Welcome! Your Home Assistant Sidebar Explained
After installing Home Assistant, the sidebar on the left is your main navigation menu. Each option helps you manage, monitor, and customize your smart home. Here's a quick guide to what each section does: This is your Home Assistant dashboard - the first page you see after logging in. Here you'll find quick info about your home: the weather, temperature, and any important devices or sensors. You can customize what shows up on this page later. The Map shows the locations of people, devices, or zones you've set up (like "Home", "Work", "School"). It's helpful for automations based on where you or your family are - for example, turning off lights when everyone leaves. The Energy dashboard tracks your home's electricity, gas, and solar usage - if you have sensors set up. It's optional, but great for seeing how much energy your home uses and where you might save. The Logbook is like a diary of your smart home. It shows a timeline of everything that's happened - such as doors opening, lights turning on, or automations running. This is helpful for troubleshooting or just seeing what's going on. The History page lets you see graphs of your devices and sensors over time. For example: How warm was your house last night? How long was a door open? Great for spotting patterns or diagnosing issues. Here you can play media (like music or announcements) on your smart speakers or media players. For example, you might play your favorite playlist or make a voice announcement to everyone at home. Manage and view shared lists - like groceries or tasks. You can access these lists from your phone or smart displays, making it easy to keep track of chores or shopping together. This section is mainly for advanced users, but it's useful if you want to experiment or need to troubleshoot. Here, you can test automations, view logs, reload integrations, and check what's going on behind the scenes. This is where you configure everything: add new devices, manage users, set up integrations, change your Home Assistant look, and more. Don't worry - you can't break anything by looking around! If Home Assistant has something to tell you (like an update is available, or a device needs attention), you'll see a notification here. At the bottom left, click your name or profile icon to adjust your account details, preferences, and see your login info. Overview
Map
Energy
Logbook
History
Media
To-do lists
Developer tools
Settings
Notifications
Your Profile