Home Assistant Operations

Quick Start

Check if Home Assistant is healthy:

bash

# ✅ CORRECT: Use GET request
curl -s https://ha.temet.ai/ | grep "Home Assistant"

# ❌ WRONG: HEAD returns 405 (but this is expected behavior, not an error!)
curl -I https://ha.temet.ai/
# Returns: HTTP/2 405 Method Not Allowed - THIS IS NORMAL

Send a notification:

bash

source /Users/dawiddutoit/projects/play/network-infrastructure/.env

curl -X POST "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/services/notify/${HA_NOTIFY_SERVICE#*.}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "message": "Test from infrastructure monitoring",
    "title": "Infrastructure Alert"
  }'

When to Use

Triggers:

•"Interact with Home Assistant"
•"Call HA service"
•"Send HA notification"
•"Check HA health"
•"Home Assistant returns 405"
•"HA health check failing"

Key Concepts

The 405 Situation

Home Assistant does NOT support HEAD requests. It returns HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed for HEAD, which is EXPECTED and NORMAL behavior.

Correct Health Check:

bash

# ✅ Use GET and check content
curl -s https://ha.temet.ai/ --max-time 5 | grep "Home Assistant"

Operations

API Access

Create long-lived token in HA UI → Profile → Long-Lived Access Tokens

Store in .env:

bash

HA_ACCESS_TOKEN=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...
HA_BASE_URL=http://192.168.68.123:8123
HA_NOTIFY_SERVICE=notify.mobile_app_your_phone

Send Notifications

bash

curl -X POST "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/services/notify/${HA_NOTIFY_SERVICE#*.}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Alert text", "title": "Title"}'

Call Services

bash

# General pattern
curl -X POST "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/services/<domain>/<service>" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"entity_id": "entity.name"}'

# Trigger automation
curl -X POST "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/services/automation/trigger" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"entity_id": "automation.infrastructure_alert_handler"}'

Read Entity States

bash

# Specific entity
curl -s "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/states/sensor.temperature" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" | jq .

# All entities
curl -s "${HA_BASE_URL}/api/states" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HA_ACCESS_TOKEN}" | jq .

Supporting Files

File	Purpose
`references/api-endpoints.md`	Complete HA REST API endpoint reference

Requirements

•Home Assistant running at 192.168.68.123:8123
•Long-lived access token
•Environment variables: HA_BASE_URL, HA_ACCESS_TOKEN, HA_NOTIFY_SERVICE
•Tools: curl, jq (optional)

Red Flags

• Do not use HEAD requests (always returns 405)
• Do not assume 405 means HA is broken
• Do not expose access tokens in logs
• Do not hardcode tokens in scripts (use .env)
• Do not skip token creation

Common Issues

Symptom	Cause	Fix
HTTP 405	Used HEAD instead of GET	Use GET
401 Unauthorized	Invalid token	Verify token, recreate
404 Not Found	Wrong entity_id	Check entity exists
Connection refused	HA not running	Check HA server
No notification	Wrong service name	Verify HA_NOTIFY_SERVICE