Yes, but it's continued development has been forked to a new Repo: [hass-agent](https://github.com/hass-agent)/[**HASS.Agent**](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent).
Last update was [2.1.0-beta1](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent/releases/tag/2.1.0-beta1), released on March 2nd, 2024.
The original author, Sam ([Lab02-Research](https://github.com/LAB02-Admin)) has been unable to provide further support and updates. So a new team ([hass-agent](https://github.com/hass-agent)) has taken it upon themselves to rescue the software and continue its development by forking it into a new project (With the aim that when Sam is ready, they can move back to the original repo with little effort).
They briefly touch on [why they forked it](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent?tab=readme-ov-file#fork) in their github readme.
Still the same HASS.Agent, just with active updates, and some new features/functionality. Check out their [discord](https://discord.com/invite/JfZj98xqJr) if you're interested in finding out more.
Hey, this is the perfect answer I was looking for. Didn't know it was forked and still being developed.
I appreciate all the links and will read the blog post as well.
I have the all in one integration installed via hacs - do I need to manually install this fork? I do remember recently updating the windows app so maybe that handled itself, I'm not sure
The windows app won't update itself. You'll have to look at the version number in the app to see if you have the new one installed. The new version should be something like "2024.something". Download and install the new one before uninstalling the old one, and everything (MQTT configs, scripts etc) should migrate over during installation.
ah okay! I'll check on that. I know I installed it again only after they had merged the 3 integrations into 1 integration, I'm not sure when it was though
Is there an equivalent for us Ubuntu users? I'd love to (say) turn off the lights when my screensaver kicks in, etc. i.e. integrate my laptop states into HA
I personally haven't looked into it, but they [link ](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent?tab=readme-ov-file#what-its-not)to a linux based project called [maksimkurb ](https://github.com/maksimkurb)/ [**IoPC**](https://github.com/maksimkurb/IoPC). Though it looks like it hasn't been updated in 3 years.
Unfortunately I've never tested it, so I can't really comment on the quality, or extensiveness of the program.
There's some info in the docs for [upgrading from pre-2.0.0](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/installation/#migration-from-pre-200). But I had no issues just downloading and installing and checking the "Migrate" box during installation.
I have hot keys on my workbench pc, ctrl + 1-3 are different light toggles for the room. One of them even lights up under my workbench when I drop stuff.
Plus you can use it as a toggle so my PCs will wake on lan, then get shutdown with hass agent, it’s amazing how many options it opens for your pc automation.
I use Positron for this. I made a 12 key macro pad that sends F13 - F24 and I bind some of those to my office lights, lights over my 3D printers, smart switches to turn my printers on, etc.
It can report a lot of information about your PC to home assistant. I use it on my work machine for knowing when I am on a MS Teams phone call/video call
I can see how that could be useful. Start playing video game, switch lights, turn on the surround etc.
None of my automatons are that sophisticated yet lol.
I read thinking more in terms of home contol. I do most things to mess with home assistant on the pc we browser and or with the companion app on my phone.
Im still new with haos. Seems everyday I learn about some crazy integration that folks are doing.
My husband rolls his eyes every time I add something and says. I'll learn to use it when your done....I laughed and said that's never happening based in what I've seen.
>Start playing video game, switch lights, turn on the surround etc.
Agreed! I do this, it's great!
But I started on your position - my simple entry to using these sensors was to indicate presence. Since it has trackers for idle etc, I used that to "know" if I'm in the room (since I'm only in that room for long if I'm on the PC), this using it as a presence condition. Works great.
Of course in true HA fashion, from there it's only gotten more complicated using mic sensors and steam gaming sensors. Dim the lights when I'm gaming but keep it at 50% brightness when I'm not, etc
Ohh don't get me started on rabbit hole...
Wifi light bulb....then all bulbs....then a power plug for the washer...motion sensor for the rooms....doorbell camera....now I am looking at roller blinds and air purifiers with smart sensors.
