Automations can have two different names - does it matter?

Configuration
1

You can either rename an automation while editing, using the dropdown menu in the UI, or you can rename it using the cogwheel icon in the entities card (which can be accessed in various ways). I’m pretty sure (well, 60% sure) that both used to produce the same results, but now they don’t.

Changing the name while editing…

  • Changes it in the automations dashboard list
  • Changes it at the top of the UI edit screen
  • Changes the alias in automations.yaml
  • Does not change the name in the entities card

Changing the name through the entities card…

  • Changes it in the automations dashboard list
  • Does not change it at the top of the UI edit screen
  • Does not change the alias in automations.yaml

Feels like an oversight, but in any event an automation can now have two different names, an entity name and an alias. I imagine we’re “supposed” to use the UI (where we can also edit the description) but does it make any difference to the way the automation behaves?

2

refresh your page. Some pages have static values and use caching whenever they can. The UI is a browser after all.

3

Nope. Still different. The entity name and the automation alias (which is reflected in the UI) now seem to be two different things.

  • When you create an automation in the UI it is assigned the name you have given it as an alias, and that is what appears in the automation list. The name field in the edit entity card remains blank.

  • When you give it a name in the edit entity card, this replaces the name in the automations list. The automation’s alias and its name when editing in the UI remain unchanged.

4

if you found a bug then, write up an issue. No point in discussing it here.

5

I also had this issue and I have reported this issue here:

https://github.com/home-assistant/frontend/issues/22305

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