hass-cli

Control Home Assistant via the hass-cli Python CLI.

Configuration

Binary location: ~/.local/python-venvs/boodle/bin/hass-cli (or see if it's in the path already with which hass-cli)

Secret Management (Secure Injection): Load HASS_TOKEN from .env` or - if not there, load it securely:

bash

source skills/common/secrets.sh
load_hass_token
export HASS_SERVER=http://172.16.17.7:8123  # Update if needed

Alternative (One-liner):

bash

export HASS_TOKEN=$(gpg --decrypt ~/.authinfo.gpg 2>/dev/null | grep "machine ha-mcp-token" | awk '{for(i=1;i<=NF;i++) if($i=="password") print $(i+1)}')

Always export these variables before running hass-cli.

Quick Reference

Entity discovery:

bash

# List all entities (supports wildcards)
hass-cli -o json entity list 'light.*'
hass-cli -o json entity list 'switch.bar*'

# Get current state + attributes
hass-cli -o json state list 'light.bar*'

Control entities:

bash

# Direct control commands (preferred for simple on/off/toggle)
hass-cli state turn_on light.bar_switch_light
hass-cli state turn_off light.living_room
hass-cli state toggle switch.porch

# Service calls (for parameters or services without direct commands)
hass-cli service call light.turn_on --arguments entity_id=light.bar_switch_light
hass-cli service call climate.set_temperature --arguments entity_id=climate.bedroom,temperature=72

Areas and organization:

bash

# List areas
hass-cli -o json area list

# List devices
hass-cli -o json device list

Common Patterns

Find entities in an area:

bash

# 1. Get area_id from area list
hass-cli -o json area list | jq -r '.[] | select(.name=="Bar") | .area_id'

# 2. Filter entities by area_id (from entity metadata)
hass-cli -o json entity list | jq '.[] | select(.area_id=="bar")'

Get detailed state information:

bash

# State includes: current value, attributes, last_changed, last_updated
hass-cli -o json state list 'light.bar_switch_light'

Wildcard searches:

•light.* — all lights
•switch.bar* — switches starting with "bar"
•sensor.*temperature* — all temperature sensors
•climate.bedroom — exact match

Output Formats

JSON (preferred for structured data):

bash

hass-cli -o json entity list

Table (human-readable):

bash

hass-cli -o table state list 'light.*'

YAML:

bash

hass-cli -o yaml area list

Limitations

Broken commands:

•hass-cli info — Uses deprecated endpoint, will fail

Entity vs State:

•entity list — Registry metadata (area, device, platform, creation date)
•state list — Current state + attributes (on/off, brightness, temperature, etc.)
•Use state list for runtime information, entity list for organization

Service Calls

List available services:

bash

hass-cli -o json service list

Common services by domain:

•light.turn_on, light.turn_off, light.toggle
•switch.turn_on, switch.turn_off, switch.toggle
•climate.set_temperature, climate.set_hvac_mode
•cover.open_cover, cover.close_cover
•automation.trigger, automation.turn_on, automation.turn_off
•notify.notify (send notifications)

Service call syntax:

bash

hass-cli service call <domain>.<service> --arguments key=value,key2=value2

Examples:

bash

# Trigger automation
hass-cli service call automation.trigger --arguments entity_id=automation.good_night

# Light with brightness
hass-cli service call light.turn_on --arguments entity_id=light.bedroom,brightness=128

# Climate with temperature
hass-cli service call climate.set_temperature --arguments entity_id=climate.bedroom,temperature=72

# Notification
hass-cli service call notify.notify --arguments message="Garage door open!",title="Alert"

Examples

Turn on multiple lights:

bash

hass-cli state turn_on light.living_room
hass-cli state turn_on light.kitchen

Check bedroom temperature:

bash

hass-cli -o json state list 'sensor.bedroom_temperature' | jq -r '.[0].state'

List all lights that are currently on:

bash

hass-cli -o json state list 'light.*' | jq '.[] | select(.state=="on") | .entity_id'a

Find entities with "bar" in the name:

bash

hass-cli -o json entity list | jq '.[] | select(.entity_id | contains("bar"))'