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It’s a great project overall, but I’ve been frustrated by how anti-engineer it has been trending.

• thfuran 2y ago
  How so?
  • snailmailman 2y ago
    Im a different user- but I can say I’ve been frustrated with their refusal to support OIDC/oauth/literally any standard login system. There is a very long thread on their forums documenting the many attempts for people to contribute this feature.[0] The devs simply shut it down every time, with little to no explanation. I run many self hosted applications on my local network. Homeassistant is the only one I’m running that has its own dedicated login. Everything else I’m using has OIDC support, or I can at least unobtrusively stick a reverse proxy in front to require OIDC login. [0] https://community.home-assistant.io/t/open-letter-for-improving-home-assistants-authentication-system-oidc-sso/494223 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/open-letter-for-improv... Edit: things like this [1] don’t help either. Where one of the HA devs threatens to relicense a dependency so that NixOS can’t use it, because… he doesn’t want them to? The license permits them to. Seemed very against the spirit of open source to me. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27505277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27505277
• sofixa 2y ago
  Do you mean the move away from YAML first configs? I was originally somewhat frustrated, but overall, it's much better (let's be honest, YAML sucks) and more user friendly (by that I mean having a form with pre-filled fields is easier than having to copy paste YAML).
  • philjohn 2y ago
    It's worse though when you need to add a ton of custom sensors at once, e.g., for properly automating a Solar PV + Battery solution.
    • ncallaway 2y ago
      But like, isn't YAML still available for configuring things? Have they gotten rid of any YAML configs, with things that are now UI only? My understanding was that they've just been building more UI for configuring things and so now default recommend people away from YAML (which seems like the right choice to me).
      • sofixa 2y ago
        > But like, isn't YAML still available for configuring things? For most, yes. But for some included integrations it's UI-only (all of those I've had to migrate, it's been a single click + comment out lines, and the config has been a breeze (stuff like just an api key/IP address + 1-2 optional params).
        • lolinder 2y ago
          Where and how are those configs stored? There has to be a backing representation somewhere, right?
          • sofixa 2y ago
            In the Home assistant database (which is SQLite IIRC).
            • iamjackg 2y ago
              UI-generated configs are not stored in the database, they end up in a collection of JSON files in a .storage directory inside your config directory.
            • lokar 2y ago
              And there is no real API for you to interact with it. I would build my own config system if I could, but they don’t seem interested.
              • 2y ago
  • lokar 2y ago
    Yes, config is a major part of it. But also a lack of good APIs, very poor dev documentation, not great logging. A general “take it or leave it” attitude, not interesting in enabling engineers to build.
    • thumbsup-_- 2y ago
      I don’t think that’s true. Their docs are great and the community is active and responsive in forums and github
  • cryptoegorophy 2y ago
    Oh thank got. Just started using HA few months ago and all these yaml is so confusing when I try to code it with ChatGPT , constant syntax or some other random errors.
    • jillyboel 2y ago
      > when I try to code it with ChatGPT so don't do that... just rtfm and it's easy
• gerdesj 2y ago
  Install the Node-RED add on. I use that to do the tricky stuff. Install the whole thing on top of stock Debian "supervised" then you get a full OS to use. You get a fully integrated MQTT broker with full provisioning - you don't need a webby API - you have an IoT one instead! This is a madly fast moving project with a lot of different audiences. You still have loads of choice all tied up in the web interface.
  • paradox460 2y ago
    Or the Digital alchemy addon. Let's you write your automations using typescript
    • gerdesj 2y ago
      I have four Home Assistants pinned in the browser on my laptop. I look after several more. Thanks for the heads up about Digital Alchemy, now I have to go and evaluate it 8) I already have upgrades to my 3D printer sat waiting, and a massive stack of software to go through for work and home. I've just finished replacing all the door handles in my home (long story) and the flush button on the down stair bog. It turns out that most of my home lighting has a spare conductor available or I can use a dimmer instead, so smart lighting is indicated at the switch. One lot done, more to do. All of my smart IoT stuff must be locally administrated and have a manual option if the network is unavailable, if possible and work as well as a non smart effort with regards power. So my doorbell is a Reolink job on the THINGS VLAN with no access to the internet. It is PoE powered and the switch is powered by a UPS. You get the idea. I run my home IoT smart stuff with the same rigor as I do at work. I'm an IT consultant these days but I did study Civ Eng at college. HA allows for plenty of solid engineering for engineers. You can do it all in the GUI with decent integrations as a "newbie" with confidence that you won't go too far wrong. You've also got a really solid Zwave stack aside a well integrated MQTT stack - how much more do you want? Theres also a Zigbee stack too, which is ideal for cheap stuff. My Lidl smart switches work really well at quite a long range. I could go on at length ... 8) How much more engineer do you need?
  • thumbsup-_- 2y ago
    +1 on installing supervised on stock debian. It feels like any other software and I still get to keep full control of my system. I’m currently running, HA, Frigate and pihole on same machine