To an extent it already is. But there is no reason for open source and commerciality to be incompatible.
And I don’t see any reason to think anything untoward from that twatter post.
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Intentional typo 
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It would be nice if official integrations could embed default blueprints in it.
With smart things, if Install for example the official IKEA driver, I have a nice UI automating a button already preinstalled.
Instead, the current blueprints are difficult to find, not well maintained, they can’t be updated and therefore they can break with a home assistant uodate
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If only frontend issues were being worked on… Including mine that not only affects me but another user with the same phone and has been open for over 3 weeks now.
To me that sounds counter productive because some product are only useful or practical when connected though the cloud. I would still like to know if my car can work reliably with Home Assistant and not just when it is in the driveway. Manufacturers are not going to build that in a way that would require users to create a VPN to local services.
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I like the idea. And some good issues have been raised.
I agree that “in the cloud” should be a different color or something. If not because of a philosophical difference, then simply because it needs another intermediary. The device doesn’t really “Work with HA” but only “Works with HA AND vendor’s cloud” (as long as that cloud is available, paid for and supported.)
So, down the line when the vendor goes out of business, pulls the plug on the server, or starts charging a fee, the device no longer “Works with HA.” The local solutions will continue to work with HA even after the vendor changes their mind.
I also share some reservations about making HA too commercial. I’ve donated time to projects which were then bought up by corporations. It leaves developers very angry, knowing they freely gave away their labor only to have someone else get rich off it. And in the cases I’ve been involved with, the buy-out ultimately killed the project. In some cases companies have bought out projects like this specifically to kill the competition. I’d hate to see that happen to HA.
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Everybody’s issue is highly important to “them” but if you have to choose between adding new functionality or fixing an issue that impact 1000’s I would prefer they don’t fix an issue that is isolated for 2 people. Sure it would be nice but you can’t keep everybody happy. It is like politics, you cannot win them all. Same for electing a president you will never have 100% people voting the same. You have to make choices. Home assistant has the option to try this out now. If it fails then at least they tried to make something a better place.
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Except, I looked at the issues on frontend and saw the vast majority had 0 replies from frontend nabu casa developers. The last time I checked I went back about 13 days and saw a response in maybe 1 or 2. It’s not that my issue is super important. It’s fairly clear from looking at the opened vs closed issues there’s not a lot of attention being placed on them in frontend. Outside of frontend I see issues get addressed quickly.
The Home Assistant project is not just run by Nabu Casa developers. Sure, I (as a Nabu Casa employed developer working on Home Assistant) spent tons of time on the project, and so do others. But, for example, most of my time goes into handling PRs, releases, and other things “around” the project that also needs to be done.
In the end, Home Assistant is an open source project, and open source project relies on contributions from the community and its contributors. Like me, and hundreds of other people each month.
Don’t expect a Nabu Casa developer to fix all your issue, don’t expect any other contributor to fix your issue. That is not how open source works.
PS: This btw completely off-topic for this thread as well (as your question is related to a frontend issue, and not the Partner Program), so might not be the place to further discuss this.
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This topic seems to have veered off course into a different direction that is focused on if HA will become a commercial enterprise and ditch the open source niche.
My take on that is “who cares”. If HA becomes a commercial product, I’ll pay for it. I’ve been down the road of numerous other home automation platforms that are anywhere from OK to downright horrible. Indigo was the only platform that really stood above the rest IMHO, but they got too expensive and the requirement to run only on a full blown Mac eventually caused me to jump ship - but I was a paying and heavily contributing user of that community, HA fit a need and I like what it can do and the control I have over it.
I would only worry about how stupid the software must become for the average user to get into it. I would suggest that many of us are technically minded so we can cope with the nuances of HA, but someone who wants a turn-key app is going to be put off unless it’s dumbed way down - and then you end up with Homeseer or Mi Casa Verde, the latter of which is downright horrible.
I would be more concerned if only the officially created devices are supported, pigeonholing everyone into using a Mi Casa Verde like device, which I hated. I like HA because it’s usable on a wide array of computers, giving users a choice. But if revenue becomes a driving force, we end up with an appliance that will be “meh”.
