the file correctly. The behavior can be observed when updating rule logic, such as changing item states or triggering certain conditions. The expected rule behavior does not occur unless the system is manually restarted or the rule files are reloaded multiple times.
### Steps to reproduce:
Update or modify the rule file (e.g., changing triggers or actions).
Reload the rule file via the openHAB UI or CLI.
Observe that the rule file does not reload properly or the rule does not trigger as expected when conditions are met.
### Expected behavior:
The rule file should reload successfully and execute the logic whenever the specified triggers or conditions are met, without requiring manual intervention like restarting the system.
### Actual behavior:
The rule file does not reload automatically, and the modified rules do not seem to take effect until after a manual restart.
openHAB version:
4.3.1
Rule and Item Example:
seeing in the main.gui
```
// Triggers:
// - When item switch_LG_TV_Power changed
// - When item switch_systeminit changed from OFF to ON
// context: network-5
try {
if (swith_LG_TV_Power == NULL && swith_LG_TV_Power == UNDEF) {
logError("set switch_tvlivingroom_presence", "swith_LG_TV_Power NULL/UNDEF")
} else {
switch_tvlivingroom_presence.sendCommand(swith_LG_TV_Power.state.toString)
logInfo("set switch_tvlivingroom_presence", switch_tvlivingroom_presence.state.toString())
}
} catch (Throwable T) {
logError("Error", "Some bad stuff happened in \"set switch_tvlivingroom_presence\": " + T.toString)
if (switch_tvlivingroom_presence != NULL && switch_tvlivingroom_presence != UNDEF) {
switch_tvlivingroom_presence.sendCommand(OFF)
}
} finally {
// No operation
}
```
in the file:
```rule "set switch_tvlivingroom_presence" when
Item Switch_GF_Livingroom_TVPower changed or Item switch_systeminit changed from OFF to ON
then
try {
if (Switch_GF_Livingroom_TVPower == NULL && Switch_GF_Livingroom_TVPower == UNDEF) {
logError("set switch_tvlivingroom_presence", "Switch_GF_Livingroom_TVPower NULL/UNDEF")
} else {
switch_tvlivingroom_presence.sendCommand(Switch_GF_Livingroom_TVPower.state.toString)
logInfo("set switch_tvlivingroom_presence", switch_tvlivingroom_presence.state.toString())
}
} catch (Throwable T) {
logError("Error", "Some bad stuff happened in \"set switch_tvlivingroom_presence\": " + T.toString)
if (switch_tvlivingroom_presence != NULL && switch_tvlivingroom_presence != UNDEF) {
switch_tvlivingroom_presence.sendCommand(OFF)
}
}
finally {
// No operation
}
end```
What happens
2026-01-10 23:45:45.214 [INFO ] [el.core.internal.ModelRepositoryImpl]
- Loading DSL model ‘zigbee.items’
Item definition (zigbee.items)
// Bedroom Lights
Switch Light_GF_Bedroom_OnOffLight1 "Light_GF_Bedroom_OnOffLight1"
(Group_GF_Bedroom_CeilingLampBulbOne,
Group_GF_Bedroom_SwitchLight,
Group_House_PersistedEveryChange,
Group_House_PersistedEveryDay)
["Switch","Power"] {
channel="mqtt:topic:zigbee:switchBulb5AD92A"
}
The item appears not correctly on the Things page
The UI doesn’t shows it as expected (see screenshot) when clicking the itemLight_GF_Bedroom_OnOffLight1, the log shows:
2026-01-10 23:46:28.308 [WARN ] [ui.internal.items.ItemUIRegistryImpl]
- Failed to retrieve item during widget rendering,
item does not exist:
Item ‘Light_GF_Bedroom_OnOffLight1’ could not be found in the item registry
So at this moment:
After rebooting openHAB and clearing the cache, everything works normally:
mstormi
January 11, 2026, 11:06am
2
That was more than a year ago.
And are you aware that 4.3.1 is even no longer supported?
Please upgrade to 5.1 and reproduce the issue there, then if necessary open a fresh issue incl. instructions how to reproduce it.
milo
January 11, 2026, 11:27am
3
As you can see in the log it’s happening still with openhab 5.2 snapshot build
I produced a lot of logs …as you can see and I hope that oh 5.1 is still supported
Do I need to rename the GitHub issue? @mstormi
Nadahar
January 11, 2026, 3:44pm
4
I see no need for an issue to be renamed for a long-standing bug as the versions go by, and the bug remains. Issues should be handled, not assumed to be magically fixed because they are old. In some cases they might actually have been fixed in the meanwhile, but that should then be verified before closing them, not just assumed.
mstormi
January 11, 2026, 4:24pm
5
Yes please, at least remove the version number else it’s pretty misleading.
