I broke configuration.yaml... How to fix

Installation
1

Hi,

I just installed hassio on my RPi 3b+ added some stuff in configuration.yaml and forgot to check it before rebooting and I broke it. Now I can’t access the frontend, I don’t have ssh or samba set up…
I have local access with a display, but I don’t know where to find the file locally and how to edit it.
Or I can use a windows pc to access the sd card but I don’t know where to find the file, again. I can see the boot partition, the other windows apparently can’t read.
The last option is to reinstall, but it is quite possible I will break something again so I would prefer to learn how to fix it without reinstalling every time.
Any advice appreciated.

2

I can’t answer the question however you should NEVER reboot. Always restart the Home Assistant from the configuration page in the side panel as it won’t restart if there are any errors and you can tap on i in dev console to see your errors.

Maybe try
cd /
from the console (local access with display) and then
find / -name “configuration.yaml”

In my case it finds it at /usr/share/hassio/homeassistant/configuration.yaml
But I’m running a generic linux intstall

Worth a try. May need sudo find etc…

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3

I only have a very basic knowledge about linux, but from what I can see hassos has a very limited set of functions, no built in editor and no way to get one from internet, so I gave up and reinstalled. I would still like to know (and how) if a situation like mine is actually fixable.

4

Live boot a proper OS (Linux) and edit the files directly on the sdcard

Or

Make sure you have SSH enabled before you do anything

Or

Make sure you have any number of addons configured that handle editing the config, or syncthing, etc

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5

Did you install the Samba hass.io add-on? If so, you be able to access the config directory and configuration.yaml from there. I was in your situation once and fixed it using that method.

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6

I did after the reinstall, hoping it would prevent similar situation in the future.

7

I mistakenly commented out the default_config in my configutation.yaml file. How can i edit it if I cannot access it anymore. Pi3+. I can attach a monitor & keyboard, but have NO clue what to do next. I just have to delete 1 tiny # from 1 line. Seems simple but have been trying for 2 days now. NOT looking forward to starting from scratch.

8

Hey guys,
I actually recently had the same issue after adding a line into my sensor.yaml file. After a bit of research, I found a better solution than reflashing the entire home assistant… Even if you don’t have ssh enabled.

I found a software called “Linux files Systems for Windows by Paragon Software” (Linux File Systems for Windows | Paragon Software), that emulates ext4 drives with reading and write rights in Windows. After starting the software you just conveniently access the configuration files like any other hard drive in windows and revert everything to a working state.

Best Regards,

Hugo

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