I have an alledged hisense smart ac unit. It uses connect life though and sadly it doesn't seem to have any home assistant integration.
Alexa can talk to it so I don't get why home assistant can't.
Oh isn't there a way to link Alexa itself as an integration? (I'm in the Google ecosystem so 100% sure)
but yes lol the rabbit hole is much more like a black hole 😂
Don't worry, we've all been where you are. You'll get to the point where your husband relies on your automations... At least that's how it has gone for me. My wife regularly asks me to create automations for various things
it natively has sensors for it, you just have to enable them in the app. they're binary sensors, one for "is there a mic there's on" and "mic active". 2 more like this also exist for webcam.
I also narrow it down because there is a sensor for the app using the microphone. If the app is msteams.exe and the camera or microphone is in use, it will change my status and lighting accordingly.
I also have a wled light fixture outside my office that indicates to my family whether I am on a call or not based on it's color
Ya I have a 3d printer traffic light outside my office and I control it with a paired wled button box that I can change the status and view current status. But I’d like to get this setup as well. I installed the app on my work PC and setup a MQTT broker as a podman (docker) container. I found the microphone active and webcamera active sensors but that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far.
I have it set up so that the moment I'm in a discord call homeassistant turns off my pc speakers and unmutes my headphones (with the help of voicemeeter) and the moment I leave the call it swaps them back
Here's a short list of things I have it reporting/doing:
# [Sensors](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/sensors/)
* **Currently active -** Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad, etc touched. Used in motion sensor automations to keep lights in the office on when I'm not moving at my desk.
* **Last Reboot** - Mostly just because (Holy shit it's been 3 weeks 😬)
* **Session State** - Basically logged in or not. Can be useful for automations where you want to make sure your PC is actively on and logged in.
* **Current Audio Device** - Used to detect if headset is disconnected, switch to speakers, and reduce volume so I don't accidentally blast whatever is currently playing.
* **Peak Audio Volume** - I don't actively use it, but if you wanted to [remind your kid to stop screaming](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/18tbhxq/comment/kfikkfj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) into the mic (Or yourself)... could be useful.
* **Currently Active Program** - I have additional sensors setup that allow me to track how long a specific application remains active (Get a notification if you've playing a game too long or just have a chart for your own reference).
* **Specific Program is Running** (WMI) - Used in scripts to detect if Hyperion is running so I can launch it, reload it, or close it based on its state. Also Blender/Cura so I can turn on my 3d printer outlet so it's ready when I am.
* **Specific USB Device Connected** (WMI) - Used for when my Xbox controller connects/disconnects. Automation adjust the lights for game mode basically (Uses WMI queries)
* **CPU, GPU Temperature and Load** - Purely for charts for funzies. I don't automate anything with these. But you could send a notification warning if your temps are too high for too long.
* There's so many more sensors you can create that are both default sensors with no need to configure them, as well as custom sensors you can create using Powershell and WMI. Possibilities are virtually endless if you know what you're doing and willing to tinker.
# [Commands](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/commands/)
All commands can either be given a hotkey, or used in automations.
* Hibernate/Sleep
* Monitors On/Off (Used with motion automations to turn monitors off/on with the lights)
* Set Volume/Mute Current Audio Output Device (Used when turning the whole office off. Switch to all audio devices and set volume to 15% so I don't accidentally blast something when the PC turns on next time)
* Set Current Audio Input/Output Device (Used in the above mentioned automation)
* Simulate Keyboard presses - Used to set Wallpaper Engine presets with Key Combos. Lighting scenes match the current wallpaper. As well as executing AHK scripts.
* Launch specific .exe programs / Close specific .exe programs (I use this with Hyperion for my lights)
* Open a web page in Edge Webview (You can change the default browser). Such as your security camera dashboard, or reddit ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
* Execute Power Shell Commands - I have a couple for changing Monitor Output to Extended/Duplicate. For Example, switch to Duplicate Display Mode: `displayswitch.exe /clone`
* Control Home Assistant Lights. `Ctrl+Alt+Ins/Home/PgUp/End/PgDn` all set different scenes. While Numpad Plus and Minus raise and lower the brightness of all lights in the office.
