WTH Entity Relationship Mapping

Month of "What the heck?!"
1

Hi everyone,

I’d like to suggest a new feature for Home Assistant that could improve system management and troubleshooting: Entity Relationship Mapping.

Idea:
Introduce a feature to visualize and/or list relationships between entities, automations, scripts, and other components within Home Assistant. This mapping could provide an intuitive way to understand how different parts of a setup are interconnected.

Key Features:

  1. Visual Mapping:

    • A graphical representation of relationships between entities and their triggers, dependencies, and linked automations/scripts.
    • Example: a flowchart showing how a motion sensor triggers a light, which is controlled by a specific automation.

  2. Entity Dependency Table:

    • A detailed table listing entities, their triggers, and what they influence (e.g., which automations or scripts they are part of).
    • Include options to filter by entity, integration, or automation.

  3. Troubleshooting Assistance:

    • Highlight broken or missing relationships (e.g., if an entity referenced in an automation is unavailable).
    • Provide warnings or recommendations for fixing these issues.

  4. Change Impact Analysis:

    • When editing or removing an entity, show a list of automations, scripts, and dashboards that will be affected.
    • Example: if you remove a temperature sensor, Home Assistant warns you about the automations that will break.

  5. Integration with Dashboard:

    • Allow users to add visual maps or dependency tables to dashboards for quick access.

Use Case Examples:

  • Troubleshooting Automations: easily identify why an automation isn’t working by seeing if a key sensor or entity is unavailable.
  • System Optimization: quickly spot unnecessary or duplicate dependencies between entities and automations.
  • Complex Setups: for large systems with many integrations and automations, visualize how everything works together.

Benefits:

  • Improves clarity and understanding of Home Assistant setups.
  • Speeds up debugging and troubleshooting.
  • Reduces the risk of breaking automations during changes or updates.
  • Makes Home Assistant more beginner-friendly by providing insights into system behavior.