[Guide]Transfer files to components folder

Development
1

Spent a good few hours trying to figure out how to get access to the components folder without going through the whole USB key transfer steps documented in https://developers.home-assistant.io/docs/operating-system/debugging/#ssh-access-to-the-host

I host HASS on Proxmox and so following the whole USB loading to gain ssh wasn’t a good method for me. Instead here’s how I did it

A small disclaimer here:
Proceed only if you know exactly what you’re doing. I will not be personally responsible or provide solutions if you break anything in HA and can’t revert your changes. There IS a good reason for keeping this out of reach in GUI.

–

Go into the Proxmox console and type

login

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docker ps -a

Shows you all the docker containers currently running on the OS

docker ps
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docker exec -it homeassistant /bin/bash

to get into the container’s environment

This is where you can find the custom_components folder that everyone has access to

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The components folder is located here - /usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant

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In my case what I needed to do was clone an unreleased commit into the integration folder. I did it by uploading the file into custom_components and then moving it into the relevant integration folder.
The changed file was

__init__.py

I made a backup of the current one and copied the updated copy into the integration folder before restarting HA.

##In the integration components folder (eg. /usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/myintegration/)
mv __init__.py __init__.py.bak
cp /config/custom_components/__init__.py __init__.py
3 Likes
2

Why not just install the samba add-on? Or transfer using SFTP with the SSH add-on? Or get the FTP server add-on to transferring over plain old FTP?

Sounds like quite the hassle for something that can just be done dragging and dropping instead.

3

Because none of the addons will actually let you access the components folder. They are basically sandboxed in other containers.

This is what ssh will show you about the /usr/src folder… empty.

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4

Well, the thing is, you shouldn’t be needing the components folder at all. Any integration can be overridden as a custom_integration.

The practice shown in this thread is complex and really not needed.

And of course, you can alternatively (and recommended) use a development environment as written/documented on our developer portal.

5

I totally understand, but it’s not for lack of trying. I have tried to place the integration in the custom_components folder but it wouldn’t load correctly whether it was the current branch or unreleased one.
In my case as described, it’s a small edit in init.py that fixed a big problem for me so well worth the effort. In weeks or months should a new HA release finally contain the fix, then these changes will get overwritten anyway as intended.

6

Thank you! Huge help.

1 Like
7

So what is the recommended way to override component files in components/media_source/local_source.py?

(I usually use SSH to edit line 189 in local_source.py to add , reverse=True so I can view my latest recordings first, since there are no default sorting options for local media.)

I tried using the method you seem to suggest above → I copied everything from components/media_source to /custom_components/media_source and added , “version”: “0.1” to the copied manifest.json, but even after a few restarts it doesn’t seem to want to work:

# Home Assistant Core

Setup failed for default_config: (DependencyError(...), 'Could not setup dependencies: media_source')

7:11:34 PM – (ERROR) setup.py

Unable to set up dependencies of default_config. Setup failed for dependencies: media_source

7:11:34 PM – (ERROR) setup.py

Setup failed for custom integration media_source: No setup or config entry setup function defined.

7:11:14 PM – (ERROR) setup.py

Any idea why that is or have a better suggestion about how to overwrite the settings in the components/media_source folder in a way that survives Home Assistant updates?