AppleTV App for Home Assistant - HA Control

[D0doooh]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently working on an Apple TV app that lets you control devices, scenes, and sensors in Home Assistant. It’s still in development, but here’s the basic idea:

The design is not finished, just more like a PoC - Proof of Concep.

One column for devices, one for scenes, and one for sensors.

• The app automatically pulls content from Home Assistant groups:

• group.hatv_control_devices (Devices)

• group.hatv_control_scene (Scenes)

• group.hatv_control_sensors (Sensors).

Home Assistant configuration:

group:
  hatv_control_scene:
    name: HATV Control Scenes
    entities:
      - input_boolean.scene_watch_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_disable_automations
      - input_boolean.scene_snacks
      - input_boolean.scene_night_light
      - input_boolean.scene_horror_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_party_mode
      - input_boolean.scene_relaxation

  hatv_control_devices: 
    name: HATV Control Devices
    entities:
      - light.living_room_light
      - light.hallway_light
      - light.kitchen_light
      - light.bedroom_light

  hatv_control_sensors:
    name: HATV Control Sensors
    entities:
      - sensor.plex_movie_count
      - sensor.plex_series_count
      - sensor.living_room_temperature
      - sensor.balcony_temperature

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Since this is a work in progress, I’d love to hear your feedback, suggestions, or ideas about what to add or improve!

Work in Progress:

• Simpler Access Token setup: Currently works best with Handoff copy-paste from your iPhone or iPad.

• Better Lighting controls: Including dimming functionality and color.

• Input Select support

• Improved design

• A more appealing app name and an app icon

---

Here is the TestFlight link: Join the HA Control beta - TestFlight - Apple

Thanks for checking it out!

[lufykun]

hi
it’s amazing
i search it for year
you do very good job
did you have a date of release ?

[D0doooh]

Not really; it’s working at the moment, but in my eyes, it’s not very visually appealing. I need to make some improvements to make it user-friendly for others.
If anyone is interested in testing it, please feel free to contact me, either by private message or by commenting here in the forum.

I won’t have time this month, but my schedule looks better starting in May.

[superwxbxkx (Balluck WEI)]

Hello! Thanks for your great work!

You did exactly what I needed. I use AppleTV as a media server connected to my projector. You know I don’t like to use my phone before going to bed, so it would be perfect if I could implement scene activation or simple switch control on AppleTV!

I don’t know if you are still developing related things. I would be happy to help if you need to test it~

Looking forward to your reply

[D0doooh]

Oh wow, has it really been a year already? I originally made this app quickly because I needed a way to control things with my Apple TV, which I’m still using in the same way today.

The thing is, right now the app stores the Long-lived access tokens and other credentials directly inside it (because, well, DEV testing and speed ).

I’m hoping to have some time over the holidays to work on projects like this. If all goes well, I’d like to release a new version that allows you to manually input the URL and token. Edit: Done. i will upload it to Apple TestFlight.

[D0doooh]

@superwxbxkx @lufykun

Okay, fingers crossed! I’ve submitted the draft app to Apple on TestFlight and am now waiting for approval. This process can currently take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on their queue.

What I’m still looking for is an app name and any features you’d like to see included. At the moment, the app allows you to toggle lights on and off and display sensor data.

I also still need an app icon. For now, I quickly created one using a generative AI and uploaded it, but I didn’t have time to focus on the details at this stage.

[D0doooh]

Okay, here we go: the build was accepted. Here is the TestFlight link: Join the ha-control beta - TestFlight - Apple

In the app settings, you can see the three groups used to define the entities.

group:
  hatv_control_scene:
    name: HATV Control Scenes
    entities:
      - input_boolean.scene_watch_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_disable_automations
      - input_boolean.scene_snacks
      - input_boolean.scene_night_light
      - input_boolean.scene_horror_movie
      - input_boolean.scene_party_mode
      - input_boolean.scene_relaxation

  hatv_control_devices: 
    name: HATV Control Devices
    entities:
      - light.living_room_light
      - light.hallway_light
      - light.kitchen_light
      - light.bedroom_light

  hatv_control_sensors:
    name: HATV Control Sensors
    entities:
      - sensor.plex_movie_count
      - sensor.plex_series_count
      - sensor.living_room_temperature
      - sensor.balcony_temperature

The names can also be changed if you already have an existing group. The URL and access token obviously need to be entered; this works conveniently via Handoff copy-paste with an iPhone. I’m currently working on a solution to make this accessible via Home Assistant.

For questions and feedback, feel free to share them here in the forum!

[derekjobst]

This is awesome! Do you have any plans to open-source the project or allow for outside collaborators? I’d be happy to help out!