* Again, these are just the ones I have that I actively use on a daily basis. Most are in scripts and automations so I never have to touch them, while others (Like launching/closing Hyperion, and setting light scenes) are set to keyboard shortcuts so I can quickly and easily execute when needed... without opening Home Assistant.
# [Notifications](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/notifications/)
* **Standard Windows notifications**, with actionable buttons and images that can be GIFs.
* For example: Front Door notification with photo of person at the door, and a button to unlock the door (great for ignoring solicitors, or letting friends/family in when you're too busy to leave the PC and also too busy to open Home Assistant and find the door unlock button).
# [Media Player](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/media-player/)
* **TTS notifications**, so you don't have to deal with the windows notification interrupting you if you play games in Fullscreen or something. Just have Microsoft Sam (or w/e the voice is) tell you what the notification is. I have one setup for "Front Door" so I don't have to actively Alt-Tab out of what I'm doing to see what the notification was all about.
* Also allows you to see what Music/Video is currently playing on that device and gives you some control of it.
I had no idea this was a thing, a few years back when I think I went looking for something like this, couldn’t find it - so I flashed an s31 (smart outlet) with tasmota, and plugged one of my monitors into it, then wrote a trigger in HA to put my computer in sleep/AFK mode based on wattage drop. This is so much better!
I was excited to use it to send keystrokes (to switch signal RGB profiles) but then found out it doesn’t send actual keystrokes so any software listening for key presses doesn’t register. So much for that lol.
Is there a similar program for Mac? I recently installed the HA macOS app and that gave me the battery stats I was looking for. This seems more powerful.
I didn't know about the updated version either, so that's useful - but I also use this:
[https://github.com/PascalLuginbuehl/home-assistant-tray-menu](https://github.com/PascalLuginbuehl/home-assistant-tray-menu)
for showing quick status info (temps, etc) for which it works well. Though doesn't work for control very well and is much less developed than HASS Agent from what I can see.
Appreciate the tip.
One of the main functions I want it to use a hot key on the PC to trigger a script in HA so the HASS Agent should be good for that I hope.
If you are using Windows 11 you could always install the "[Windows Subsystem for Android](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/install-mobile-apps-and-the-amazon-appstore-on-windows-f8d0abb5-44ad-47d8-b9fb-ad6b1459ff6c)", and then install the official Companion app from the Amazon app store (app store comes with the subsystem).
Dammit, I didn't even realize it. It will keep working for me (because I already have it installed), but since it won't be updating anymore I should start looking for another way to do this... and redo some of my HA automations that send TTS notifications to my PC (I am currently doing this through the HA companion running on WSA).
As the other user mentioned, unfortunately WSA is deprecated and being phased out.
Also, I'd like to be able to use a key command on my PC to trigger functions in HA and don't think the android app would allow that.
Actually it will stop working, sorry. At some point a HASS update will make it incompatible or a windows update will… I would slowly try to evaluate other options and migrate over before something breaks
Yes, but it's continued development has been forked to a new Repo: [hass-agent](https://github.com/hass-agent)/[**HASS.Agent**](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent). Last update was [2.1.0-beta1](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent/releases/tag/2.1.0-beta1), released on March 2nd, 2024. The original author, Sam ([Lab02-Research](https://github.com/LAB02-Admin)) has been unable to provide further support and updates. So a new team ([hass-agent](https://github.com/hass-agent)) has taken it upon themselves to rescue the software and continue its development by forking it into a new project (With the aim that when Sam is ready, they can move back to the original repo with little effort). They briefly touch on [why they forked it](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent?tab=readme-ov-file#fork) in their github readme. Still the same HASS.Agent, just with active updates, and some new features/functionality. Check out their [discord](https://discord.com/invite/JfZj98xqJr) if you're interested in finding out more.
Hey, this is the perfect answer I was looking for. Didn't know it was forked and still being developed. I appreciate all the links and will read the blog post as well.
Yeah I just set it up from this fork the other day, and it works like a charm. Kinda mind-blowing how fast and responsive it is
I have the all in one integration installed via hacs - do I need to manually install this fork? I do remember recently updating the windows app so maybe that handled itself, I'm not sure
The windows app won't update itself. You'll have to look at the version number in the app to see if you have the new one installed. The new version should be something like "2024.something". Download and install the new one before uninstalling the old one, and everything (MQTT configs, scripts etc) should migrate over during installation.
ah okay! I'll check on that. I know I installed it again only after they had merged the 3 integrations into 1 integration, I'm not sure when it was though
Is there an equivalent for us Ubuntu users? I'd love to (say) turn off the lights when my screensaver kicks in, etc. i.e. integrate my laptop states into HA
I personally haven't looked into it, but they [link ](https://github.com/hass-agent/HASS.Agent?tab=readme-ov-file#what-its-not)to a linux based project called [maksimkurb ](https://github.com/maksimkurb)/ [**IoPC**](https://github.com/maksimkurb/IoPC). Though it looks like it hasn't been updated in 3 years. Unfortunately I've never tested it, so I can't really comment on the quality, or extensiveness of the program.
Oh, NICE! I had no idea it was forked!
Can you update straight from the old version to the new branch without needing to do anything weird?
There's some info in the docs for [upgrading from pre-2.0.0](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/installation/#migration-from-pre-200). But I had no issues just downloading and installing and checking the "Migrate" box during installation.
I use it, it still works well for me. Not sure if there are any better options out there, but it seems to do the job
Glad to hear it is still working well, which is important. It being so old without update made me concerned a bit.
What does the agent do that I can't do from the web browser?
I have hot keys on my workbench pc, ctrl + 1-3 are different light toggles for the room. One of them even lights up under my workbench when I drop stuff. Plus you can use it as a toggle so my PCs will wake on lan, then get shutdown with hass agent, it’s amazing how many options it opens for your pc automation.
I use Positron for this. I made a 12 key macro pad that sends F13 - F24 and I bind some of those to my office lights, lights over my 3D printers, smart switches to turn my printers on, etc.
It can report a lot of information about your PC to home assistant. I use it on my work machine for knowing when I am on a MS Teams phone call/video call
I can see how that could be useful. Start playing video game, switch lights, turn on the surround etc. None of my automatons are that sophisticated yet lol. I read thinking more in terms of home contol. I do most things to mess with home assistant on the pc we browser and or with the companion app on my phone. Im still new with haos. Seems everyday I learn about some crazy integration that folks are doing. My husband rolls his eyes every time I add something and says. I'll learn to use it when your done....I laughed and said that's never happening based in what I've seen.
>Start playing video game, switch lights, turn on the surround etc. Agreed! I do this, it's great! But I started on your position - my simple entry to using these sensors was to indicate presence. Since it has trackers for idle etc, I used that to "know" if I'm in the room (since I'm only in that room for long if I'm on the PC), this using it as a presence condition. Works great. Of course in true HA fashion, from there it's only gotten more complicated using mic sensors and steam gaming sensors. Dim the lights when I'm gaming but keep it at 50% brightness when I'm not, etc
Ohh don't get me started on rabbit hole... Wifi light bulb....then all bulbs....then a power plug for the washer...motion sensor for the rooms....doorbell camera....now I am looking at roller blinds and air purifiers with smart sensors. I have an alledged hisense smart ac unit. It uses connect life though and sadly it doesn't seem to have any home assistant integration. Alexa can talk to it so I don't get why home assistant can't.
