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remote_base RemoteReceiveData Views the Frame Through a Span

J. Nick Koston
J. Nick Koston
ESPHome Maintainer

RemoteReceiveData now views a received frame through a std::span, so a receiver can hand frames to listeners and dumpers straight from its own capture buffer. get_raw_data() returns that span instead of a reference to a vector. External components that read get_raw_data() as a vector need a small change.

This is a developer breaking change for external components in ESPHome 2026.12.0 and later.

Background

Section titled “Background”

PR #22269: Dispatch received frames from a span

Every receiver had to copy each frame into the base class temp_ vector before listeners and dumpers could see it. A receiver with its own capture buffer, such as the BK72xx timer-sampled receiver, then needed a second buffer the size of the largest frame just for that copy. With the frame viewed through a span, the receiver dispatches its own buffer directly.

What’s Changing

Section titled “What’s Changing”
  1. RemoteReceiveData::get_raw_data() returns remote_base::RawTimingsView (std::span<const int32_t>) instead of const remote_base::RawTimings &.
  2. RemoteReceiverBase gains call_listeners_dumpers_(RawTimingsView) for a receiver that dispatches its own buffer. The existing call_listeners_dumpers_() still dispatches temp_.

Who This Affects

Section titled “Who This Affects”

External components that:

  • bind the result of get_raw_data() to auto & or to a std::vector reference
  • pass it to a function taking const std::vector<int32_t> &
  • call vector-only members on it, such as at()

YAML configurations and on_raw lambdas are not affected: x in on_raw is still a std::vector<int32_t>.

Migration Guide

Section titled “Migration Guide”
// Before
const remote_base::RawTimings &timings = data.get_raw_data();
// After: view the frame
remote_base::RawTimingsView timings = data.get_raw_data();
// After: keep a copy
auto view = data.get_raw_data();
remote_base::RawTimings timings(view.begin(), view.end());

A helper that took const RawTimings & can take RawTimingsView instead; a vector still converts to it.

Supporting Multiple ESPHome Versions

Section titled “Supporting Multiple ESPHome Versions”

auto timings = data.get_raw_data(); compiles on both, as a copy of the vector before 2026.12.0 and a span from 2026.12.0. Indexing, size(), empty() and range-for work on both.

Timeline

Section titled “Timeline”
  • ESPHome 2026.12.0 (December 2026): get_raw_data() returns a span. No deprecation period: a return type cannot be overloaded.

Finding Code That Needs Updates

Section titled “Finding Code That Needs Updates”
Terminal window
grep -rn 'get_raw_data()' your_component/

Questions?

Section titled “Questions?”

If you have questions about migrating your external component, please ask in:

Section titled “Related Documentation”

Comments

Feel free to leave a comment here to discuss this post with 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.

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