Home Assistant 入坑 7 個必裝附加元件 (Add-ons) – Home Assistant 手把手教學 EP 12

Add-ons are added to the Home Assistant core system to expand functions not found in the basic Home Assistant system. The 7 add-ons introduced today are all add-ons that I have used myself and think are very useful. It is highly recommended that you install them first as soon as you start Home Assistant. This will definitely help you get twice the result with half the effort!

Table of contents

Google Drive Backup: HA hangs? Just Rollback!

Home Assistant will have backup options during system updates and various add-on updates. Of course, you can also manually perform backups. However, using Google Drive Backup will definitely make it easier for you. You no longer have to worry about forgetting to make a backup when the system needs to be restarted. There is no need to reset all devices when resetting. When you need to update and upgrade the host one day in the future, you only need to select the most recent backup file to restore directly, and all the devices will be online again. Isn’t it so easy!

Refer to the following tutorial and install Google Drive Backup immediately!

Regular backup of Google Drive Backup turns your Home Assistant into a nine-life monster – Home Assistant Step-by-Step Tutorial EP 11

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Samba share allows you to easily transfer files to the Home Assistant host from different computers (Mac, Windows, ChromeOS...etc). Without Samba share, you may need to plug and unplug a USB flash drive or other methods. Place some necessary files into Home Assistant.

exist Floor plan Visual floor plan Dashboard During the implementation process, you need to put a large number of pictures into Home Assistant. At this time, the Samba share add-on will make it much easier for you! After the computer has prepared all the files, you can directly connect to Home Assistant through Samba share. Then just like moving files normally, put the files you want to put into Home Assistant into the corresponding folder and you're done!

Studio Code Server: The best program editor in HAOS, bar none!

Occasionally when using Home Assistant, you will inevitably need to adjust the YAML code. At this time, having "Studio Code Server" will make it much more convenient for you. "Studio Code Server" basically directly installs VSCode (Visual Studio Code) that can usually be installed on your computer. Ported to Home Assistant, VSCode is a program editor with a high market share. It has various community-developed Extensions and debug tools to make it more convenient for you to adjust the program code!

"Code coloring" allows you to crawl code faster, "Autocomplete" speeds up editing, "Syntax error checking" reduces grammatical errors... and other convenient functions, whether you want to edit programs in Home Assistant or a regular computer It is recommended for all coders to try VSCode.

Matter Server: Your smart home will definitely use Matter!

Matter is an emerging communication standard in the smart home field. In recent years, more and more devices that support Matter connection have been launched. If you choose to use Home Assistant as your smart home hub, you definitely want to be able to use various brands of smart home devices without restrictions. , then you can’t miss Matter Server! Installing Matter Server will allow you to painlessly access all Matter devices, and you will have more things to buy🤣

If you use Docker to install Home Assistant, you may need to install Matter Server yourself. You can refer toOfficial GitHub description.

Terminal & SSH: Chances are rare, but you’ll definitely need it!

As an OS (operating system), Home Assistant inevitably needs to use the terminal (or command line tool) to perform some special things in a few cases. Frankly speaking, since I am not from an information background, I basically don’t know how to do it. I haven’t tried Terminal for anything. I only use it when copying other people’s homework when performing some special operations. For example, I will use Terminal when installing HACS to be introduced below 👍

HACS: Make Home Assistant even more powerful!

The full name of HACS is Home Assistant Community Store, which is a platform that allows developers to publish self-made packages and plug-ins, and allows general users to install these customized packages.

As an open source platform, Home Assistant originally has limited built-in functions and add-ons. At this time, through HACS, you can add the packages created by all Home Assistant enthusiasts and developers in the world, making Home Assistant greatly expandable and convenient. promote.

However, this also comes with some risks. These kits (or plug-ins, add-ons) listed on HACS have not been officially certified by Home Assistant, which means there may be concerns about safety or compatibility, so When installing packages in HACS, it is best to choose a package that is used by more people and updated more frequently, which will be more secure.

Zigbee2MQTT and Mosquitto broker: the most recommended connection methods for smart home devices!

Almost 80% of the smart home devices in my home are connected via Zigbee, and Zigbee is also one of my most recommended device connection methods (other than Matter).

So if you are new to smart home or Home Assistant, it is highly recommended that you install Zigbee2MQTT and Mosquitto broker to connect to Zigbee devices. Although the installation steps are a bit complicated, don't worry! The operation tutorial has been prepared for you:

How to connect Home Assistant to (almost) all Zigbee devices through Zigbee2MQTT – Home Assistant Step-by-Step Tutorial EP 2

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Start building your Home Assistant smart home!

The 7 must-install add-ons recommended for you today are the top priority for Home Assistant. Hurry up and install them all into your Home Assistant!

Leave a message and share your results with me! Recommendations for other add-ons are also welcome!

2 COMMENTS

Fuji 2024-11-03 At 16:24
Hello~ I don’t know if you use Xiaomi devices?
I have installed HACS and also downloaded Xiaomi Miot Auto in HACS
But I can’t find it in the add-on store and I don’t know what the problem is ~
- Neil 2024-11-03 At 21:26
  Hi Fuji,
  Settings > Devices and Services > Add new integration, search for "xiaomi" and you should be able to see it.