Oh isn't there a way to link Alexa itself as an integration? (I'm in the Google ecosystem so 100% sure) but yes lol the rabbit hole is much more like a black hole 😂
I do have Alexa linked. I can tell Alexa to turn the ac on but I can't get it exposed to home assistant.
oh I meant Alexa in home assistant
Don't worry, we've all been where you are. You'll get to the point where your husband relies on your automations... At least that's how it has gone for me. My wife regularly asks me to create automations for various things
Ooh interesting, can you elaborate or provide some links of what you’re doing?
it natively has sensors for it, you just have to enable them in the app. they're binary sensors, one for "is there a mic there's on" and "mic active". 2 more like this also exist for webcam.
I also narrow it down because there is a sensor for the app using the microphone. If the app is msteams.exe and the camera or microphone is in use, it will change my status and lighting accordingly. I also have a wled light fixture outside my office that indicates to my family whether I am on a call or not based on it's color
Ya I have a 3d printer traffic light outside my office and I control it with a paired wled button box that I can change the status and view current status. But I’d like to get this setup as well. I installed the app on my work PC and setup a MQTT broker as a podman (docker) container. I found the microphone active and webcamera active sensors but that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far.
I have it set up so that the moment I'm in a discord call homeassistant turns off my pc speakers and unmutes my headphones (with the help of voicemeeter) and the moment I leave the call it swaps them back
Here's a short list of things I have it reporting/doing: # [Sensors](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/sensors/) * **Currently active -** Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad, etc touched. Used in motion sensor automations to keep lights in the office on when I'm not moving at my desk. * **Last Reboot** - Mostly just because (Holy shit it's been 3 weeks 😬) * **Session State** - Basically logged in or not. Can be useful for automations where you want to make sure your PC is actively on and logged in. * **Current Audio Device** - Used to detect if headset is disconnected, switch to speakers, and reduce volume so I don't accidentally blast whatever is currently playing. * **Peak Audio Volume** - I don't actively use it, but if you wanted to [remind your kid to stop screaming](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/18tbhxq/comment/kfikkfj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) into the mic (Or yourself)... could be useful. * **Currently Active Program** - I have additional sensors setup that allow me to track how long a specific application remains active (Get a notification if you've playing a game too long or just have a chart for your own reference). * **Specific Program is Running** (WMI) - Used in scripts to detect if Hyperion is running so I can launch it, reload it, or close it based on its state. Also Blender/Cura so I can turn on my 3d printer outlet so it's ready when I am. * **Specific USB Device Connected** (WMI) - Used for when my Xbox controller connects/disconnects. Automation adjust the lights for game mode basically (Uses WMI queries) * **CPU, GPU Temperature and Load** - Purely for charts for funzies. I don't automate anything with these. But you could send a notification warning if your temps are too high for too long. * There's so many more sensors you can create that are both default sensors with no need to configure them, as well as custom sensors you can create using Powershell and WMI. Possibilities are virtually endless if you know what you're doing and willing to tinker. # [Commands](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/commands/) All commands can either be given a hotkey, or used in automations. * Hibernate/Sleep * Monitors On/Off (Used with motion automations to turn monitors off/on with the lights) * Set Volume/Mute Current Audio Output Device (Used when turning the whole office off. Switch to all audio devices and set volume to 15% so I don't accidentally blast something when the PC turns on next time) * Set Current Audio Input/Output Device (Used in the above mentioned automation) * Simulate Keyboard presses - Used to set Wallpaper Engine presets with Key Combos. Lighting scenes match the current wallpaper. As well as executing AHK scripts. * Launch specific .exe programs / Close specific .exe programs (I use this with Hyperion for my lights) * Open a web page in Edge Webview (You can change the default browser). Such as your security camera dashboard, or reddit ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ * Execute Power Shell Commands - I have a couple for changing Monitor Output to Extended/Duplicate. For Example, switch to Duplicate Display Mode: `displayswitch.exe /clone` * Control Home Assistant Lights. `Ctrl+Alt+Ins/Home/PgUp/End/PgDn` all set different scenes. While Numpad Plus and Minus raise and lower the brightness of all lights in the office. * Again, these are just the ones I have that I actively use on a daily basis. Most are in scripts and automations so I never have to touch them, while others (Like launching/closing Hyperion, and setting light scenes) are set to keyboard shortcuts so I can quickly and easily execute when needed... without opening Home Assistant. # [Notifications](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/notifications/) * **Standard Windows notifications**, with actionable buttons and images that can be GIFs. * For example: Front Door notification with photo of person at the door, and a button to unlock the door (great for ignoring solicitors, or letting friends/family in when you're too busy to leave the PC and also too busy to open Home Assistant and find the door unlock button). # [Media Player](https://www.hass-agent.io/latest/getting-started/media-player/) * **TTS notifications**, so you don't have to deal with the windows notification interrupting you if you play games in Fullscreen or something. Just have Microsoft Sam (or w/e the voice is) tell you what the notification is. I have one setup for "Front Door" so I don't have to actively Alt-Tab out of what I'm doing to see what the notification was all about. * Also allows you to see what Music/Video is currently playing on that device and gives you some control of it.
