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Event Entity Class: Memory Optimizations

ESPHome 2025.11.0 introduces memory optimizations to the Event entity class that reduce heap usage and store event type strings in flash. These changes affect external components implementing custom event devices.

Background

Motivation

Event components use a set of valid event type strings to validate triggers. Using std::set<std::string> for this small list (typically 1-5 event types) wastes significant memory:

  • std::set overhead: ~80 bytes of base red-black tree structure
  • Per-member overhead: Each string requires tree node allocation (~24+ bytes)
  • std::string overhead: Each string allocates on heap (~24 bytes overhead + string content)
  • Performance overhead: O(log n) tree traversal for lookups, even for tiny datasets

For typical event use cases with 1-5 event types, a simple vector with linear search is both faster and uses far less memory. Linear search on 1-5 items is faster than tree traversal due to better cache locality.

Additionally, storing event type strings as const char * pointers to string literals moves the data from heap to flash (ESP32) or rodata (ESP8266), further reducing memory pressure.

Changes

Event type storage has been optimized through two PRs to eliminate memory overhead and move strings to flash:

PR #11463: std::set<std::string> → FixedVector<std::string> - Eliminated ~80 bytes std::set base overhead - Eliminated per-member tree node overhead (~24+ bytes per event type) - Single allocation, no reallocation overhead

PR #11767: FixedVector<std::string> → FixedVector<const char *> - Eliminates std::string heap allocations (~24 bytes overhead + content per event type) - ESP32: Event type strings stored in flash (ROM), freeing heap - ESP8266: Event type strings in rodata section (still RAM, but eliminates std::string overhead) - Uses FixedVector<const char *> (same as Select entity pattern - returned by const reference, never by value)

Combined result: Event types changed from std::set<std::string> → FixedVector<const char *>

Performance: O(n) linear search with strcmp, faster than O(log n) tree traversal for typical 1-5 event types due to cache locality.

What's Changing

For ESPHome 2025.11.0 and Later

Event Type Storage Changes (Breaking - two PRs in same release):

// OLD (before 2025.11.0) - std::set<std::string> in heap
#include <set>
std::set<std::string> event_types = {"button_press", "button_release"};
event->set_event_types(event_types);
std::set<std::string> types = event->get_event_types();

// NEW (2025.11.0) - FixedVector<const char *> (initializer list still works!)
event->set_event_types({"button_press", "button_release"});
const FixedVector<const char *> &types = event->get_event_types();

Note: If your external component was already updated for the intermediate FixedVector<std::string> change, you'll need to update again for FixedVector<const char *>. Most components using initializer list syntax require minimal changes.

Who This Affects

Event Type Changes (PR #11767) - External components need updates:

  • Breaking change: set_event_types() now requires const char * strings (string literals)
  • Breaking change: get_event_types() now returns const FixedVector<const char *> & instead of std::set<std::string>
  • Breaking change: last_event_type is now private - use get_last_event_type() accessor instead
  • Most components already pass string literal initializer lists like {"button_press", "button_release"} which continue to work
  • Setter accepts initializer_list, FixedVector, or std::vector of const char * (same as Select options pattern)
  • Loop variables must change from const std::string & to const char *
  • Event type comparisons must use strcmp() instead of == operator
  • No core ESPHome components needed changes (all used initializer list syntax)

Standard YAML configurations work without code changes.

Migration Guide for External Components

1. Update Container Types (If Storing Event Types)

// OLD
#include <set>
std::set<std::string> event_types_;

// NEW - Use FixedVector (most common)
FixedVector<const char *> event_types_;

// OR - Use std::vector if you need copyability
#include <vector>
std::vector<const char *> event_types_;

2. Update Setter Calls

Most components already use string literals and won't need changes:

// STILL WORKS - string literal initializer list (most common, no changes needed)
event->set_event_types({"button_press", "button_release"});

// OLD - explicitly creating std::set<std::string> (will fail to compile)
std::set<std::string> types = {"button_press", "button_release"};
event->set_event_types(types);  // Deleted overload, no longer supported

Note: Accepts initializer list, FixedVector<const char *>, or std::vector<const char *>. Same pattern as Select options.

3. Update Getter Usage (Required If You Call get_event_types())

// OLD - returns std::set<std::string> by value
std::set<std::string> types = event->get_event_types();
for (const std::string &type : types) {
  ESP_LOGD("event", "Type: %s", type.c_str());
}

// NEW - returns const FixedVector<const char *> &
const FixedVector<const char *> &types = event->get_event_types();
for (const char *type : types) {
  ESP_LOGD("event", "Type: %s", type);
}

// Or use auto
const auto &types = event->get_event_types();
for (const char *type : types) {
  ESP_LOGD("event", "Type: %s", type);
}

4. Update last_event_type Access (If You Access This Field)

// OLD - direct field access
if (event->last_event_type != nullptr) {
  ESP_LOGD("event", "Last: %s", event->last_event_type);
}

// NEW - use getter
if (event->get_last_event_type() != nullptr) {
  ESP_LOGD("event", "Last: %s", event->get_last_event_type());
}

Why this change? Moving last_event_type to private with controlled access ensures pointer lifetime safety. The field is now guaranteed to always point to a string in types_ (or be nullptr), preventing dangling pointer bugs when event types are reconfigured.

