Building a Smarter Home: Integrating RESTful Data into Home Assistant Dashboard

Unlock the full potential of Home Assistant by seamlessly integrating custom data from a Restful API. This post describes all the required steps to configure a REST sensor, retrieve data, and display it on your dashboard.

Configure the REST Sensor / API in configuration.yaml

To define a sensor that fetch custom data from an REST API, add the following YAML code to your Home Assistant configuration file (configuration.yaml).
Adjust the resource parameter to match your server’s address, as well as the value_json.custom_value based on your specific JSON structure.

sensor:
  - platform: rest
    resource: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8000  # URL of your rest api
    name: "Custom_Data_Sensor"
    value_template: "{{ value_json.custom_value }}"

The REST platform in Home Assistant offers several configuration parameters to tailor its behavior. These include:

• method: Specifies the HTTP method to be used (GET, POST, etc.).
• headers: Allows inclusion of custom headers in the request.
• timeout: Sets the maximum time for the request to complete.
• authentication: Enables the use of authentication credentials.
• verify_ssl: Determines whether SSL verification is enabled or disabled.
• payload: Defines the data to be sent in the request body for POST, PUT, and other applicable methods.

Monitoring and Testing

After saving the configuration, restart Home Assistant. Monitor the logs for any errors and verify that the data updates correctly.

Add the Sensor Entity to your Home Assistant Dashboard

To visualize the external data on your dashboard, create a new card by following these steps:

1. Click on “Configure UI” in the bottom right corner.
2. Click on the “+” icon to add a new card.
3. Choose “Entities” as the card type.
4. In the entity list, find and select your newly created entity (sensor.Custom_Data_Sensor).
5. Click “Save” to confirm the changes.

The external data will be displayed on your Home Assistant dashboard, providing real-time information from your REST API source.

Conclusion

Integrating external data via REST API into Home Assistant opens up a world of possibilities. Whether it’s data from sensors, PV systems, or other sources, this guide empowers you to create a unified and informative dashboard.

Explore various API endpoints and configurations to customize your Home Assistant setup according to your specific requirements.