[D0doooh]

Hi, actually, I’d love to! I’ll take a closer look as soon as I have more time, but I’m definitely open to it.

[andrew_dev (Andrew)]

just an idea, could we open media like web cams and display notifications?

I’m sure theres a lot you could add but as theres no way to view a webpage you can’t port the native HA interface over

[tomtjes]

This has worked very well for me, but the beta test seems to have stopped. Are you still developing it, @D0doooh, or could you make it available in its current state?

[D0doooh]

Hey @tomtjes

I recently published a new build of the app. With Apple, TestFlight apps can only be distributed for a maximum of 90 days without an update, which is why it had expired.

Since it has been running smoothly and working well for me, it had somewhat faded into the background. However, I think it still needs some improvements to be more polished and intuitive before an official release, so I’ll take some time to refine it further.

If you or anyone else would like to share feedback, I’d really appreciate it! Any suggestions or thoughts would be very helpful in improving the app.

[D0doooh]

Hey @andrew_dev

I’ve experimented with it a bit, and while it works, I don’t think it’s good enough for a release. I believe the approach of integrating the cameras into HomeKit and displaying them that way is much better and more intuitive. One key advantage is that HomeKit supports PiP (Picture-in-Picture), which, as far as I’ve found, third-party apps don’t offer to the same extent.

However, if you see any specific benefits that my app could provide over HomeKit, I’d be happy to take another look at it!

[D0doooh]

I have been working on an easier way to transfer the token to the Apple TV app. The secure way is still to copy and paste it using an iOS device with Handoff.

If this is not possible, there is now a second solution.

To implement this, create a folder named “ha-control” in the www folder, where a file called setup.json must be created. The token can then be inserted as follows:

{
    "ha-token": "YOUR TOKEN"
  }

Please don’t forget to delete the file after successfully transmitting it, as leaving it here permanently would be a significant security risk.

I am working on improving this in future builds, possibly through a random file that needs to be loaded or created. Ideas are also welcome here!

[D0doooh]

HA Control – Now Available on the App Store!

Hey Home Assistant community!

I’m excited to announce that HA Control is now officially available on the App Store

With this app, you can control your Home Assistant setup conveniently from your Apple TV. Sit back, relax, and manage your smart home from the couch!

TestFlight Link – Try it out for free!

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New Features & Improvements

Auto Token Retrieval – No more manual entry! The app now helps retrieve your Home Assistant token automatically.

Dark & Light Mode – Choose between sleek dark mode or a light theme to match your preference.

New UI Help Guide – Step-by-step instructions on how to setup Auto Retrive token and groups for HA Control.

Demo Video - See HA Control in action! Here’s a video showcasing the setup and workflow

Website & Documentation Looking for more details? Visit the official website for additional resources and documentation: Website & Docs

Why is it paid on the App Store?

To publish an app, Apple requires a $99/year developer license . The app is a one-time purchase, no subscription to help cover that cost.

Privacy First!

HA Control is built with privacy in mind. I don’t collect any data—what you do stays on your Apple TV. Your feedback is super important to improve the app, so feel free to share your thoughts and feature requests!

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Drop them please

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[D0doooh]

If anyone is interested in helping me with translations, I’d really appreciate it!

Currently, the translation is definitely available in English and German.

For French and Italian, I used auto-translate combined with my very, very old school knowledge—so if anything is incorrect, I’m really sorry!

If you’d like to help translate it into your language, feel free to reach out to me! I’d love to make it as accurate as possible.

[JJJJ]

Hi,

I just bought your app and I think it’s a terrific idea but I’m having trouble setting it up.

I created the file in me home assistant /config/www/*.json as described but the app always says “File not found (404).”

I’d love to help you debug this and get it working!

Thank you

[D0doooh]

Hey, @JJJJ !

First of all, thank you for your purchase!
Could you check if you can access the link using your smartphone or computer?

http://homeassistant.local:8123/TOKEN-SECRET.json

[CarlosEllan]

I also tried your app and managed to grant access via the token, but I can’t see any device in the section ‘Geräte’.
Also I would like to suggest to use the new ‘group’ functionality via the Home Assistant UI (Helpers) - otherwise it’s a little bit cumbersome to manage the devices via configuration.yaml.
My first idea to use existing groups in the three section of the app doesn’t work either.
May be this is also the reason I can’t see any device in the TV app. The groups in Home assistant are working.

[JJJJ]

@D0doooh

http://homeassistant.local:8123/TOKEN-SECRET.json

I got it working, just had to restart HA it seems.
Thank you!