As for the original topic of this post, I’m neutral. If it helps people then that’s wonderful, but it won’t make much different to me since I know how to easily find answers on if a product works with HA (hint: it’s here). I neither love nor hate this concept, but have no dissenting opinions about it really.
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I know its slightly off topic, but I personally wouldn’t want it to become a commercial product and that has nothing to do with paying for it, as if it was worth paying for I would quite happily.
However I cant personally see that regardless of the subscriptions monetary value and / or number of subs that the platform would every be able to sustain the level of improvement and general maintenance that it currently receives from the wealth of contributors
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I use Indigo as a model for how it works both ways. A commercial software product, just two developer/owners and a whole lot of user contributors who write extremely complex integrations for the platform. That’s just to say that it can absolutely work, but I see your point that it’s a delicate balance in order to work and not a guarantee.
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This is great news and a big win for all Home Assistant users. It is important to build a smart home solution on reliable components. In the long run, an integration that is supported by the product owner saves time and effort, even if it sometimes takes longer to get the solution up to date than with community solutions.
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There’s another side to that argument though. If HA were to become a commercial product, how do you think all the developers who put sweat equity into it will feel about it? I’m pretty sure it would be a death knell for any further development. Only the new owners’ agenda would be supported.
Of course, with open-source licenses, it’s not that simple. HA isn’t going to be sold outright. But as HA blends more and more into Nabu Casa, the possibility of someone making a tempting cash offer for that company presents an increasing risk to the project.
Which is why, overall, I like the idea of “Works With” certification. Today I’m fighting with some WiFi devices from a vendor who is trying to force everyone from local control to their cloud solution. I may end up scrapping those devices and replacing them with something more HA-friendly. Having some sort of commitment from the vendor up front has got to be an improvement. And getting vendors to think of HA users as a customer base they need to consider is equally valuable.
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Well…it is possible that my comment (the first one) started this mess of slightly off topic.
I do like the idea, but I wish it was more general, in that all manufacturers should clearly state on their packaging and documentation the implementation method. What I mean for that is components that use Z-wave and Zigbee are easy to determine they are local control; however, Wifi, ethernet, and bluetooth devices could be local or cloud controlled (some Bluetooth will only operate from a specific app that requires conductivity). Yes, most can be reverse engineered to function, but that is a pain. I find myself currently ignoring anything other than Zigbee and Z-wave because I can’t verify local control. I personally don’t mind if some components ‘share’ with the cloud, as long as I can still control or get data locally; the PurpleAir is a perfect example of that, it has a local REST API over WiFi and transmits to the PurpleAir survers what the air quaility is…and I am ok with that. I’m sure there are alot of WiFi devices that can be locally controlled, but manufacturers make it very difficult to determine if that is the case. Wemo are an example of where the earlier firmwares allow local control but if you update that is removed (in some cases) and looking on the package you would never know.
Edit Forgot to add Shelly as a good local and cloud control @Stooovie comments sparked that thought.
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That’s what Nabu Casa is for. HA talks to the cloud so individual devices don’t have to.
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Yes, but manufacturers are unlikely to build IOT solutions that live outside your lan and that require their customers to have something like HA to connect to. So they provide cloud services of their own. And just because we happen to trust Nabu Casa, that doesn’t mean Nabu Casa itself isn’t a cloud service. It’s just the preferred cloud services for a lot of us. 
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The main thing is, the device should not become inoperable when the manufacturer’s cloud servers shut down or change business model. HA’s local operation prevents that. Of course, the best of both worlds is local operation PLUS optional manufacturer cloud. Xiaomi devices work like that, my Daikin AC too, Tuya devices too but that’s a bit complicated.
Also, zigbee devices for example are exactly that. Optional proprietary hubs PLUS unlimited operation with 3rd-party Zigbee sticks and Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA.
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Definitely. It would be good if there was a rating system inbuilt with the logo so that local is given a higher rating than cloud. Just one more way to encourage vendors to go that extra step.
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It’s high time that Lutron opens up and officially joins the Home Assistant community. The missed opportunity here is significant considering the size of the community and extensibility of Home Assistant. It would enable expert integrators to start providing commercial and upscale home customers with top-tier automation packages. Let’s make some noise about this!
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