You can do it in Node-Red! I do that too with a lot of things so that I can access the data in other ways on my network. I created a subflow, and anything I wanted shoved into MQTT, I use the event changed state and push it to a topic.
I also have the any state change node pushing to Mongo
AppDaemon will shortly have an MQTT plugin which you can run independently of any HASS instance
Yeah, but I’d rather write things in python than javascript.
While it would be more efficient to have AD handle them all directly, I find that passing MQTT messages as HA events to AD works well.
Well stated. This is not for the faint of heart but for nitty gritty techies. I have been in software development since 1970 and have gone through the gamut of programming languages from assembler to modern languages and working on linux commands and yaml and templating takes me back to the stone ages. Sorry for this critique, but if you want people to use HA it has to be simpler.
I started with OpenHAB, and moved to HAAS. Both superb projects in their own ways. I imagine comparing their styles would make for an interesting academic paper. My impression (could be completely off) is:
The guys in openHab have a very enterprise development approach, are paid to work on it, and meticulous about design, process, code review, etc. They operate a top down approach, and the paid guys at the top keep a tight control of things. Quality is controlled, but they move a little slow.
Home Assistant is more chaotic. There are a lot of people contributing from all sides. It has a hacker culture. It can be messy, but things move quickly, and innovation is off the charts.
No doubt technology can be frustrating, but I don’t see any merit in complaining and putting negative vibes on these forums. Open a pull request, or just go your way and find the project that suits you. There are so many out there, all with communities, developers, etc.: OpenHab, Homekit, Fibaro, Jeedom, Smartthings, etc.
Hey, Guys (excuse sex)
OK. So I got to around post 30 and stopped reading, and as such here is my 2 penneth (2 cents for our U.S cousins).
I think that @moti_r (if he’s still around) has many valid points.
Yaml is terrible but as I understand it this was a way for Paulus (can’t remember his username so please excuse spelling) to learn to code (I may have gotten that wrong though).
If, however. One like the UI and the UX then One should learn to work around the things are wrong with it. Somebody has already done so by creating AppDaemon. I was about to get into AppDaemon when I discovered Node-RED and I think I can now do much more using both Node-RED and Home Assistant than I could ever envisage with just one of them.
As soon as I read the original post, I thought ‘oh my… there are going to be some upset puppies with this who go on the defensive’. Of course, the first reaction is to say “Well, if you don’t like something find an item you don’t like, fix it and create a pull request”. However, as part of my recovery and as an attempt to try and re-enter the land of the living, I set myself a couple of goals for this year. The first was to start Hasscasts, get 1k subscribers and a community and the other was to make at least 2 contributions to Home Assistant, both by the end of the year. However, when I tried to submit my first PR I was shot down with a semi-sarcastic comment and then PR (or issue I can’t remember which) was closed on me instead of being offered valued constructive criticism. I wiped the contributions goal from my list and went on.
I would, therefore, say, that the initial answer of open up a PR is not that valid when newcomers are not encouraged in their endeavours to help.
I did have a few more points but for the life of me I cannot remember what they are so I will leave it there for the time being 
John
Can you link to that PR? Though not all contributions are accepted, I would say it is very rare for one to be shot down with no reason given. A misunderstanding seems most likely to me and it would be great if we could resolve it so you can reach your goal 
First of all @amelchio , thanks for caring enough to try and fix this.
After looking for the link, it is actually an issue that I opened and not a PR but the other details look right.
In the issue I clearly explain the issue and am willing to help out. If the issue was that the password was intentionally null then that is all I needed to know in a polite manner then I could have looked for something else to look at instead of a semi-sarcastic comment.
I was then told that this repo was not the place for this issue to be raised as the repo in question is about docs and not hassio addons but I could have sworn that I looked through the repo and the code for the addon was in the repo.
Please, see what you think and let me know. I don’t think I am being too over-sensitive here. I feel that people wanting to start contributing or trying to fix issues should be encouraged.
Thanks again,
John
The issue you raised you raised against the Website which is the documentation, you didn’t raise the issue against the actual code…
In that case, why not explain that? To start a reply to Github Issue request with a sarcastic comment and then carry on to say that it’s the wrong place is not only rude [and obviously sarcastic] but it closes the door and ends a conversation.
To me it should be obvious to a user that has the authority to close an issue that I am/was a newcomer to the repo.
My very 1st post for my own site is about how after coming out of the Army with a broken back and P.T.S.D I tried to get into web developing. It explains that the negative comments of some can have a big impact on users not used to the system; its intricacies and various other aspects. The post is from 2012 but is still very valid.
If you want to read it then feel free. I think most of the points I make in there are very pertinent to this issue (not the Github “Issue”).
No doubt many think I am being over-sensitive but how is a community to supposed to grow and attract new contributors if they are expected to have their feet already running when they hit the treadmill (an odd analogy I know). I am not suggesting that people hold newcomers hands and say “Aaaand, this button submits the Issue”. Obviously, a certain level of technical competence should be expected.
At the minute I am totally feeding off of negativity and using it for mental fuel and motivation but it would be nice to hear from somebody who agrees with what I have said and the point I am trying to make. Especially as @moti_r in his Original Post managed to get his negative but very constructive feedback while being very apologetic for it and pointing out that he “… truly appreciate[s] all the effort you guys are putting into HA”. In my personal opinion, he has got the mix right; and of course, he was heavily criticised for it as many have only seen the bad in his comments and the efforts he made to back up his negative feedback with examples etc.
I apologise for the rant and the length of this reply.
John
Agreed, that response is a bit grumpy. However, since you are misusing the bug database to request help and even doing it in the wrong repo, I don’t think it is wrong to close the issue. Further, while we should strive to be friendly, expecting constructive criticism (which is often a lot of work) from any random volunteer that you happen to disturb is probably a bit optimistic.
Incidentally, the best place to ask for help with development activities is in the Discord chat.
@HassCasts As not everyone got a good night’s sleep the previous evening, has English as their first language, didn’t just get chewed out by their boss, or be under a great deal of pressure just to get some code completed, you can and should expect just about any response or even none. I didn’t see the comment as intentionally rude but perhaps curt. Someone digging through miles of potential issues to deal with and not spending the time to carry on a conversation.
Can’t recommend that highly enough. The Devs in there go above and beyond!