Configuring Home Assistant

The configuration for Home Assistant lives by default in the config folder. The file configuration.yaml is the main file that contains which components will be loaded and what their configuration is. An example configuration file is located at config/configuration.yaml.example.

When launched for the first time, Home Assistant will write a default configuration enabling the web interface and device discovery. It can take up to a minute for your devices to be discovered and show up in the interface.

You will have to restart Home Assistant for changes in configuration.yaml to take effect.

Setting up the basic info

By default Home Assistant will try to detect your location and will automatically select a temperature unit and time zone based on your location. You can overwrite this by adding the following information to your configuration.yaml:

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homeassistant:
  # Omitted values in this section will be auto detected using freegeoip.net

  # Location required to calculate the time the sun rises and sets
  latitude: 32.87336
  longitude: 117.22743

  # C for Celsius, F for Fahrenheit
  temperature_unit: C

  # Pick yours from here:
  # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
  time_zone: America/Los_Angeles

  # Name of the location where Home Assistant is running
  name: Home

Password protecting the web interface

The first thing you want to add is a password for the web interface. Use your favourite text editor to open the file /config/configuration.yaml and add the following to the bottom:

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http:
  api_password: YOUR_PASSWORD

Adding devices and services

Home Assistant will be able to automatically discover and configure any Google Chromecasts, Belkin WeMo switches and Philips Hue bridges in your network if you have the discovery component enabled (which is by default).

Not all devices can be discovered, so if you have any of the following devices or services, please see their respective pages for installation instructions:

• Device tracking
• ISY994 controller
• Nest thermostat
• Notifications
• SABnzbd
• TellStick
• Wink hub
• Add support for your own device or service

See the components overview page for a complete list of supported devices.

Customizing devices and services

By default, most of your devices will be visible on the Home Assistant States page and have a default icon determined by their domain. You may find it desireable to customize the look and feel of your front page by altering some of these parameters.

By adding the following parameters to the homeassistant section of your configuration.yaml file, you can customize the attributes of any state on your front page.

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homeassistant:

    # Add this to your existing configuration

    customize:
        SOME_ENTITY_ID:
            hidden: true
            entity_picture: http://URL.TO/PICTURE
            friendly_name: SOME CUSTOM NAME

Entity IDs can be retrieved from the web interface by using the Set State page in the Developer Tools.

Setting up Home Automation

When all your devices are set up it’s time to put the cherry on the pie: automation. There are many ways to automate your home with Home Assistant so we have divided it into a couple of topics:

• Automatic light control based on the sun and if people are home (built-in component)
• Intruder alerts (built-in component)
• Setup your own automation rules (using configuration file)
• Create your own automation component (writing Python code)

Setting up your phone or tablet

Home Assistant runs as a self hosted web application. Home Assistant contains support to be added to your homescreen. If you’re on Android you can follow the visual guide. For other devices, open Home Assistant on your mobile browser and click on the add to homescreen option.