Home Assistant Configuration Skill

Create and manage Home Assistant YAML configuration files including automations, scripts, templates, blueprints, and file organization.

Slash Commands

/ha-find-duplicates

Scans Home Assistant configuration files to find:

• Exact duplicates: Automations/scripts with identical triggers and actions
• Similar items: Items with 80%+ similarity (name, entities, structure)
• Trigger conflicts: Multiple automations responding to the same trigger

Usage: /ha-find-duplicates /path/to/config or /ha-find-duplicates for current directory.

Subagents

ha-suggestions

A proactive smart home consultant that analyzes your Home Assistant configuration and provides personalized suggestions for:

• New Automations: Motion lighting, presence detection, time-based routines, energy saving
• New Scenes: Movie night, morning energy, dinner time, work from home, party mode
• Script Improvements: Reusable sequences and parameterized routines
• Device Recommendations: Sensors, switches, and integrations to enhance your setup
• Optimization: Consolidation, trigger efficiency, mode usage, blueprint conversion

The agent automatically discovers your configuration files, inventories entities by domain (lights, sensors, climate, etc.), and generates prioritized suggestions with complete, ready-to-use YAML code.

Validation Scripts

This skill includes scripts to validate and analyze Home Assistant configurations.

YAML Validator

Validates YAML syntax and checks for common HA issues (tabs, unquoted booleans, deprecated syntax):

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/validate_yaml.py /path/to/config.yaml
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/validate_yaml.py /path/to/config.yaml --strict

Configuration Checker

Analyzes HA configuration structure, finds entities, tracks includes and secrets:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/check_config.py /path/to/config/directory
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/check_config.py /path/to/config.yaml --verbose

Lovelace Validator

Validates Lovelace dashboard configurations (YAML and JSON .storage format):

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/lovelace_validator.py /path/to/ui-lovelace.yaml
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/lovelace_validator.py /path/to/.storage/lovelace --strict

Features:

• Validates card types (built-in and custom)
• Checks entity ID formats
• Validates actions (tap_action, hold_action)
• Detects custom cards (HACS)
• Supports both YAML and JSON storage formats

Duplicate Finder

Finds duplicate and similar automations/scripts across configuration files:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/find_duplicates.py /path/to/config/directory
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/find_duplicates.py /path/to/automations.yaml --verbose

Features:

• Exact duplicate detection (identical triggers + actions)
• Similar item detection (80% threshold for names, entities, structure)
• Trigger conflict detection (multiple automations on same trigger)
• Entity overlap analysis between automations
• JSON output with detailed findings

Pre-Save Validation Hook

This plugin includes a pre-save hook that automatically validates YAML files before saving. It checks for:

• Tab characters (HA requires spaces)
• Basic YAML syntax errors

The hook runs automatically on Write/Edit operations for .yaml and .yml files.

YAML Requirements

• Indentation: 2 spaces per level (never tabs)
• Strings: Quote boolean-like values ("on", "off", "yes", "no")
• Lists: Use - prefix with proper indentation
• Comments: Use # for inline documentation
• Key Terms: Use action: (not service:), triggers: (not trigger:), actions: (not action: for sequences)

File Organization

Basic Includes

# configuration.yaml
automation: !include automations.yaml
script: !include scripts.yaml
sensor: !include sensors.yaml

Directory Includes

# Merge all files in directory
automation: !include_dir_merge_list automations/
sensor: !include_dir_merge_list sensors/

Secrets Management

# secrets.yaml
mqtt_password: "super_secret_password"
api_key: "your-api-key-here"

# configuration.yaml
mqtt:
  password: !secret mqtt_password

Automations (2024+ Syntax)

Basic Structure

automation:
  - alias: "Descriptive Name"
    id: unique_automation_id
    description: "What this automation does"
    mode: single  # single, restart, queued, parallel
    triggers:
      - trigger: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.motion
        to: "on"
    conditions:
      - condition: time
        after: "sunset"
    actions:
      - action: light.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: light.living_room

Common Triggers

State Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: sensor.temperature
    from: "off"
    to: "on"
    for:
      minutes: 5

Time Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "07:00:00"

Numeric State Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.temperature
    above: 25
    below: 30

Sun Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: sun
    event: sunset
    offset: "-00:30:00"

Template Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: template
    value_template: "{{ states('sensor.power') | float > 1000 }}"

Calendar Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: calendar
    entity_id: calendar.work
    event: start
    offset: "-00:15:00"  # 15 min before event

Device Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: device
    device_id: abc123
    domain: zwave_js
    type: event.value_notification.entry_control

Event Trigger

triggers:
  - trigger: event
    event_type: mobile_app_notification_action
    event_data:
      action: "CONFIRM_ACTION"

Trigger IDs (for multi-trigger automations)

triggers:
  - trigger: state
    id: "motion_detected"
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion
    to: "on"
  - trigger: state
    id: "door_opened"
    entity_id: binary_sensor.door
    to: "on"
actions:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: "motion_detected"
        sequence:
          - action: light.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: light.hallway

Common Actions

Service Call

actions:
  - action: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: light.bedroom
    data:
      brightness_pct: 50
      color_temp: 350

Delay

actions:
  - delay:
      seconds: 30

Conditional (Choose)

actions:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: state
            entity_id: sun.sun
            state: "below_horizon"
        sequence:
          - action: light.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: light.porch
    default:
      - action: light.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: light.porch

Repeat

actions:
  - repeat:
      count: 3
      sequence:
        - action: notify.mobile_app
          data:
            message: "Alert!"
        - delay:
            minutes: 1

If-Then-Else

actions:
  - if:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: sun.sun
        state: "below_horizon"
    then:
      - action: light.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: light.porch
    else:
      - action: light.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: light.porch

Parallel Actions

actions:
  - parallel:
      - action: notify.person1
        data:
          message: "Alert sent simultaneously!"
      - action: notify.person2
        data:
          message: "Alert sent simultaneously!"
      - sequence:
          - action: light.turn_on
            target: