Save Attributes

Use this node to persist attribute data from a POST_ATTRIBUTES_REQUEST message into the ThingsBoard database. You control the attribute scope (client, shared, or server), when to skip duplicate writes with deduplication, and whether to notify connected devices and WebSocket subscribers on update.

Configuration

Processing strategies

The node supports four processing strategy modes, configured either via Basic or Advanced settings.

Basic settings apply the same strategy to all three internal actions (database write, WebSocket notification, and calculated fields notification):

Mode	Behavior
On every message	All three actions execute for every message.
Deduplicate	All three actions are deduplicated within the configured interval (1 s – 86400 s).
WebSockets only	Database write and calculated fields are skipped; WebSocket notifications fire on every message. Data is available in real-time only, not persisted.

Advanced settings let you configure each action independently:

Action	Available strategies
Attributes (database write)	`ON_EVERY_MESSAGE`, `DEDUPLICATE`, `SKIP`
WebSockets	`ON_EVERY_MESSAGE`, `DEDUPLICATE`, `SKIP`
Calculated fields	`ON_EVERY_MESSAGE`, `DEDUPLICATE`, `SKIP`

Scope

The attribute scope determines where attributes are stored. The node uses the following priority:

scope property in message metadata (if present and valid: CLIENT_SCOPE, SHARED_SCOPE, SERVER_SCOPE).
The node’s configured default scope.

If the metadata scope value is present but invalid (e.g., INVALID_SCOPE), processing fails.

Advanced settings

Save attributes only if the value changes — when enabled, the node fetches the current stored values and skips attributes whose value and type have not changed. Changed, new, or type-changed attributes are saved; unchanged ones are not. The attribute’s last-updated timestamp is not updated for skipped attributes.

Avoid concurrent writes of the same attribute key when this option is enabled — change detection is not transactional and may produce unexpected results.
Send attributes updated notification — when enabled, the node publishes an ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED lifecycle event to the originator’s root rule chain for SHARED_SCOPE and SERVER_SCOPE attributes.
Force notification to the device — when enabled, the node always sends attribute update notifications to devices with active subscriptions. When disabled, the notifyDevice metadata property controls this (defaults to true when absent).

Message processing algorithm

Verify the message type is POST_ATTRIBUTES_REQUEST. If not, route via Failure.
Parse the message data into attribute key–value pairs. If data is empty, route via Success (no-op).
Determine the attribute scope from metadata scope property or the configured default. Invalid scope value → Failure.
If Save only on change is enabled: fetch current stored values, filter to only new or changed attributes. If nothing changed, route via Success.
Determine device notification setting: Force notification config → always notify; otherwise use notifyDevice metadata property (default: notify).
Save attributes per the configured processing strategy.
If Send attributes updated notification is enabled and scope is SHARED_SCOPE or SERVER_SCOPE, publish an ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED event.
Route via Success on completion, or Failure on error.

Output connections

Connection	Condition
`Success`	Message was successfully processed (including no-ops like empty data or no changed attributes).
`Failure`	Message type is not `POST_ATTRIBUTES_REQUEST`, data cannot be parsed, metadata `scope` is invalid, or an unexpected error occurred.

Examples

Example 1 — On every message, server scope

Type: POST_ATTRIBUTES_REQUEST | Data: { "firmware_version": "1.0.1", "serial_number": "SN-001", "last_maintenance": "2025-01-15" }

{
  "scope": "SERVER_SCOPE",
  "notifyDevice": false,
  "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification": true,
  "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange": false,
  "processingSettings": { "type": "ON_EVERY_MESSAGE" }
}

Three server attributes are saved. An ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED event is sent to the originator’s rule chain. WebSocket subscriptions and calculated fields are notified.

Example 2 — Deduplicate (within interval)

Data: { "battery_level": 85, "signal_strength": -65, "location": "Building A" }

{
  "scope": "CLIENT_SCOPE",
  "notifyDevice": true,
  "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification": false,
  "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange": false,
  "processingSettings": { "type": "DEDUPLICATE", "deduplicationIntervalSecs": 120 }
}

State: this device’s message was already processed within the current 120-second interval.