5. Update Event Type Lookups (If You Check Valid Types Manually)

// OLD - std::set::find with std::string
auto types = event->get_event_types();
if (types.find("button_press") != types.end()) {
  // Type is valid
}

// NEW - linear search with strcmp
const auto &types = event->get_event_types();
bool found = false;
for (const char *type : types) {
  if (strcmp(type, "button_press") == 0) {
    found = true;
    break;
  }
}

// OR - use std::find_if with strcmp
#include <algorithm>
const auto &types = event->get_event_types();
auto it = std::find_if(types.begin(), types.end(),
  [](const char *t) { return strcmp(t, "button_press") == 0; });
if (it != types.end()) {
  // Type is valid
}

Note: For typical event use cases (1-5 event types), linear search with strcmp is faster than std::set due to better cache locality.

Complete Migration Example

Custom Event Component

Before: 

#include <set>

class MyEvent : public event::Event {
 public:
  void setup() override {
    std::set<std::string> types = {"motion_detected", "motion_cleared"};
    this->set_event_types(types);
  }

  void check_valid_type(const std::string &type) {
    auto types = this->get_event_types();
    if (types.find(type) != types.end()) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Valid type: %s", type.c_str());
    }
  }

  void iterate_types() {
    for (const std::string &type : this->get_event_types()) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Type: %s", type.c_str());
    }
  }

  void log_last_event() {
    if (this->last_event_type != nullptr) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Last event: %s", this->last_event_type);
    }
  }
};

After: 

#include <cstring>

class MyEvent : public event::Event {
 public:
  void setup() override {
    // String literals work directly (most common pattern)
    this->set_event_types({"motion_detected", "motion_cleared"});
  }

  void check_valid_type(const std::string &type) {
    const auto &types = this->get_event_types();
    bool found = false;
    for (const char *t : types) {
      if (strcmp(t, type.c_str()) == 0) {
        found = true;
        break;
      }
    }
    if (found) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Valid type: %s", type.c_str());
    }
  }

  void iterate_types() {
    // Loop variable changed to const char *
    for (const char *type : this->get_event_types()) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Type: %s", type);  // No .c_str() needed
    }
  }

  void log_last_event() {
    // Use getter instead of direct field access
    if (this->get_last_event_type() != nullptr) {
      ESP_LOGD("event", "Last event: %s", this->get_last_event_type());
    }
  }
};

FixedVector<const char *> Benefits

For typical event use cases (1-5 event types):

  • Memory: Eliminates ~80 bytes std::set overhead + per-node overhead + std::string overhead
  • Lookup speed: O(n) linear search with strcmp, faster than O(log n) tree traversal for small n due to cache locality
  • Flash storage: String literals stored in flash (ESP32) or rodata (ESP8266), not heap
  • Single allocation: FixedVector allocates once at runtime initialization, no reallocation overhead

Platform-Specific Benefits

ESP32 (IDF and Arduino): - Event type strings stored in flash memory (ROM) - Zero heap usage for event type strings - Maximum heap available for other operations

ESP8266: - Event type strings in rodata section (still occupies RAM) - Eliminates std::string heap overhead (~24 bytes per string + content) - Reduces heap fragmentation

Timeline

  • ESPHome 2025.11.0 (November 2025):
  • Both optimizations active in same release
  • PR #11463: std::set<std::string> → FixedVector<std::string>
  • PR #11767: FixedVector<std::string> → FixedVector<const char *>
  • External components only need to migrate once (from std::set<std::string> to FixedVector<const char *>)

Finding Code That Needs Updates

Search your external component code for these patterns:

# Find std::set usage for event types
grep -r 'std::set<.*string>.*event' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

# Find set_event_types calls
grep -r 'set_event_types' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

# Find get_event_types calls
grep -r 'get_event_types' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

# Find event type lookups with std::string
grep -r 'for.*std::string.*get_event_types' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

# Find std::string comparisons that might need strcmp
grep -r 'event_type.*==' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

# Find direct last_event_type field access
grep -r '->last_event_type\|\.last_event_type' --include='*.cpp' --include='*.h'

Questions?

If you have questions about these changes or need help migrating your external component, please ask in the ESPHome Discord or open a discussion on GitHub.

Comments

Feel free to leave a comment here to discuss this post wth others. You can ask questions, share your experience, or suggest improvements. If you have a question about a specific feature or issue, please consider using the ESPHome Discord. Stick to English and follow ESPHome's code of conduct. These comments exist on a discussion on GitHub, so you can also comment there directly if you prefer.