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Jerry 2025/04/14Thank you very much Neil for your selfless sharing. The websites you provided are of great help to me. I will save it first and digest it slowly^^ I also look forward to Neil's industry news and teaching articles in the futureHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Neil 2025/04/13Hi Jerry, I usually get information about HA from these places: Website: – Home Assistant official Release notes – Automata – Home Automation Community – Weijia Home Intelligence FB Group: – Taiwan Home Assistant enthusiasts exchange – Home Assistant YouTube channel: – Smart Home Solver – Everything Smart Home – Home Assistant Programming language: Strictly speaking, YAML is not really a programming language (let me make this clear in case some people mind 🤣), but if we include these data formats or style languages that “look like” programming languages, and sort them by depth of use in HA (the deeper the bottom, the deeper the bottom): – YAML (data format): a language for configuration files used in many places in the HA environment. – CSS (style language): used to adjust the interface style (font size, color, image, position, etc.). – JSON (data format): If you use Node-RED, you will probably come across it. – Jinja2 (Python template syntax): You may encounter it when you explore automation or Dashboard in depth. ※ But in fact, even if HA does not know the above, it can still make a smart home complete. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself, but if you are interested, it is also good to know more. It is actually difficult to generalize about the support of devices. Now, even if the home appliances themselves do not support it, there are still many different ways to connect traditional home appliances to HA. In addition, cases like Haier do require in-depth research. What I usually do is to crawl a lot of information on the Internet, and usually find attempts made by others. It just so happens that when I was looking up other information recently, I saw someone sharing how Haier water heaters were connected to HA. But it is indeed like what you said, if you get involved for a while, you will understand these details more and more. 🤣Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Jerry 2025/04/10Hello Neil: After observing for 1 or 2 days, everything seems to be normal. Maybe it’s because the system was not stable during the initial setup period!? The more I play, the deeper I feel. I also find that I still have many shortcomings. I wonder if Neil can share and teach everyone how to fish? For example, recommend good websites, forums, FB groups, youtube videos, or give some guidance. In addition to the YAML language, would it be helpful to know some CSS syntax? Do I need to know other languages? I can even start a new teaching direction. When I see non-big-name products that claim to support APP (such as products from mainland China), I can teach everyone how to identify whether they can be connected to HA and how to ask customer service? Where can I see supported articles or platforms? This kind of experience sharing, I think, will be very helpful to everyone. I am currently looking to buy a heat pump water heater from Haier. Haier is a big manufacturer in the world and has its own APP. I have also found Haier's kit from HACS, but it does not seem to support heat pump water heaters. Does that mean it cannot be connected to HA? Or is there any channel to check it? There are also many flat panel lights and fan function lamps on the other side of the strait, which also claim to support APP connection, but they are all small manufacturers and it is difficult to tell whether they can be connected to HA. These are the problems I am facing now. If the home appliances I buy are different from what Neil shared, I don’t know where to start. Maybe I'm still too inexperienced. If I play for a few more months, maybe the above problems won't be a problem anymore, haha^^Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Neil 2025/04/09Hi Jerry, I tested it myself and it was fine, but please note that because it is controlled through the cloud, there is an extra layer of brand mediation, so it is not suitable for fast switching. I tested it myself and it took about 1 second to complete the synchronization after clicking. Remember to put the entity in entities, otherwise the status display may have problemsHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Jerry 2025/04/07Thanks Neil for clarifying this. I tested it later and found that when using the "button panel" to control the switch of the Electrolux air conditioner (the same model as Neil), the device will respond to turning on or off in about 1 second, but the "status icon" for turning on is much slower, and it takes about 30 seconds. The "status icon" for turning off is normal, and the "status icons" of other negative ion switches and the "status icons" of the monitoring light switch are also normal, which made me think there was a problem with the synchronization. I'll test it again, maybe it's caused by the wrong setting.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Neil 2025/04/07Hi Jerry, 1. This method is through cloud integration, which is actually using HA to call Xiaomi/Electrolux to control the device. 2. It is not normal. If this happens, you may need to check whether the entity you display on the floor plan can truly represent the status of the device. If not, you may need to try other entities of the same device.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Jerry 2025/04/07The problem is solved. Thanks again to Neil for his help^^ I have two more questions about concepts. Neil, do I have any misunderstandings? 1. I connected Xiaomi and Electrolux devices to HA through HACS. Is it still connected through WiFi? Before connecting, you need to obtain API key and Access Token from the official. This means that the communication between HA and the device still needs to go through the official. It’s just that the official APP can be replaced and all integrated into the HA APP for control? 2. After testing, when controlling the device through physical operation or the original official APP, the HA app cannot know the status of the device synchronously, but it can know the opposite. Is this normal? For example, the Xiaomi electric fan at home was turned on by someone physically before going out, but when the person is outside, he cannot know through the HA app that the device was forgotten to be turned off. He has to connect to the Xiaomi app to know!?Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

Jerry 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home can be used in Singapore by selecting the countryHome Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17

Ghost 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home currently does not support Taiwan. For now, you can only use Xiaomi Miot Auto. As for Xiaomi Cloud Map Extractor, I currently have a 2FA problem. There seems to be no simple solution. I haven’t tried it successfully yet.Home Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17

Neil 2025/04/07Jerry, it seems that the click action cannot penetrate the part where the picture changes because of the overlapping pictures. Try adding pointer-events: none to the style.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6

7 must-install add-ons for Home Assistant – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 12