Do you maintain your own Lovelace yaml or let HA do it?

Currently i do it by YAMl mode.
But as i do not have that much special in currently, i am thinking of doing it by HASS.

Can i just test this (disabling YAML mode in config file) and create some cards?
Is it possible to switch back?

/ Ralf

My understand in is that it’s pretty easy.

just comment out “mode: yaml” under lovelace in your config then in the top right menu in loverlace click “take control”.

I f you don’t like it then all you should have to do is un-comment “mode: yaml” and your right back to yaml mode and nothing has changed.

Supposedly…:wink: I haven’t tried it.

YAML, tried moving to the storage mode, but it rearranged, reformatted, removed comments and such and I prefer just making changes directly through the text file over samba using an application that supports YAML, then trying to use the inbuilt editor.

I like using the GUI editor to get immediate feedback and will then mimic those changes in a yaml file. I do major changes in the yaml file and then just copy/paste in total using the raw editor. So I can maintain comments (I don’t use includes)

It gives me the benefits of both options.

Still using yaml file. Writing code is a skill that I do not want to lose and my perception is that I have a bit more control and customisation. Also, I was taught to always comment when writing code, which is now habit. The only thing I allow Hass to do through front-end is automations, as I had some big problems with that, as the automations kept becoming disabled after Lovelace became default (I never realised that there was a disbaled state, until 2 days ago!). However, I have now created an entity card to check my automations are enabled.

you can add something like this to the automation…

- id: '1507434167221'
  alias: Coffee Maker Off
  initial_state: 'true'

That will make sure it is always enabled. It does seem that when you make a new one that it is automatically disabled however it should remember the state across reboots. Sometimes if you restart home assistant too many times close together (easy to do when you are changing/trying stuff) HA thinks an automation might be causing an error and it will disable all automations. This initial state will make sure they come on/stay on.

2 Likes

Or limits the benefits of both options depending on your point of view. :wink:

How do you figure that? You’re a glass-half-empty kinda guy aren’t you?

Thanks for that. That’s the line I needed for initial state. Sometimes I had to reboot the RPi multiple times to get it to work. I’ve made an extra page called “System Status”, where I can monitor the system vitals and will add things such as internet speed etc, when I get round to it. Might make and entities card that shows what’s currently on.

See all of the other threads in which we’ve discussed literally the exact same topic. My opinion is still generally the same. If it makes it generally more complicated with more things to maintain and there’s no significant benefit I don’t see the point.

But that’s just me…if it works for you then carry on! :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh yes, I’m definitely using YAML.

I want to be able to copy and paste things, to organise them into multiple files, to keep them under version control, to email them to friends, to generate lists of things with scripts and then paste them in, to know that I can edit things if the GUI isn’t working, and - especially - to add comments explaining what I’ve done.

Trying to keep an open mind but I can’t see myself using an all-GUI approach any time soon: you lose too much!

2 Likes

I do most editing in lovelace but I create my automations in yaml.
Too many things just don’t work very well in the UI config editor (automations-wise) and there hasn’t been any progress made in that area.

Does it mean that you don’t have lovelace mode: yaml in your config and just have an independent yaml file for your own records that HA does not use? Because I don’t think you can have yaml mode enabled AND being able to use GUI editor in the same time, it didn’t work for me on 0.88.2.
Therefore, I’m a bit confused how exactly you benefit from both options.

Correct.

Having a yaml file available doesn’t mean you can’t use it to track your changes, and keep notes.

1 Like

But what’s the point of that if you cannot guarantee that your yaml file has everything that the Lovelace has internally when maintaining your UI?

?

Once you take control of Lovelace, YOU are in control of what gets added…

1 Like

we are talking about editing yaml file (YAML mode) vs using Lovelace GUI editor (GUI Lovelace), aren’t we?
I don’t understand how people claim they benefit from both modes if one cannot use the simultaneously, and it’s impossible to switch between them while working on the same yaml file as apparently only in yaml mode you can edit a physical file because in GUI mode HA has the data somewhere inside it.
Or am I wrong?

This.

I’m perfectly willing to use an all-GUI approach if it provides advantages. Otherwise, it’s a tough sell to make users switch to a less competent management tool (GUI or otherwise). If the GUI makes editing and managing the system more convenient then it sells itself.

FWIW, the openHAB community is currently doing some soul-searching as it attempts to move to a more approachable, novice-friendly GUI. The first attempt was Paper UI, introduced in version 2, and was a departure from version 1’s all-text configuration. Long story short, the transition was less than successful. Discussions are now centered on learning from past mistakes and making a success of it in version 3. However, text-based users are adamantly opposed to an all-GUI approach despite assurances that it can be easily exported to JSON files for sharing/backup/versioning/etc. They’re understandably leery in light of Paper UI’s belly-flop. I expect similar soul-searching discussions to develop here as well.

When a GUI is done right, it makes managing the system easier (not just for novices but for experts as well). It displays things more clearly, lets you organize information more easily, depicts certain data graphically, yet allows you to export your data for use in other ways. I’ve used another home automation system (Premise) for over a decade and it offers such a management tool. I’ve never thought it would be easier to use if I could edit it as text files. That’s the earmark of a well-designed GUI.

As for Home Assistant, it’s early-days for its GUI and I much prefer to use Visual Code to configure the system. I appreciate the fact I can continue to maintain the configuration as text files but would jump ship to a GUI if it offered advantages. Time will tell.

1 Like

Yes. He uses the front end to edit his configuration to his liking. Then he copies everything out of the frontend RAW EDITOR, to a yaml file, and can make comments for tracking changes. So he gets the benefits of using the frontend GUI to configure, and a yaml file for version control.

But that’s his own unverified yaml and if he makes a mistake, nobody will know until he decides to load it back to the editor. OMG