ha-api

Call a Home Assistant service by sending a POST request to /api/services/{domain}/{service} with a Bearer token header and a JSON body containing entity_id and service parameters. The requests library handles this with response.raise_for_status() for error checking.

Authenticate by creating a Long-Lived Access Token in Home Assistant under Settings, then include it in every request as an Authorization header with the exact prefix "Bearer ". For WebSocket connections, respond to the auth_required message within 10 seconds with an auth message containing the token.

Use the REST API for one-time requests, state queries, and occasional service calls since it is simpler over HTTP. Use the WebSocket API for real-time event subscriptions and continuous monitoring, where it offers lower latency around 50ms versus seconds for polling.

A 401 error means the access token is invalid, expired, or the Authorization header is missing the "Bearer " prefix with exact spacing. Create a new Long-Lived Access Token in Home Assistant Settings and verify the HA_TOKEN environment variable is set correctly.

The connection closes when the client fails to respond to the auth_required message within 10 seconds or uses an incorrect path like /api/websocket/ with a trailing slash. Send the auth message with your token immediately upon receiving auth_required.

No, this Skill covers external API integration only, not building automations inside Home Assistant or developing custom integrations. It is meant for external scripts and applications communicating with a running Home Assistant instance over HTTP or WebSocket.