hass-mcp-server

MCP server for full Home Assistant control. AI agents (GitHub Copilot, Claude, etc.) can manage your dashboards, automations, files, apps, entities, and more — so you never have to touch HA settings yourself.

Features

• Dashboard management — Create, update, delete Lovelace dashboards and deploy full dashboard configs
• File management — Upload, read, list, and delete files on your HA instance via SFTP (e.g. custom cards, images, HTML files)
• Automations, scripts, scenes — Full CRUD for automations, scripts, and scenes
• Input helpers — Create and manage input_boolean, input_number, input_text, input_select, input_datetime, input_button, counter, and timer helpers
• App management — Install, start, stop, restart, uninstall, and configure apps (add-ons)
• Entity & service control — Query states, call services, render templates, browse entity/device/area registries
• System tools — System info, config validation, backups, core restart, error log
• Event & calendar tools — List event types, fire events, calendar queries
• State management — Set, delete entity states; handle intents

66 tools across 5 categories, using three HA transport layers: REST API, WebSocket API, and SSH/SFTP.

Prerequisites

• Home Assistant OS (or any HA installation with Supervisor)
• Long-lived access token — Create one in HA → Profile → Security → Long-Lived Access Tokens
• Node.js 20+
• (Optional) SSH app — Required only for file management tools. Install "Advanced SSH & Web Terminal" from the app store.

Quick Start

No installation needed — your MCP client runs the server automatically via npx. Just add the configuration to your client and you're ready to go.

Configuration

The server is configured through environment variables set in your MCP client's configuration file. The client injects these into the server process at launch time — you never need to set system-wide environment variables.

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
HA_URL	Home Assistant base URL	http://homeassistant.local:8123
HA_TOKEN	Long-lived access token	(from HA Profile → Security)

Optional Variables (for file management)

File management tools require SSH access. See Setting Up SSH below.

Variable	Description	Example
HA_SSH_HOST	SSH hostname	homeassistant.local
HA_SSH_PORT	SSH port (default: 22)	22
HA_SSH_USER	SSH username (must be root)	root
HA_SSH_KEY_PATH	Path to SSH private key	See examples per OS
HA_SSH_PASSWORD	SSH password (alternative to key)	(your password)

Getting a Long-Lived Access Token

1. Open your Home Assistant UI
2. Click your profile icon (bottom-left)
3. Scroll to Long-Lived Access Tokens under the Security tab
4. Click Create Token, give it a name, and copy the token

MCP Client Setup

Choose the setup for your MCP client below. In each case, add the configuration and the client will automatically download and run the server via npx.

Tip: You can omit the HA_SSH_* variables if you don't need file management tools. The server will start without SFTP and only fail if you try to use a file tool.

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Option A: Install the extension (recommended)

The easiest way — install the Home Assistant MCP Server extension from the VS Code Marketplace. It registers the MCP server automatically and stores your credentials securely.

1. Install the extension from the Marketplace (or search "Home Assistant MCP Server" in the Extensions view).
2. Set your Home Assistant URL in Settings → homeAssistantMcp.url.
3. Run "Home Assistant MCP: Set Access Token" from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
4. The MCP server appears in Copilot Chat automatically.

For file management, configure the SSH settings (homeAssistantMcp.ssh.*) and optionally run "Home Assistant MCP: Set SSH Password".

Option B: One-click install via mcp.json

Click the badge at the top of this README, or use the link below. VS Code will prompt you for your Home Assistant URL and access token.

Option C: Manual mcp.json setup

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace (or add to your User Settings for global access):

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ha-url",
      "description": "Home Assistant base URL (e.g. http://homeassistant.local:8123)"
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ha-token",
      "description": "Home Assistant long-lived access token",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "home-assistant": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jarahkon/hass-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HA_URL": "${input:ha-url}",
        "HA_TOKEN": "${input:ha-token}"
      }
    }
  }
}

With SSH (for file management tools):

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ha-url",
      "description": "Home Assistant base URL (e.g. http://homeassistant.local:8123)"
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "ha-token",
      "description": "Home Assistant long-lived access token",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "home-assistant": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jarahkon/hass-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HA_URL": "${input:ha-url}",
        "HA_TOKEN": "${input:ha-token}",
        "HA_SSH_HOST": "homeassistant.local",
        "HA_SSH_USER": "root",
        "HA_SSH_KEY_PATH": "/home/you/.ssh/ha_ed25519"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop config file:

OS	Config file path
Windows	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Linux	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "home-assistant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jarahkon/hass-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HA_URL": "http://homeassistant.local:8123",
        "HA_TOKEN": "your_long_lived_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "home-assistant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jarahkon/hass-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "HA_URL": "http://homeassistant.local:8123",
        "HA_TOKEN": "your_long_lived_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

Any MCP client that supports stdio servers will work. Use npx as the command with -y @jarahkon/hass-mcp-server@latest as args, and pass HA_URL and HA_TOKEN in the env block.

Setting Up SSH (for file management)

File management tools (ha_upload_file, ha_read_file, ha_list_files, etc.) require SSH access to your Home Assistant instance.

1. Install the SSH app in Home Assistant

1. In HA, go to Settings → Apps → App Store
2. Install Advanced SSH & Web Terminal
3. In the app configuration, set the username to root (required for SFTP) and enable sftp: true
4. Configure authentication — either set a password or add your public key to authorized_keys (recommended)
5. Start the app and check the logs to confirm it started successfully

2. Generate an SSH key (recommended)

Key-based authentication is more secure than passwords.

# Generate a key pair (leave passphrase empty for automated use)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/ha_ed25519 -C "ha-mcp-server"

This creates ~/.ssh/ha_ed25519 (private key) and ~/.ssh/ha_ed25519.pub (public key).

Add the public key contents to the app configuration in HA:

ssh:
  username: root
  password: ""
  authorized_keys:
    - "ssh-ed25519 AAAA...contents of ha_ed25519.pub..."
  sftp: true

3. Add SSH variables to your MCP client config

Add these environment variables alongside HA_URL and HA_TOKEN in the env block of your MCP client configuration:

"HA_SSH_HOST": "homeassistant.local",
"HA_SSH_USER": "root",
"HA_SSH_KEY_PATH": "/home/you/.ssh/ha_ed25519"

Or if using password authentication:

"HA_SSH_HOST": "homeassistant.local",
"HA_SSH_USER": "root",
"HA_SSH_PASSWORD": "your_ssh_password_here"

SSH key path examples

OS	Example HA_SSH_KEY_PATH
Windows	C:/Users/you/.ssh/ha_ed25519
macOS	/Users/you/.ssh/ha_ed25519
Linux	/home/you/.ssh/ha_ed25519

Tool Reference

Dashboards (6 tools)

Tool	Description
ha_list_dashboards	List all Lovelace dashboards
ha_create_dashboard	Create a new dashboard with url_path, title, icon
ha_update_dashboard	Update dashboard properties (title, icon, sidebar visibility)
ha_delete_dashboard	Delete a dashboard by ID
ha_get_dashboard_config	Get the full Lovelace config JSON for a dashboard
ha_save_dashboard_config	Deploy a complete Lovelace config to a dashboard

Files (7 tools) — requires SSH

Tool	Description
ha_list_files	List files in a directory on HA (relative to /config/)
ha_read_file	Read file contents from HA
ha_upload_file	Upload a local file to HA via SFTP
ha_upload_file_content	Write string content directly to a file on HA
ha_delete_file	Delete a file on HA (restricted to safe directories)
ha_mkdir	Create a directory on HA
ha_file_exists	Check if a file or directory exists on HA

Automations, Scripts, Scenes & Helpers (17 tools)

