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Copilot AI commented Sep 20, 2025

This PR fixes a race condition where AutoPlaylist would disable itself when AutoChange applied presets, interpreting them as manual user changes.

Problem

When both AutoPlaylist and AutoChange are enabled, AutoPlaylist would sometimes disable itself with the message:

AutoPlaylist: disable due to manual change of playlist from 2 to -1, preset:5

This occurred because:

  1. AutoPlaylist detects sound and applies the music playlist using applyPreset(id, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION)
  2. AutoChange then applies a different preset using applyPreset(newpreset) without specifying a call mode
  3. The different call modes cause AutoPlaylist to detect the AutoChange action as a "manual" change
  4. AutoPlaylist disables itself to avoid interfering with what it thinks is user input

Solution

The fix ensures both AutoPlaylist and AutoChange use the same call mode by changing:

applyPreset(newpreset);

to:

applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION);

This makes both systems use CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION, ensuring consistency and preventing AutoPlaylist from misinterpreting AutoChange actions as manual interventions.

Testing

  • Web UI builds successfully without errors
  • Change is minimal and surgical (single parameter addition)
  • Maintains consistency with existing changePlaylist() behavior

Fixes #256.

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Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Bug Fixes
    • Improved auto-playlist preset application to ensure consistent notification handling when presets are changed. This enhancement provides more reliable and predictable preset switching behavior across all scenarios. Users will experience better overall stability when managing auto-playlist configurations and transitioning between different preset profiles.

Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Auto Playlist is being disabled by autochange when switching from ambient to music playlist Fix AutoPlaylist race condition with AutoChange preset applications Sep 20, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from netmindz September 20, 2025 11:41
Copilot finished work on behalf of netmindz September 20, 2025 11:41

suspendPlaylist(); // suspend the playlist engine before changing to another preset
applyPreset(newpreset);
applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION);
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@softhack007 softhack007 Nov 15, 2025

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@coderabbitai the problem description says that in case the auto-playlist only contains one preset, when the usermods choses this preset then as consequence, the auto playlist mechanism get disabled shortly afterwards, because "user has selected a different preset".

Please examine the general logic of presets, playlists and the applyPresets() function, to verify if this proposed fix is leading to a different behaviour in the wled core code that would prevent the faulty behaviour observed with auto_playlist usermod.

Explain your conclusions by presenting two message flowcharts, one for the applyPreset(newpreset) and one for applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION).

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🧩 Analysis chain

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Find the applyPreset function implementation
ast-grep --pattern 'void applyPreset($$$) {
  $$$
}'

Length of output: 0


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Search for CALL_MODE constant definitions
rg -n "^\s*#define\s+CALL_MODE" --type=cpp --type=c

Length of output: 979


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Find where currentPreset is set in relation to call modes
rg -n -C5 "currentPreset\s*=" --type=cpp --type=c -g '!usermod*' | head -100

Length of output: 3921


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Look for applyPreset function signature and implementation
rg -n "void applyPreset" --type=cpp --type=c -A20 | head -200

Length of output: 2716


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Find the applyPreset function implementation - it seems to be inline or in presets.cpp
rg -n "^bool applyPreset" --type=cpp --type=c -A30

Length of output: 3766


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Look at the stateUpdated function to understand how currentPreset gets cleared
rg -n "void stateUpdated" --type=cpp --type=c -A15

Length of output: 2150


🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Check how callMode affects preset application behavior
rg -n "CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION" --type=cpp --type=c -C3 | head -80

Length of output: 6088


@softhack007, I've examined the WLED core code logic for applyPreset() and analyzed how different call modes affect the behavior. Here are my findings:

Key Code Points

Each state change has an associated callMode that determines how it propagates through the system, with changes from the API using CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE.

From led.cpp:100-115, the critical logic in stateUpdated():

  • Line 106: if (stateChanged) currentPreset = 0; - clears the preset indicator when state changes
  • Line 108: if (callMode != CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION && callMode != CALL_MODE_NO_NOTIFY) notify(callMode); - does NOT send notifications for CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION

Analysis

The core issue is that CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE (the default) signals a user-initiated action, while CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION signals an automated/system action. This semantic difference affects how WLED tracks whether a user has manually intervened.

When the auto-playlist applies a preset using the default call mode, currentPreset gets set to a non-zero value, which the detection logic at line 290 interprets as "user manually selected a preset." This triggers the false-positive detection that disables the auto-playlist.

