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These are the Home Assistant configuration files used in my Home Assistant (HA) setup. I relied on repositories of other HA users quite a bit when I was getting started for ideas and example code. Hopefully this repository will help someone else who is getting started.

If you are just getting started with Home Assistant I highly recommend checking out this YouTube Series. It helped me a lot in the beginning and I still frequently reference some videos today. I also strongly recommend you read the Home Assistant Docs. So many questions asked on the Home Assistant Forum could be solved by reading the docs. I have tried to include links in my files to the associated guidance documents for easy reference.

Hardware Running HA:

Installation Process:

I'm currently running Home Assistant version 0.64.1. My preferred installation method is an Ubuntu Server 16.04 instance and following the Python Virtual Environment installation instructions for Home Assistant. For anyone running a Raspberry Pi, I highly recommend using the Hassbian Install Method.

I setup my Mosquitto MQTT Broker using the instructions in this video

Network & Home Assistant Instance Security:

I think this is an often overlooked part of any internet connected project. I am far from a security expert, however, these are the steps I have taken to add some level of security to my Home Assistant instance.

  • Simple protections like enabling a password and limiting the number of incorrect login attempts.
  • Anything that doesn't need an internet connection is blocked from any inbound or outbound traffic at the router level.
  • I separate my traffic into different subnets and by default these subnets cannot talk to one another. For example my devices on Wifi only have access to the internet or my Local Area Network (LAN) if I allow it.
  • Using the tools in PFSense I block a large amount of traffic from ever reaching my network using PFblockerNG and a combination of published lists, and custom rules.
  • All the traffic connecting to my Home Assistant instance is logged and e-mailed to me regularly. I only access my instance from a few devices to it is pretty easy to spot traffic that is not 'normal'.
  • Failed login attempts to the Home Assistant Front end generate a notification to me with the source IP.
  • My Home Assistant Traffic is encrypted with Let's Encrypt. I used this guide to get it setup.

Editing the Configuration Files:

What works for me is creating a Samba share that I can then edit on any computer in my house.

For setting up Samba see this video: Samba Setup

After you have the Samba share setup, I like to use Atom to edit my files. It works on both Windows and Linux, has a great interface and some nice features. NotePad++ is also easy to use and is a bit more lightweight than Atom (no Linux support though)

Connected Devices:

Cloud Controlled Devices:

Local Network Devices:

*Block these from external network access and they will still work on your local network with Home Assistant.

Automations:

Bedtime_Notifications.yaml Automations:

These notifications are triggered after 10:00 PM and I plug my phone in (generally I am in bed when this happens). These send an iOS app notification with an action option to turn the device off. These are primarily a power saving items.

Cert Update.yaml Automation:

This notification is used to notify me if my Lets Encrypt certificate does not auto renew at the beginning of the month.

Device Offline.yaml Automations:

This notification is used to notify me if on of my home automation devices goes offline. Generally this is someone flipping a switch which cuts the power or a network connectivity issue.

Door Security.yaml Automations:

These automations are used to notify me when a door is opened when no one is home or the garage door is left open when we leave.

Feed the dog.yaml Automations:

These automations are used to turn a light on to signify the dog needs to be fed. A amazon dash button is used to signify the dog has been fed which either turns off the notification light or turn off the automation.

IP Change.yaml

Leaving_Notifications.yaml Automations:

These notifications are triggered when I leave my home zone and no one is home. These send a iOS app notification with an action option to turn the device off. These are primarily a power saving item and are the same framework as the bedtime notification as above.

Living Room Lamps.yaml Automations:

These lamps are the main light source when you walk in through the garage (our primary point of entry).

Low_Battery_Adams_iPhone.yaml Automations:

This is to notify me to charge my phone when I am at work. Generally I forget to charge my phone and it is either low or dead for the train ride home.

Maintenance Reminders.yaml Automations:

A series of automations that trigger monthly or weekly to help me remember to perform maintenance tasks around the house. Reminders are sent via e-mail so they stick in my inbox until complete.

Media Center.yaml Automation:

Moring Briefing.yaml Automation:

This is a notification automation to send me info about the day when I wake up. Currenlty it just contains the date and a weather report. I hope to integrate my calendar in the future and have it include the meetings I have that day.

Nest.yaml Automations:

I found it easier to automate my nest myself rather than using the nest features.

Notification bulb.yaml Automations

Outside Lights.yaml Automations

Some simple automations to turn my outside house lights on at sunset and off at sunrise. They are initially set to 20% brightness but are set to full brightness if a door is opened, until it is closed.

PC_Security.yaml Automations:

UPS.yaml Automations:

Vacation Mode.yaml Automations:

This is a single switch to turn on/off a number of automations and devices when we will be away from the house for an extended period of time.

Control Panel / Front End Screen Shots:

Rooms

Device Status

Home Assistant Status

Automations

Switches

Weather

Other

Questions?

The best way to get help on Home Assistant is the Home Assistant Forum. If you have a specific question about my configuration send me a Private Message on the HA forum, my username over there is Silvrr. If you have found something incorrect, please submit an issue here on Github and ill get it fixed.

My Device Reviews on the Home Assistant Forum: