User FAQ

Nothing is working! None of my profiles are activating. I can still run tasks with the play button though.

Make sure Tasker isn't disabled (long-press the icon in the upper left corner to toggle color/gray, watch for a toast).

My profile/task isn't working right! How can I fix it?

Typical debugging steps:

  1. Enable and check the run log (menu > More > Run Log).
  2. For a Task, try playing it in the Edit screen.
  3. If you have Tasker 4.6 (or later), some additional Task debugging features are available.
        • Actions will have an icon on the left: play triangle for next/executing, green disc for succeed, red disc for fail.
        • You can single-step a task:
              • Long press on an action and optionally select more actions to step through it/them.
              • Without any actions selected, tapping single-step will start at the first action.
  4. You can add actions like Flash and Popup from the Alert actions group. You can enable them just for testing using If [ %caller1 ~ ui ].
  5. You can disable any of a task's actions by long pressing one, optionally selecting more, and tapping disable (looks like a power symbol, in the action bar). Disabled actions will be colored differently.
  6. A Profile will turn green when it's active. You can also check the %PACTIVE variable if your profile is named. Profiles have several properties; long press on a profile to edit them.
  7. Each Task and Profile has Properties that can change its behavior. Also, Tasker has Preferences that can alter its behavior.
    • Task Properties: Edit a task, look for the properties icon in the lower right corner, next to the task's icon: Collision Handling, Keep Device Awake.
    • Profile Properties: Long press the profile, look for the properties in the action bar: Launched Task Priority, Cooldown Time, Repeats settings, Restore Settings, Enforce Task Order, Show in Notification Pulldown.
    • Tasker Preferences: At the main screen, tap the overflow menu, tap Preferences. Some of the preferences are: Display On Monitoring, Display Off Monitoring, General Monitoring, Accelerometer settings, Widget / Shortcut Task Priority, Flash Problems, Maximum Tasks Queued, Debugging. (Debug To SD Card and Popup Errors/Warnings can be especially helpful if you're coding Java.)
  8. There's a lot of online help in Tasker; if a particular context in a profile or a particular action in a task isn't working as expected, tap Help in the action bar for another look. The Userguide explains a lot of Tasker's behavior.
  9. Post to the support forum.
    • Of course include the exported profile/task description (from clipboard or email; Pushbullet or similar might help if you'd prefer to compose on another device).
    • Early in the posting, mention your device's model and OS (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S6, stock Lollipop 5.0.3, not rooted or Motorola Moto X, CM-11.0, Xposed). Some contexts and actions work differently on different devices/ROMs, due to bugs or security differences or enhancements.
    • Optionally, in the subject (or early in the posting), mention any plugins used (unless they're implied, e.g. for a Hue light or an app that includes plugin support). This will:
      • Attract those that have those plugins (or intend to have them).
      • Avoid wasting the time of those that don't.
    • Review your posting. If you're posting a profile with a linked task, no need to post the task again (redundantly) a second time.

How can I show my profile/task to others so I can get help?

How can I post an "exported profile/task description"?

  1. Long press the profile/task.
  2. From the overflow menu, choose Export.
  3. From the resulting menu, choose one.
  • For posting on a forum and/or casual analysis, Description is best.
  • For distribution as a standalone file for importing by others, an XML file is best. But take note:
    • In general, few people would be inclined to arbitrarily import buggy code.
    • Few people can easily understand the resulting XML. (See for yourself!)
    • XML tends to be overkill for simple profiles/tasks (e.g. 5 actions or fewer); it can be cumbersome to:
      1. Download the file
      2. Copy the file onto the device at a known location (and rename if needed)
      3. Go through the import procedure (and resolve any name collisions with existing profiles/tasks)
      4. Figure out what was imported
      5. Examine what was imported
      6. Alter what was imported to match your device's needs.
    • A description instead of XML for a simple task or profile only requires a few taps and thus may be easier/quicker than the above, and also encourages learning.
    • If you feel the need to provide the XML, attach it or link to a copy rather than pasting it into your message's body. Save people (especially mobile users) from having to skip past it.
  • If you're new to Tasker, you might be tempted to post a screenshot. Alas, screenshots frequently leave out crucial information, and thus may be counterproductive. For example, the "Variable Search Replace" action's list item only shows the first two values, not the checkboxes or other values, even in landscape mode on a tablet with Param Names and Icons turned off.

How can I have more contexts in a profile?

Long press on a context, tap Add. If you need more than 4 contexts:

  • Some states/events are available via dynamic and monitored variables; you might be able to combine two contexts into a variable check.
  • Consider having one profile (ideally with the least power usage) do Profile Status actions on another profile (the more power hungry profile) in its Enter and Exit tasks. Example: Display State Off and Headset Plugged No Mic and Application turns on/off a profile of Proximity Sensor and Orientation Face Up to "wave activate" the display.

How can I combine contexts with "OR" logic instead of "AND" logic (e.g. if WiFi Connected OR Cell Near OR …)?

  • Note that the "WiFi Connected" context accepts the standard pattern match (e.g. home/work*).
  • Note that the "Cell Near" context allows multiple towers. (Try a scan in an urban area.)
  • For OR'ing these, one can invert each and use the Exit task instead of the Enter task. Example: Not Wifi Connected AND Not Cell Near is the opposite of Wifi Connected OR Cell Near.
  • If this is insufficient, name the task(s) and have more than one profile (each side of the "OR") call it. Be sure to choose wisely for each task's Collision Handling property.
  • Note that, if "OR" was implemented, the most power-hungry context would always be checked rather than only the least power-hungry.

How can I ignore short profile activations/deactivations (debounce)?

How can I delay running a task until a profile has been active/inactive for a given length of time?

If you have named the profile, your task can start with a short wait then check the %PACTIVE variable. For example, the Extended Variables & States project's "myTRUSTEDWIFI" profile has:

  • a context of Wifi Connected (that you would customize for your own SSIDs/MACs)
  • an Enter task that sets %myTRUSTEDWIFI to true
  • an Exit task that does a 1 minute wait, then sets %myTRUSTEDWIFI to false only if %PACTIVE !~R ,myTRUSTEDWIFI, (Doesn't Match Regex).

In other words, if the profile has become active again, the variable set to false won't occur.

If you intend to automate rebooting your device (after reading the warnings), in addition to a wait, add a %UPS value check so your device won't get stuck in a boot loop.

Why can't I import an XML file from here (or elsewhere)?

  • The XML file must have a specific suffix to be recognized.
    • .prj.xml = Project
    • .prf.xml = Profile
    • .tsk.xml = Task
    • .scn.xml = Scene
  • The XML file might not be correctly named or described. Examine the lines after the <TaskerData line (and a possible <dmetric> display metric line).
    • If the next line starts with <Task then it's a Task file.
    • If the next line starts with <Scene then it's a Scene file.
    • If the next line starts with <Project then it's a Project file.
    • The next line starts with <Profile. If, somewhere following that, there's a <Project line or another <Profile line then it's a Project file. If not then it's a Profile file.

(Note: If the <Project line has a sr value of proj0 then it's a full backup. The initial project's name is "Base".)
(Note: Older XML files have similar lines starting with <class cl="TaskerData" and <class cl="Task" and <class cl="Scene" and <class cl="Project" and <class cl="Profile", just substitute for the above.)

  • The XML file must be imported as the correct type.
    • Long press or twice tap the heading (or, for a project, any project) to trigger the Import option.
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