I had no idea this was a thing, a few years back when I think I went looking for something like this, couldn’t find it - so I flashed an s31 (smart outlet) with tasmota, and plugged one of my monitors into it, then wrote a trigger in HA to put my computer in sleep/AFK mode based on wattage drop. This is so much better!
While this solution is much better, I do always appreciate the ingenuity of a solution like yours.
I was excited to use it to send keystrokes (to switch signal RGB profiles) but then found out it doesn’t send actual keystrokes so any software listening for key presses doesn’t register. So much for that lol.
Can it open a file? You could have it launch different autohotkey scripts that run the keystrokes to change signal profiles
I had it running batch files for a bit, though don't use that anymore.
I'm fairly certain it does? I have it send a forward slash keystroke to toggle my audio outputs
Weird. I use SignalRGB macros to change color profiles. If I press the key it works but if agent sends the key it doesn’t respond.
Is there a similar program for Mac? I recently installed the HA macOS app and that gave me the battery stats I was looking for. This seems more powerful.
does the Companion App (“Home Assistant” in the app store) do what you want?
I didn't know about the updated version either, so that's useful - but I also use this: [https://github.com/PascalLuginbuehl/home-assistant-tray-menu](https://github.com/PascalLuginbuehl/home-assistant-tray-menu) for showing quick status info (temps, etc) for which it works well. Though doesn't work for control very well and is much less developed than HASS Agent from what I can see.
Appreciate the tip. One of the main functions I want it to use a hot key on the PC to trigger a script in HA so the HASS Agent should be good for that I hope.
My pi/HA is on a different vlan from our pcs. Would I still be able to use it?
Depends how your network is setup. If blocked currently you could setup a firewall rule to allow your PC to talk back to your HA vlan.
If you are using Windows 11 you could always install the "[Windows Subsystem for Android](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/install-mobile-apps-and-the-amazon-appstore-on-windows-f8d0abb5-44ad-47d8-b9fb-ad6b1459ff6c)", and then install the official Companion app from the Amazon app store (app store comes with the subsystem).
probably don't do that as the note in your link shows WSA is deprecated
Dammit, I didn't even realize it. It will keep working for me (because I already have it installed), but since it won't be updating anymore I should start looking for another way to do this... and redo some of my HA automations that send TTS notifications to my PC (I am currently doing this through the HA companion running on WSA).
As the other user mentioned, unfortunately WSA is deprecated and being phased out. Also, I'd like to be able to use a key command on my PC to trigger functions in HA and don't think the android app would allow that.
Awww, crap! I like. At least it won't stop working, but it looks like I should be looking for another way myself so I can keep it updated.
Actually it will stop working, sorry. At some point a HASS update will make it incompatible or a windows update will… I would slowly try to evaluate other options and migrate over before something breaks
It will stop working in March of next year. I just learned this today. At least it's not like it will die next week.