"Do you want this as:

1. Home Assistant YAML (automations.yaml, scripts.yaml, blueprints)
2. Node-RED flow (visual, drag-drop, importable JSON)
3. ESPHome config (device firmware for ESP32/ESP8266)"

1. Automation or Blueprint?
   • Automation: Specific to their setup, uses their entity names
   • Blueprint: Reusable template others can import
2. Format?
   • UI Editor (Settings > Automations)
   • YAML files (automations.yaml, packages/)
3. Output method?
   • Save to folder - Write file to the current working directory (where Claude is running)
   • Copy from chat - Display code for user to copy manually
4. HA Version? (for deprecated syntax awareness)

• state

  without

  from

  /

  to

  - Triggers on ALL changes including

  unavailable

  → use

  to: "on"

  explicitly
• Template triggers without

  value_template

  - Syntax error; use

  value_template: "{{ ... }}"

• Missing

  id

  in multi-trigger - Can't distinguish which trigger fired; add

  id: motion_detected

• Numeric comparisons as strings -

  "10"

  >

  "9"

  is false; use

  | int

  or

  | float

  filters

• and

  /

  or

  without

  condition:

  - Must specify condition type:

  condition: and

• Template condition syntax - Use

  value_template:

  , not

  condition: "{{ ... }}"

• State comparisons - States are strings; use

  | int

  for numeric comparisons

• service_template

  deprecated - Use

  service: "{{ ... }}"

  directly

• data_template

  deprecated - Use

  data:

  with templates inside

• entity_id

  in data - Should be under

  target:

  block since HA 2021.x
• Missing

  continue_on_error

  - Long automations fail silently; add error handling

• states()

  without domain - Returns ALL entities (slow); use

  states.sensor

  or

  states('sensor.name')

• now()

  in template sensor - Only updates on state change; use

  scan_interval

  or trigger-based
• Missing

  default

  filter - Errors when entity unavailable; use

  | default(0)

• Float precision - Use

  | round(2)

  for display values

• Missing

  selector

  types - Inputs need proper selectors for UI
• Hardcoded entity_ids - Use

  !input

  for all user-configurable values
• No default values - Optional inputs need

  default:

  specified

• Secrets - Use

  !secret

  for all credentials, API keys, and sensitive data
• Exposed entities - Limit what's exposed to Alexa/Google/Nabu Casa
• Remote access - Use Nabu Casa or secure reverse proxy with SSL
• Blueprints - Review imported blueprints before using; they can execute arbitrary services
• Shell commands - Never use user input in

  shell_command:

  without validation
• REST commands - Use

  !secret

  for API endpoints and tokens

• platform: template sensors: my_sensor: value_template: "{{ states('sensor.input') }}"

• sensor:
  • name: "My Sensor" state: "{{ states('sensor.input') }}" unit_of_measurement: "°C"

undefined

• Confirmed: automation vs blueprint vs script vs scene
• Confirmed: UI editor vs YAML file format
• Confirmed: output method (save vs copy)
• HA version considered for syntax compatibility

• No deprecated

  service_template

  (use

  service:

  with template)
• No deprecated

  data_template

  (use

  data:

  with templates)

• entity_id

  under

  target:

  block (not in

  data:

  )
• All template syntax uses

  {{ }}

  correctly
• Quotes around string states:

  to: "on"

  not

  to: on

• states()

  filtered by domain where possible

• default

  filter on templates accessing external entities
• Numeric comparisons use

  | int

  or

  | float

• Complex templates tested mentally for edge cases

• id:

  present for UI editor compatibility

• alias:

  is descriptive and unique
• Trigger

  id:

  for multi-trigger automations

• continue_on_error: true

  where appropriate

• All variable values use

  !input

• Proper

  selector:

  types for all inputs

• default:

  values for optional inputs

• description:

  for all inputs

• No hardcoded credentials (use

  !secret

  )
• Attribution header included
• User's entity naming convention respected

• esphome - Create ESPHome device configurations
• ha-integration - Develop custom Python integrations

Device → esphome/ha-integration → Home Assistant → ha-yaml (this skill)

• For ESPHome device firmware → use

  esphome

  skill
• For custom Python integrations → use

  ha-integration

  skill
• For voice commands with Assist → see

  references/assist-patterns.md