Understanding the Home Assistant Interface
Understanding the Home Assistant Interface
When you first log into Home Assistant, the interface can feel overwhelming. This guide breaks down every section so you can navigate confidently and customize your dashboard exactly how you want it.
Main Navigation Sidebar
The left sidebar is your primary navigation tool. Here is what each section does:
Overview (Dashboard)
Your main dashboard showing all entities and controls. This is fully customizable with Lovelace cards.
- Click the three dots in the top right to Edit Dashboard
- Add new cards by clicking + Add Card
- Drag and drop cards to rearrange
- Create multiple dashboard tabs for different rooms
Energy
Tracks your home energy consumption, solar production, and cost estimates. Requires energy monitoring devices.
Map
Shows device tracker locations on a map. Great for tracking family members via the mobile app GPS.
Logbook
A chronological history of all state changes (lights turned on, sensors triggered, automations executed).
- Filter by entity or date range
- Essential for debugging automations
- Shows who made changes (user or automation)
History
Visual graphs showing entity state changes over time. Select specific entities to compare their behavior.
Developer Tools
The power user section with five tabs:
- States – View and manually change entity states
- Services – Call any Home Assistant service (like light.turn_on)
- Template – Test Jinja2 templates before using in automations
- Events – Listen to and fire system events
- Statistics – View and repair long-term statistics
Settings
Your configuration hub:
- Devices & Services – Add integrations and manage devices
- Automations & Scenes – Create and edit automations
- Dashboards – Manage multiple dashboard views
- People – Add household members for presence detection
- Zones – Define geographic zones (Home, Work, School)
- System – Restart, check logs, manage backups
Dashboard Cards Explained
Entity Card
The most common card. Shows a single entity with its current state and controls.
- Best for lights, switches, sensors
- Tap to toggle or open more info dialog
- Shows icon, name, and current state
Entities Card
A list of multiple entities in one compact card. Great for grouping related devices.
- Example: All bedroom lights in one card
- Shows toggle switches inline
- Supports headers and dividers
Button Card
A single large button to trigger an entity or action. Highly customizable with custom icons and colors.
Thermostat Card
Dedicated card for climate control with temperature adjustment and mode selection.
Media Control Card
Controls for music and video playback (Spotify, Chromecast, etc.). Shows album art, play/pause, and volume.
Weather Card
Shows current weather conditions and forecast. Requires a weather integration.
Markdown Card
Display custom text, images, or HTML. Great for notes, instructions, or embedded content.
History Graph Card
Displays entity state changes over time in a compact graph view.
Understanding Entities
What is an Entity?
An entity is anything in Home Assistant that has a state:
- light.bedroom (state: on or off, brightness 0-255)
- sensor.temperature (state: 72°F)
- binary_sensor.motion (state: on or off)
- switch.coffee_maker (state: on or off)
Entity Naming Convention
Entities follow this format: domain.entity_name
- Domain = Type of entity (light, sensor, switch, etc.)
- Entity Name = Unique identifier (usually lowercase with underscores)
Entity Attributes
Beyond their state, entities have attributes with additional data:
- Light: brightness, color_temp, rgb_color
- Sensor: unit_of_measurement, device_class
- Person: latitude, longitude, gps_accuracy
View attributes: Developer Tools → States → Select an entity
Customizing Your Dashboard
Edit Mode Basics
- Click the three dots (⋮) in the top right
- Select Edit Dashboard
- Click + Add Card to insert new cards
- Click on any card to edit its settings
- Drag cards to reorder them
- Click Done when finished
Creating Multiple Views (Tabs)
- Enter Edit Mode
- Click the + icon next to existing tabs
- Name your view (e.g., “Living Room”, “Bedroom”)
- Choose an icon from the Material Design Icons library
- Add cards specific to that room
Dashboard Themes
Change the look and feel:
- Your Profile (bottom left) → Theme
- Choose from built-in themes or install custom themes via HACS
- Popular themes: Mushroom, iOS Dark, Slate
Advanced Interface Features
Conditional Cards
Show cards only when certain conditions are met (e.g., show security camera card only when you are away).
Custom Button Cards (via HACS)
Install custom Lovelace cards from the community for advanced layouts:
- Mushroom Cards – Beautiful, modern card designs
- Mini Graph Card – Compact historical graphs
- Vertical Stack In Card – Advanced card grouping
Picture Elements Card
Create custom interactive floor plans by overlaying controls on an image of your home layout.
Mobile App Interface Differences
The mobile app has a few unique features:
- Swipe actions on entity cards (customize in app settings)
- Quick actions widget for iOS/Android home screen
- Notification actions with interactive buttons
- Shake to reload dashboard
Tips for an Efficient Dashboard
- Group related devices using Entities cards
- Use tabs for rooms rather than one giant dashboard
- Hide unused entities in Settings → Devices → Entity → Advanced Settings
- Enable Advanced Mode (your profile) to unlock more options
- Pin your most-used view as the default dashboard
- Use picture cards for visual appeal
- Add weather and time cards for at-a-glance info
Troubleshooting Interface Issues
Dashboard Not Updating
- Hard refresh your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R)
- Clear browser cache
- Check Settings → System → Logs for errors
Cards Not Appearing
- Ensure the integration is loaded (Settings → Devices & Services)
- Check that entities exist (Developer Tools → States)
- Verify entity IDs in card configuration
Slow Dashboard Loading
- Reduce number of cards per view
- Use entity pictures sparingly
- Disable unused integrations
- Upgrade to Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB+ RAM
Related Tutorials
- Complete Guide: Setting Up Your First Home Assistant Installation
- Motion-Activated Lighting Setup Guide
- Creating the Perfect Morning Routine
Conclusion
The Home Assistant interface is incredibly flexible. Start with the default dashboard, learn how each section works, then customize it to fit your workflow. Do not be afraid to experiment—you can always reset to defaults!
Check out our other tutorials for creating specific automations and integrations to populate your dashboard.