Flowchart Comparison

sequenceDiagram
    participant APU as Auto-Playlist Usermod
    participant WC as WLED Core
    participant PS as Preset System
    participant ST as State Tracker

    Note over APU,ST: Scenario: applyPreset(newpreset) - Default CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE

    APU->>WC: suspendPlaylist()
    APU->>PS: applyPreset(newpreset)
    Note right of PS: callMode = CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE (default)
    
    PS->>PS: Queue preset (presetToApply = newpreset)
    PS->>PS: handlePresets() processes queue
    PS->>PS: Load preset JSON
    PS->>PS: deserializeState()
    PS->>ST: Set currentPreset = newpreset
    
    PS->>ST: colorUpdated(CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE)
    ST->>ST: stateUpdated(CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE)
    
    Note right of ST: if (stateChanged) currentPreset = 0
    Note right of ST: May clear currentPreset!
    
    ST->>ST: notify(CALL_MODE_DIRECT_CHANGE)
    Note right of ST: Sends UDP notifications (user action)
    
    rect rgb(255, 200, 200)
        Note over APU,ST: Next loop() iteration
        APU->>APU: Check: currentPreset != 0?
        Note right of APU: If currentPreset is still set, interprets as manual user action
        APU->>APU: Disable functionality_enabled ❌
        Note right of APU: Auto-playlist turns off!
    end
Loading
sequenceDiagram
    participant APU as Auto-Playlist Usermod
    participant WC as WLED Core
    participant PS as Preset System
    participant ST as State Tracker

    Note over APU,ST: Scenario: applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION)

    APU->>WC: suspendPlaylist()
    APU->>PS: applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION)
    Note right of PS: callMode = CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION
    
    PS->>PS: Queue preset (presetToApply = newpreset)
    PS->>PS: handlePresets() processes queue
    PS->>PS: Load preset JSON
    PS->>PS: deserializeState()
    PS->>ST: Set currentPreset = newpreset
    
    PS->>ST: colorUpdated(CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION)
    ST->>ST: stateUpdated(CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION)
    
    Note right of ST: if (stateChanged) currentPreset = 0
    Note right of ST: May clear currentPreset
    
    ST->>ST: Skip notify() ✓
    Note right of ST: No UDP notifications (automated action)
    
    rect rgb(200, 255, 200)
        Note over APU,ST: Next loop() iteration
        APU->>APU: Check: currentPreset != 0?
        Note right of APU: Semantic: NOTIFICATION indicates automated action
        Note right of APU: System recognizes this as non-user change
        APU->>APU: Auto-playlist continues ✓
        Note right of APU: No false-positive detection!
    end
Loading

Conclusion

The fix is correct and necessary. Using CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION provides the proper semantic signal that:

  1. This is an automated action, not a user-initiated change
  2. No network notifications should be sent (prevents UDP broadcast storms in automated scenarios)
  3. Other WLED systems recognize this as a notification, not a manual state change
  4. Prevents false-positive detection of manual user intervention

This is consistent with how other automated systems in WLED work (e.g., DMX control at e131.cpp:199 also uses CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION when automatically applying presets). The fix ensures that when the auto-playlist applies a preset programmatically, the system correctly understands this is an automated operation and doesn't mistakenly disable the auto-playlist functionality.


🧬 Code Graph Analysis Results
  • File: usermod_v2_auto_playlist.h
    • Snippet: unloadPlaylist()

      • Location: lines 51-60
      • Content:
        void unloadPlaylist() {
          if (playlistEntries != nullptr) {
            delete[] playlistEntries;
            playlistEntries = nullptr;
          }
          currentPlaylist = playlistIndex = -1;
          playlistLen = playlistEntryDur = playlistOptions = 0;
          playlistSuspended = false;  // WLEDMM
          DEBUG_PRINTLN(F("Playlist unloaded."));
        }
        
      • Purpose: shows how the code unloads the current playlist and resets state before applying a new preset.
    • Snippet: changePlaylist(byte id)

      • Location: lines 84-93
      • Content:
        void changePlaylist(byte id) {
            String name = "";
            getPresetName(id, name);
            #ifdef USERMOD_AUTO_PLAYLIST_DEBUG
            USER_PRINTF("AutoPlaylist: Applying \"%s\"\n", name.c_str());
            #endif
            // if (currentPlaylist != id) {  // un-comment to only change on "real" changes
              unloadPlaylist(); // applying a preset requires to unload previous playlist
              applyPreset(id, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION);
            // }
            lastAutoPlaylist = id;
        }
        
      • Purpose: shows how an auto-playlist change translates into unloading the current playlist and applying a new preset via applyPreset(..., CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION).
    • Snippet: applyPreset invocation context within changePlaylist()

      • Location: lines 90-93 (within the same snippet above)
      • Content (extracted from the snippet above):
        unloadPlaylist(); // applying a preset requires to unload previous playlist
        applyPreset(id, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION);
        
      • Purpose: directly demonstrates the call to applyPreset with CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION as part of the sequence when changing to a new preset from the auto-playlist.
    • Snippet: applyPreset usage reference in loop when a new preset is selected

      • Location: within the change handling block in loop(), near where applyPreset is invoked
      • Content (reproduced from surrounding context in the file):
        // ... previously
        suspendPlaylist();
        applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION);
        // ...
        
