The Home Assistant configuration menu is getting yet another reshuffle

Not too long ago, the Home Assistant's developers redesigned the application's configuration menu from the ground up. Last December, the long list of settings, with drab icons, was replaced by a cosier and more colourful interface.

Not everyone was happy with the redesign, as it required more clicks to reach certain frequently used settings. If you were part of that camp, I can't guarantee that you will endorse the changes coming in Home Assistant Core 2022.5, but I think that even you will agree that things are now a bit more logically organized.

Changes to Home Assistant's top-level configuration menu

To prepare you for what is coming, I have gone through the new configuration menu and compared it to the most recent stable release of Home Assistant Core. In the following screenshots, I have used light mode for Core 2022.5 and dark mode for Core 2022.4, so you can easily tell, which is which.

Home Assistant Blueprints are no longer a top-level item

You will find the most obvious changes in the top-level configuration menu. While a quick glance might not reveal much, there has been some reorganization. Blueprints, which aren't accessed all too often and are only used for automations and scripts, are now grouped with the automations and scenes.

I embrace this because it's where Blueprints should be, and they aren't critical enough to deserve a spot in the top-level menu. If anything, scenes should have been placed a level higher, as they differ significantly from scripts and automations.

Reshuffling zones, areas, and people

Previously, Home Assistant grouped zones with people. This made sense, insofar that we frequently use zones to track peoples whereabouts. However, the map can also be used by other devices and as such, logic dictates that zones should be grouped with areas, as they are both used similarly. Zones are for areas outside your smart home, such as the office and schools, and areas are for rooms inside your smart home.

Home Assistant System Settings are a sign of things to come

The most considerable change, and likely a sign of the direction the Home Assistant configuration menu is heading in, is found under system. Here we are not greeted by single screen or tabs, but instead we find a submenu. This submenu follows the same design language as the top-level menu, displaying large icons and allowing plenty of room for touch interfaces.

If you wondered where the configuration validator has gone, it is now found in the developer tools, alongside the option to reload YAML files.