From Openhab to HA - some questions about GUI/YAML

Configuration
1

Hi,
i´m a long time Openhab user and now i´m in the process to switch to HA. I manly did my config in Openhab in text-mode without GUI.

Now my first steps in HA are GUI only, but i want to add a lot of things from my KNX installation, so i think i´m faster with yaml.

But how can i get my already entered knx-entities into yaml? I think it is a very bad idea to have some in GUI and some in yaml.

Do i have to remove all again and start from scratch? Or is there a possibility to use both worlds?

2

Hi :wave:!

You can’t. Yaml and Ui KNX entities use a quite different internal schema. There is no migration layer in one or the other direction.

Technically it’s fine. Ui have some slight advantages. Next release you’ll be able to configure even more platforms too.

Yes, totally fine.

3

So you suggest me to use some knx entities in yaml and some in UI? Now i have entered a few blinds and lights in ui and when i configure the rest and i do it with yaml then i have to search both areas?

I think it is easier to stay in one world for one integration?!

4

If anything, I’d prefer Ui over Yaml since it doesn’t have issues if you change any GAs later. Yaml might. And Ui supports HA devices.

Other than that, do what you prefer :person_shrugging: technically both work fine and mixing also works.

5

you look here correct?
and saw this part?

6

Do you mean that in YAML it’s not possible to change any GA later on?

Since KNX has no auto detect, GUI config of hundred of GAs is no fun.

7

you can, but it may create orphan entitites that have to be manually removed then.
See https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/knx/#duplicate-entities

I mean, you probably don’t need to add every group address as entity :person_shrugging:
But sure, it’s a bit of work to create lots of climate or light entities. But it’s a one-time thing…

8

OK, so if that’s all it seems to me that YAML config has many advantages compared to GUI. I really hope that GUI will not become mandatory as long as there is no auto detect option.

9

Also, unless you are tinkering with KNX a lot for yourself. There is no reason to ever change GA’s
In my 24 years of installing KNX installations (god i’m getting old :sweat_smile:)
I have revisited many of those to repair, replace, change and add hardware. (unlike many other automation systems… No firmware update is ever needed, or ver2 wont work with ver1… Looking at you Niko…)

But i can say i never had to change GA’s, nor can i personally come up with a reason to do so.

Atm i just work with the YAML to keep everything in 1 place, i’m keeping an eye on the GUI part that is being worked on and i might switch in the future.

10

UI has a couple of features that are just not possible with yaml

  • a super-stable unique_id
  • changing some config of a single entity without reloading the whole integration
  • migrations for future schema changes

and yaml maybe won’t get device support.

Other than that, if you prefer YAML, that’s totally fine and won’t be derprecated soon (and then not without migration path). I don’t see major advantages though.

Creating configs is kind of tedious work with both - but that’s knx :upside_down_face:

11

Why shall YAML not get device support?

It’s such a desaster to get an overview about what’s configured in GUI that I hardly can find any advantage worth to switch. Not to mention that documentation is more than difficult.

E.g. the Telegram Integration config would be very difficult to be reproduced in case I would ever need to do it again, if I would not have a copy of the old YAML config.

Maybe I should start doing videos of every GUI config so that I solve at least the issue with the docu disadvantage. HA-GUI-Config could be the very first usecase I found for MS recall.