Attributes are not saved. WebSocket and calculated fields notifications are also suppressed. Message routed via Success.

Example 3 — Advanced: DB deduplicates, WebSockets always, calculated fields skipped

{
  "scope": "SHARED_SCOPE",
  "notifyDevice": false,
  "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification": true,
  "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange": false,
  "processingSettings": {
    "type": "ADVANCED",
    "attributes": { "type": "DEDUPLICATE", "deduplicationIntervalSecs": 300 },
    "webSockets": { "type": "ON_EVERY_MESSAGE" },
    "calculatedFields": { "type": "SKIP" }
  }
}

Within a 300-second interval, attributes are NOT saved to the database. WebSocket subscriptions ARE notified. Calculated fields are NOT triggered. ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED is NOT sent since attributes weren’t saved.

Example 4 — Save only on value change

Current stored attributes: temperature_threshold: 25.0, humidity_threshold: 65.0.

Incoming data: { "temperature_threshold": 25.0, "humidity_threshold": 70.0, "maintenance_scheduled": true }

{
  "scope": "SERVER_SCOPE",
  "notifyDevice": false,
  "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification": true,
  "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange": true,
  "processingSettings": { "type": "ON_EVERY_MESSAGE" }
}

Only humidity_threshold (changed from 65.0 to 70.0) and maintenance_scheduled (new) are saved. temperature_threshold is skipped — value unchanged.

Example 5 — Scope override from metadata

Configured scope: SERVER_SCOPE. Metadata: { "scope": "CLIENT_SCOPE" }.

The metadata scope takes priority. Attributes are saved as CLIENT_SCOPE. No ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED event (client scope does not trigger this notification).

JSON schema

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "title": "TbMsgAttributesNodeConfiguration",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["scope", "notifyDevice", "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification", "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange", "processingSettings"],
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "properties": {
    "scope": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Default attribute scope: SERVER_SCOPE, CLIENT_SCOPE, or SHARED_SCOPE."
    },
    "notifyDevice": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Force attribute update notifications to connected devices."
    },
    "sendAttributesUpdatedNotification": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Send ATTRIBUTES_UPDATED event to the originator's root rule chain (SHARED_SCOPE and SERVER_SCOPE only)."
    },
    "updateAttributesOnlyOnValueChange": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Skip saving attributes whose value and type have not changed."
    },
    "processingSettings": {
      "description": "Processing strategy controlling when database writes, WebSocket notifications, and calculated fields are triggered.",
      "oneOf": [
        { "type": "object", "properties": { "type": { "const": "ON_EVERY_MESSAGE" } }, "required": ["type"], "additionalProperties": false },
        { "type": "object", "properties": { "type": { "const": "WEBSOCKETS_ONLY" } }, "required": ["type"], "additionalProperties": false },
        {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "type": { "const": "DEDUPLICATE" },
            "deduplicationIntervalSecs": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 86400 }
          },
          "required": ["type", "deduplicationIntervalSecs"],
          "additionalProperties": false
        },
        {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "type": { "const": "ADVANCED" },
            "attributes": { "$ref": "#/$defs/ProcessingStrategy" },
            "webSockets": { "$ref": "#/$defs/ProcessingStrategy" },
            "calculatedFields": { "$ref": "#/$defs/ProcessingStrategy" }
          },
          "required": ["type", "attributes", "webSockets", "calculatedFields"],
          "additionalProperties": false
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "$defs": {
    "ProcessingStrategy": {
      "oneOf": [
        { "type": "object", "properties": { "type": { "const": "ON_EVERY_MESSAGE" } }, "required": ["type"], "additionalProperties": false },
        {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "type": { "const": "DEDUPLICATE" },
            "deduplicationIntervalSecs": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 86400 }
          },
          "required": ["type", "deduplicationIntervalSecs"],
          "additionalProperties": false
        },
        { "type": "object", "properties": { "type": { "const": "SKIP" } }, "required": ["type"], "additionalProperties": false }
      ]
    }
  }
}

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