I’m looking for some feedback on the advantages/disadvantages of using KWGT to parse JSON returned from an api vs using Tasker to retrieve the JSON and then pass it to KWGT. I am a long-time user of Tasker and very proficient at it, so I’ve created a Tasker task that:
At noon and midnight:
gets the current time in UTC
use some Tasker built-in functions to format the date and do a search and replace to prepare it for appending to the api call
Call the api, and return a single value (image.url) and place it in a variable
pass that variable to KWGT
This is very straightforward in Tasker. I’ve looked into uses KWGT only to do all this, but I’m a bit of a noob with the KWGT formulas, so it seems very convoluted to do these simple tasks in KWGT alone.
Ultimately, are there any real advantages to doing this solely in KWGT? i.e. less battery usage, etc..
If you’re already good with Tasker, just stick with it. There’s really no benefit in moving that logic into KWGT, especially if you’re using it for your personal setups. Here’s why:
Better fallback handling: Tasker lets you set a backup value if an API fails. In KWGT, a failed request often means an empty space or a broken formula.
Easier text/date processing: Search/replace or date manipulation is much more visual in Tasker. In KWGT you end up nesting multiple $tc() functions, which is far more error‑prone.
More reliable scheduling: Tasker’s time triggers (like noon/midnight) are consistent. KWGT updates can be delayed by battery optimization or screen state.
Battery impact is negligible: Running a Tasker task twice a day costs almost nothing. Moving it into KWGT won’t save any noticeable battery
So if Tasker already works for you keep using it. No reason to complicate things.