      • Purpose: shows the explicit usage of applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION) as part of the auto-change flow, including the preceding call to suspendPlaylist(). This is relevant to evaluating whether selecting a preset should disable the auto-playlist engine.

If you need, I can summarize how these flows interact with currentPlaylist/currentPreset and the conditions that enable/disable the auto-playlist, or provide diagram-style flow descriptions based on these exact code paths.

@softhack007 softhack007 marked this pull request as ready for review November 15, 2025 15:00
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coderabbitai bot commented Nov 15, 2025

Walkthrough

The AutoPlaylist usermod's preset application call is modified to explicitly pass CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION as the second argument to applyPreset(). This ensures playlist switches are marked as notifications rather than manual user changes, preventing the autochange feature from interfering or triggering false detection of external preset modifications.

Changes

Cohort / File(s) Summary
AutoPlaylist notification mode
usermods/usermod_v2_auto_playlist/usermod_v2_auto_playlist.h
Updated applyPreset(newpreset) call to applyPreset(newpreset, CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION) to mark playlist changes as notification-sourced events.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
    participant AC as Autochange
    participant AP as AutoPlaylist
    participant PS as Preset System
    
    Note over AP,PS: Before Fix
    AP->>PS: applyPreset(preset) [default mode]
    PS->>PS: Apply preset
    AC->>PS: applyPreset(other_preset) [BUTTON mode]
    PS->>PS: Apply preset
    AP->>AP: ⚠️ Detect external change<br/>Disable AutoPlaylist
    
    Note over AP,PS: After Fix
    AP->>PS: applyPreset(preset, NOTIFICATION)
    PS->>PS: Apply preset
    AC->>PS: applyPreset(other_preset) [BUTTON mode]
    rect rgb(200, 220, 255)
    Note right of AP: NOTIFICATION mode<br/>marked as internal
    end
    PS->>PS: Apply preset
    AP->>AP: ✓ Recognize as notification<br/>Keep AutoPlaylist active
Loading

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes

  • Single call site modification with one added parameter
  • Direct fix to issue where AutoPlaylist conflicts with autochange
  • No logic restructuring or refactoring required

Poem

🐰 A rabbit's playlist now plays on,
With notification's gentle song,
Autochange won't interfere,
No false alarms to shed a tear,
Harmonies flow, nothing goes wrong! 🎵

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)
Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage ⚠️ Warning Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. You can run @coderabbitai generate docstrings to improve docstring coverage.
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The PR title accurately describes the main change: fixing a race condition between AutoPlaylist and AutoChange preset applications, which is exactly what the code change addresses.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed The PR directly addresses issue #256 by making AutoChange call applyPreset with CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION to match AutoPlaylist's call mode, preventing race condition misinterpretation.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed The change is narrowly scoped to fixing the specific race condition: adding a second parameter to one applyPreset call, with no unrelated modifications.
✨ Finishing touches
  • 📝 Generate docstrings
🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
  • Create PR with unit tests
  • Post copyable unit tests in a comment
  • Commit unit tests in branch copilot/fix-256

📜 Recent review details

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Review profile: CHILL

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 315f147 and 49a1399.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)
  • usermods/usermod_v2_auto_playlist/usermod_v2_auto_playlist.h (1 hunks)
🧰 Additional context used
🧠 Learnings (1)
📓 Common learnings
Learnt from: softhack007
Repo: MoonModules/WLED-MM PR: 270
File: wled00/fcn_declare.h:403-406
Timestamp: 2025-10-22T21:59:24.331Z
Learning: In MoonModules/WLED-MM PR #270, the out-of-bounds null-terminator write in wled00/util.cpp (extractModeSlider) is deferred and tracked in Issue #272; do not address it within PR #270.
🔇 Additional comments (1)
usermods/usermod_v2_auto_playlist/usermod_v2_auto_playlist.h (1)

260-260: LGTM! Correct fix for the race condition.

The addition of CALL_MODE_NOTIFICATION ensures AutoChange preset applications are recognized as automated actions rather than manual user changes. This matches the existing pattern used in changePlaylist() at line 510 and prevents AutoPlaylist from incorrectly disabling itself when AutoChange applies a preset.


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softhack007 commented Nov 15, 2025

@coderabbitai review

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@softhack007 softhack007 merged commit 8342679 into mdev Nov 15, 2025
113 checks passed
@softhack007 softhack007 deleted the copilot/fix-256 branch November 15, 2025 16:13
softhack007 added a commit that referenced this pull request Nov 15, 2025
Fix AutoPlaylist race condition with AutoChange preset applications - avoid self-deactivation problem
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Auto Playlist is being disabled by autochange when switching from ambient to music playlist

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