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68 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
68 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Concepts and terminology"
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description: "Explaining some Home Assistant basics"
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---
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Now you're in Home Assistant, let's look at the most important concepts.
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## Integrations
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Integrations are pieces of software that allow Home Assistant to connect to other software and platforms. For example, a product by Philips called Hue would use the Philips Hue {% term integration %} and allow Home Assistant to talk to the hardware controller Hue Bridge. Any Home Assistant compatible {% term devices %} connected to the Hue Bridge would appear in Home Assistant as [devices](#devices).
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For a full list of compatible {% term integrations %}, refer to the [integrations](/integrations) documentation.
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Once an {% term integration %} has been added, the hardware and/or data are represented in Home Assistant as [devices and entities](#devices).
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## Entities
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Entities are the basic building blocks to hold data in Home Assistant. An {% term entity %} represents a {% term sensor %}, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other {% term entities %}. An {% term entity %} is usually part of a {% term device %} or a {% term service %}. Entities have {% term states %}.
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## Devices
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Devices are a logical grouping for one or more {% term entities %}. A {% term device %} may represent a physical {% term device %}, which can have one or more sensors. The sensors appear as entities associated with the {% term device %}. For example, a motion sensor is represented as a {% term device %}. It may provide motion detection, temperature, and light levels as {% term entities %}. Entities have states such as *detected* when motion is detected and *clear* when there is no motion.
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Devices and entities are used throughout Home Assistant. To name a few examples:
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- [Dashboards](/getting-started/onboarding_dashboard/) can show a state of an {% term entity %}. For example, if a light is on or off.
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- An [automation](#automations) can be triggered from a state change on an {% term entity %}. For example, a motion sensor entity detects motion and triggers a light to turn on.
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- A predefined color and brightness setting for a light saved as a [scene](#scenes).
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## Automations
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A set of repeatable {% term actions %} that can be set up to run automatically. Automations are made of three key components:
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1. Triggers - events that start an {% term automation %}. For example, when the sun sets or a motion sensor is activated.
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2. Conditions - optional tests that must be met before an {% term action %} can be run. For example, if someone is home.
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3. Actions - interact with {% term devices %} such as turn on a light.
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To learn the basics about {% term automations %}, refer to the [automation basics](/docs/automation/basics/) page or try [creating an automation](/getting-started/automation) yourself.
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## Scripts
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Similar to {% term automations %}, scripts are repeatable {% term actions %} that can be run. The difference between {% term scripts %} and {% term automations %} is that {% term scripts %} do not have triggers. This means that {% term scripts %} cannot automatically run unless they are used in an {% term automations %}. Scripts are particularly useful if you perform the same {% term actions %} in different {% term automations %} or trigger them from a dashboard. For information on how to create {% term scripts %}, refer to the [scripts](/integrations/script/) documentation.
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## Scenes
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Scenes allow you to create predefined settings for your {% term devices %}. Similar to a driving mode on phones, or driver profiles in cars, it can change an environment to suit you. For example, your *watching films* {% term scene %} may dim the lighting, switch on the TV and increase its volume. This can be saved as a {% term scene %} and used without having to set individual {% term devices %} every time.
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To learn how to use {% term scenes %}, refer to the [scene](/integrations/scene/) documentation.
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## Add-ons
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Depending on your [installation type](/installation), you can install third party add-ons. Add-ons are usually apps that can be run with Home Assistant but provide a quick and easy way to install, configure, and run within Home Assistant. Add-ons provide additional functionality whereas {% term integrations %} connect Home Assistant to other apps.
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{% include getting-started/next_step.html step="Edit the dashboard" link="/getting-started/onboarding_dashboard/" %}
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