The Home Assistant Configuration Menu Gets Another Reshuffle

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Recently, the developers behind Home Assistant undertook a comprehensive redesign of the application's configuration menu. Last December, they replaced the long list of settings and drab icons with a more vibrant and user-friendly interface. Some users were not pleased with the redesign, as it required more clicks to reach certain frequently used settings. If you were among those users, the changes in Home Assistant Core 2022.5 might not fully satisfy you. However, you might agree that the new layout is more logically organized.

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The most used element for me is restart the server. I dont get why this is hidden under literally the last item in the list.

- /u/rklueber on Reddit

Changes to Home Assistant's Top-Level Configuration Menu

To help you prepare for the upcoming changes, I've reviewed the new configuration menu and compared it to the latest stable release of Home Assistant Core. In the screenshots below, I've used light mode for Core 2022.5 and dark mode for Core 2022.4 to easily distinguish between the two versions.

Screenshot of Home Assistant's configuration menu in dark mode, showing several options with associated icons. From top to bottom, the options are: Home Assistant Cloud (showing logged-in email), Devices & Services, Automations & Scenes, Blueprints, Backup, Dashboards, Tags, People & Zones, and Settings. Each option has a brief description of its function, such as “Manage automations, scenes, scripts and helpers” for Automations & Scenes, and “Manage the people and zones that Home Assistant tracks” for People & Zones.
Screenshot of Home Assistant's configuration menu in light mode, displaying several options with associated icons. From top to bottom, the options are: Home Assistant Cloud (described as “Control home when away and integrate with Alexa and Google Assistant”), Devices & Services, Automations & Scenes, Areas & Zones, Dashboards, Tags, People, System, and About. Each option includes a brief description of its function, such as “Integrations, devices, entities and helpers” for Devices & Services and “Manage locations in and around your house” for Areas & Zones.

Home Assistant Blueprints Are No Longer a Top-Level Item

One of the most noticeable changes in the top-level configuration menu is the reorganization of Blueprints. Blueprints, which are primarily used for automations and scripts, have been moved and grouped with automations and scenes. This change makes sense, as Blueprints aren't accessed frequently enough to warrant a top-level position. In my opinion, scenes should have been placed higher, given their distinct role from scripts and automations.

Ha Configuration Menu 01

Reshuffling Zones, Areas, and People

Previously, Home Assistant grouped zones with people, which made sense as zones are often used to track people’s locations. However, since the map can also be used by other devices, it is logical to group zones with areas. Zones represent areas outside your smart home, such as offices and schools, while areas are for rooms within your smart home.

Home Assistant System Settings Indicate Future Directions

The most significant change in the new configuration menu is found under system. Instead of a single screen or tabs, you now find a submenu. This submenu follows the same design language as the top-level menu, with large icons and ample space, making it touch-friendly.

If you're looking for the configuration validator, it's now located in the developer tools, alongside the option to reload YAML files.

These changes suggest a move towards a more organized and user-friendly configuration menu, which should make managing your Home Assistant setup more intuitive.

Ha Configuration Menu 03
A portrait photo oif Liam Alexander Colman, the author, creator, and owner of Home Assistant Guide wearing a suit.

About Liam Alexander Colman

is an experienced Home Assistant user who has been utilizing the platform for a variety of projects over an extended period. His journey began with a Raspberry Pi, which quickly grew to three Raspberry Pis and eventually a full-fledged server. Liam's current operating system of choice is Unraid, with Home Assistant comfortably running in a Docker container.
With a deep understanding of the intricacies of Home Assistant, Liam has an impressive setup, consisting of various Zigbee devices, and seamless integrations with existing products such as his Android TV box. For those interested in learning more about Liam's experience with Home Assistant, he shares his insights on how he first started using the platform and his subsequent journey.

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