Tool	Description
ha_list_automations	List all automations
ha_get_automation	Get a specific automation's config by ID
ha_create_automation	Create a new automation
ha_update_automation	Update an existing automation
ha_delete_automation	Delete an automation
ha_list_scripts	List all scripts
ha_create_script	Create a new script
ha_update_script	Update an existing script
ha_delete_script	Delete a script
ha_list_scenes	List all scenes
ha_create_scene	Create a new scene
ha_update_scene	Update an existing scene
ha_delete_scene	Delete a scene
ha_list_helpers	List all input helpers (booleans, numbers, etc.)
ha_create_helper	Create an input helper of any type
ha_update_helper	Update an existing helper
ha_delete_helper	Delete a helper

Apps & System (18 tools)

Tool	Description
ha_list_addons	List all installed apps with status
ha_addon_info	Get detailed info about a specific app
ha_install_addon	Install an app by slug
ha_start_addon	Start an app
ha_stop_addon	Stop an app
ha_restart_addon	Restart an app
ha_uninstall_addon	Uninstall an app
ha_addon_options	Get or set app configuration options
ha_system_info	Get system info (core, OS, supervisor, host)
ha_check_config	Validate HA configuration before reload
ha_create_backup	Create a full or partial backup
ha_list_backups	List all backups
ha_restart_core	Restart Home Assistant core
ha_check_api	Check if the HA API is accessible and responding
ha_get_config	Get HA configuration (location, units, version, components)
ha_update_core_config	Update core configuration (internal/external URL, location, units)
ha_get_components	List all loaded HA integrations/components
ha_get_error_log	Get the Home Assistant error log contents

Entities & Services (18 tools)

Tool	Description
ha_get_states	Get all entity states (optionally filtered by domain)
ha_get_entity	Get full state and attributes of a specific entity
ha_call_service	Call any HA service (turn_on, turn_off, notify, etc.)
ha_list_services	List available services by domain
ha_render_template	Render a Jinja2 template
ha_list_entity_registry	List entities from the entity registry
ha_list_devices	List all devices
ha_list_areas	List all areas (rooms)
ha_create_area	Create a new area
ha_get_history	Get state history for an entity over a time period
ha_get_logbook	Get logbook entries (activity log), optionally filtered by entity
ha_get_events	List all available event types
ha_fire_event	Fire a custom event to trigger automations
ha_set_state	Set or create an entity state (virtual sensors, overrides)
ha_delete_state	Delete an entity state
ha_get_calendars	List all calendar entities
ha_get_calendar_events	Get events from a specific calendar
ha_handle_intent	Handle a conversation/voice intent

Architecture

The server uses three transport layers to communicate with Home Assistant:

Layer	Used For	Library
REST API (/api/...)	Service calls, states, history, templates, Supervisor proxy, automation/script/scene CRUD	Built-in fetch
WebSocket API (/api/websocket)	Dashboard CRUD, helper CRUD, entity registry	ws
SSH/SFTP	File upload/download/list/delete on HA filesystem	ssh2-sftp-client

src/
├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point, registers all tools
├── config.ts             # Environment variable parsing and validation
├── ha/
│   ├── rest-client.ts    # REST API client with auth header
│   ├── ws-client.ts      # WebSocket client with auto-reconnect
│   └── sftp-client.ts    # SFTP client with path safety checks
└── tools/
    ├── dashboards.ts     # 6 dashboard tools
    ├── files.ts          # 7 file management tools
    ├── automations.ts    # 17 automation/script/scene/helper tools
    ├── addons.ts         # 18 app and system tools
    └── entities.ts       # 18 entity and service tools

vscode-extension/         # VS Code Marketplace extension wrapper
└── src/
    └── extension.ts      # Registers MCP server via mcpServerDefinitionProviders API

Security Notes

• SFTP path restrictions: Read operations are allowed anywhere under /config/. Write and delete operations are restricted to safe subdirectories (www/, custom_components/, themes/, blueprints/, scripts/, automations/) and specific files (configuration.yaml, automations.yaml, scripts.yaml, scenes.yaml). Write operations to system directories like deps/ or .storage/ are blocked.
• Token security: Never commit your .env file. The .gitignore already excludes it.
• SSH authentication: Prefer SSH key-based auth (HA_SSH_KEY_PATH) over passwords. Never commit private keys or passwords to source control.

License

MIT