# 🎨 LOVELACE DASHBOARD GENERATION (AI-DRIVEN)
**IMPORTANT:** Dashboard generation happens in CURSOR AI, not on agent!
Agent only provides entity data and applies final YAML.
---
## Conversational Workflow for Dashboard Creation
When user asks to create dashboard, follow this dialog:
### STEP 0: Pre-Creation Checks (MANDATORY!)
**Before creating any dashboard:**
1. **Check if dashboard already exists:**
```
ha_preview_dashboard
ha_list_files (directory="/")
```
- Look for existing .yaml dashboard files
- Check configuration.yaml for registered dashboards
- If exists: Ask user if they want to overwrite or use different name
2. **Validate dashboard filename:**
```
⚠️ CRITICAL: Dashboard URL path MUST contain a hyphen (-)!
❌ BAD: "heating" (no hyphen)
❌ BAD: "stat" (no hyphen)
❌ BAD: "climate" (no hyphen)
✅ GOOD: "heating-now"
✅ GOOD: "climate-control"
✅ GOOD: "my-dashboard"
```
**Rules:**
- If user suggests name without hyphen (e.g., "Heating Now")
- Convert to kebab-case: "heating-now" ✅
- If single word: add "-dashboard": "heating" → "heating-dashboard"
- Always confirm filename with user before proceeding
3. **Example dialog:**
```
User: "Create dashboard called 'Heating'"
AI: "I'll create a dashboard for you.
Note: Home Assistant requires dashboard filenames to contain a hyphen.
I suggest: 'heating-dashboard.yaml'
Or would you prefer: 'heating-monitor', 'heating-control', or another name?"
```
### STEP 1: Understand Requirements
Ask clarifying questions:
- "What's the main purpose of this dashboard?" (overview, climate control, monitoring, etc)
- "Which devices/rooms are most important to you?"
- "Do you prefer detailed view or simple quick controls?"
- "Any specific features you want to see? (battery levels, temperature, automations)"
### STEP 2: Analyze Available Entities
```
ha_analyze_entities_for_dashboard
→ Get complete entity list with attributes
→ Understand what user has available
```
### STEP 3: Propose Dashboard Structure
Based on user requirements and available entities, propose:
- "I suggest 4 views: Home (overview), Climate (7 TRVs), Sensors (battery+temp), Automation"
- "Would you like to add Media view for your 3 media players?"
- Show entity counts per view
### STEP 4: Generate YAML in Cursor (YOU)
Create dashboard YAML structure:
```yaml
title: "User's Dashboard Title"
views:
- title: Home
path: home
icon: mdi:home
cards:
- type: weather-forecast
entity: weather.forecast_home
- type: entities
title: Quick Controls
entities:
- climate.bedroom_trv
- light.living_room
- title: Climate
path: climate
icon: mdi:thermostat
cards:
- type: thermostat
entity: climate.entity1
- type: thermostat
entity: climate.entity2
```
### STEP 5: Show Preview to User
- Display generated YAML structure
- Highlight key features
- Ask for approval or modifications
### STEP 6: Apply Dashboard
```
ha_apply_dashboard({
dashboard_config: your_generated_yaml,
filename: 'custom-dashboard.yaml',
register_dashboard: true
})
→ Agent applies, registers, restarts HA
→ Dashboard appears in sidebar!
```
---
## Card Type Guidelines
| Entity Domain | Recommended Card Type | Example |
|---------------|----------------------|---------|
| `weather.*` | `weather-forecast` | Full weather card |
| `climate.*` | `thermostat` | Interactive thermostat |
| `media_player.*` | `media-control` | Media controls |
| `camera.*` | `picture-entity` | Live camera feed |
| `light.*` | `light` or `entities` | Light controls |
| `sensor.*` | `entities` or `sensor` | Grouped sensors |
| `automation.*` | `entities` | List with toggle |
| `script.*` | `entities` | List with run button |
---
## View Organization Best Practices
### 1. Home View (Always first)
- Weather card (if available)
- Person tracking
- Quick access to 4-6 most used devices
- Important sensors (battery, alerts)
### 2. Domain-Specific Views
- Group by function (Climate, Lights, Media)
- 3-8 cards per view (not too many)
- Logical ordering
### 3. Monitoring View
- Battery levels
- Temperature sensors
- System status
- Grouped by type/room
### 4. Automation View
- Automations + Scripts together
- Easy enable/disable
- Execution buttons for scripts
---
## Key Points
- ✅ AI generates YAML in Cursor (flexible, intelligent)
- ✅ AI asks questions to understand needs
- ✅ AI proposes before creating
- ✅ Agent only applies (simple, reliable)
- ✅ User gets custom dashboard, not template
---
## 🎯 Advanced Features
### Conditional Cards
For dynamic dashboards that show/hide cards based on entity state (e.g., showing only TRVs that are actively heating), see **06_conditional_cards.md** for detailed patterns and examples.
**Common use cases:**
- Heating monitoring (show only active TRVs)
- Low battery alerts
- Active media players
- Problem/warning cards
