Write

HA NOVA Write

Scope

Mutations only:

• domains: automation, script
• operations: create, update, delete

Bootstrap (once per session)

Verify relay CLI:

ha-nova relay health

If this fails, run onboarding: ha-nova setup.

Flow

Phase 1: Resolve (Agent)

1. Read skills/ha-nova/agents/resolve-agent.md.
2. Fill template placeholders.
3. Dispatch agent. Extract target_id, current_config, bp_status, suggested_enhancements.

• update/delete: resolve entity_id -> unique_id via registry first

1. On ambiguity/no-match: use a single blocking question for the exact entity_id when needed. Do not add a second ambiguity question. If the requested change depends on an invalid Home Assistant premise, correct it before continuing.
2. create IDs: automations=Unix timestamp, scripts=slug.

Phase 2: Preview + Confirm (Main Thread)

1. Build config. For update: full-replacement merge (base=current, overlay=user changes).

• Do not rewrite unrelated structure, aliases, or formatting for a narrow requested change.

1. BP gate (internal — see skills/ha-nova/write-safety.md): fresh/stale+simple->continue, stale+complex->block.
2. Suggestions + Pre-Write Checks (skip for delete):

• 3a) Suggestions: Show suggested_enhancements from resolve-agent (max 4, numbered; present as a menu where the client supports one). User accepts by number or "skip" → merge accepted into config BEFORE preview. Skip when SUGGESTED_ENHANCEMENTS: none or already present on update.
• 3b) Static Checks: Use skills/review/SKILL.md Step 1 plus skills/review/checks.md. Run S/R/P/M checks analytically on the draft YAML — no relay calls (scripts: F-01..F-08; helper references: H-01..H-08. Defer H-09/H-10 to Phase 4 for live evidence).

Use exactly one explicit pre-write verdict line before apply:

• clean draft → localized equivalent of "Pre-write check: no issues worth flagging before save."
• any flagged draft → localized equivalent of "Pre-write check: this draft may not behave as intended."

🔴 findings → inline warning + fix. 🟠🟡 findings → advisory below preview. Keep wording code-free. If R-18 matches, warn that a REST/UI write can break dependent variables in that block. Advisory only: do not block the write and do not require extra confirmation. After an R-18 warning, tell the user to inspect traces after the next real run. Do not auto-trigger the config or auto-read traces here. If R-19 matches, warn with: final else branch is only reached when the earlier entity-state branches are false. Move the trigger.id check into an explicit elif. Or refactor to choose + condition: trigger. Advisory only: do not block the write and do not require extra confirmation. Track findings by check type for dedup in Phase 4, except for the R-18 follow-up below.

• 3c) Pre-Write Impact (update only): run the review/ Step 2 search/related scan at preview; show affected automations/scripts as advisory (never block). Skip create/delete. Phase 4's scan still runs.

1. Preview (see skills/ha-nova/write-safety.md for the fixed shape):

• update: run ha-nova diff, print its stdout verbatim as ## Changes — never write it yourself (see skills/ha-nova/write-safety.md). create: compact summary. Offer show yaml.
• Delete preview MUST include the consumer-check result before confirmation: either the affected consumers or an explicit no-consumer result.

1. Confirmation: create/update=natural, delete=tokenized confirm: (exact token only; see context skill → Safety Baseline + Interactive Choices). create/update may use a menu; delete is the typed token, never a menu.

Phase 3: Apply + Verify (Agent)

1. Read skills/ha-nova/agents/apply-agent.md.
2. Fill template with confirmed payload.
3. Dispatch agent. Expect: success, write_status, verification.
4. Report user-facing result. No raw curl/JSON in output.

• Do not report destructive success until verification proves the target is gone.

Fallback: If agent dispatch unavailable, execute inline.

Phase 4: Post-Write Review (MANDATORY)

Do NOT invoke ha-nova:review separately.

1. Re-read by target_id (do NOT re-resolve by slug):

• automation: ha-nova relay core --method GET --path /api/config/automation/config/ --jq-file --out
• script: /api/config/script/config/
• ``:

``jq if .ok then .data.body else error("relay error: \(.error.message // "unknown")") end ``

• for create/update, reload the domain, resolve the actual entity_id from entity registry by matching unique_id == , then read /api/states/{entity_id} to confirm runtime presence
• if the actual entity_id differs, report it and point to skills/ha-nova/safe-refactoring.md; do not silently assume the requested slug won

1. S/R/P/M/F checks (narrowed):

• Compare read-back vs draft on core fields; ignore metadata (id,unique_id,created_at,modified_at,editor,enabled).
• HA may normalize keys during write (trigger→triggers, action→actions, condition→conditions). Account for plural aliasing when comparing — these are not real diffs.
• Core fields differ (beyond aliasing) → full checks from review/SKILL.md Step 1. If they match, skip the normal subset as "covered in pre-write review," but still re-run the storage-sensitive R-18 subset against the persisted read-back config.
• Dedup: findings from Phase 2 Step 3b that the user saw MUST NOT repeat. Track by check type, not code.
• Exception: if R-18 still matches on the persisted read-back config, report it again as a persisted runtime risk.
• R-19 follows normal dedup: if already shown pre-write, do not repeat unless it becomes a new finding category.
• If persisted R-18 remains, the next step is to inspect traces after the next real run. Do not auto-trigger or auto-read traces.
• If actions reference helpers: always run H-01..H-10.

1. Collision scan: {"type":"search/related","item_type":"entity","item_id":""} via ha-nova relay ws --data-file ; read max 3 related configs.
2. Post-Write Review output (localized; see skills/ha-nova/SKILL.md → Output Localization) — report only what has substance; the scans still run, only their empty output is suppressed:

• Findings: real issues only. Collision check: only when related items exist (list them + the verdict). Advisory: only when non-empty. Omit any section with nothing to report — never print an empty "none" bucket.
• If nothing is worth reporting, collapse to one localized confirmation line (e.g. "Verified — no issues or conflicts").
• Never emit Questions to consider, Suggestions, or Instant help post-write; never repeat an item across Findings and Advisory.

1. Update-Revert (update only): after a verified update, run ha-nova snapshot save and offer revert; on revert use ha-nova snapshot show/verify, never from memory (see skills/ha-nova/write-safety.md). create/delete → HA Backups.

Output Format

See skills/ha-nova/SKILL.md → Response Format.

Safety

• Preview before every write
• No guessing entity_ids; resolve or ask
• Delete requires tokenized confirmation
• Agents must use Relay only; no MCP, no direct HA API
• Every write MUST end with a ## Post-Write Review section. Skipping it is a skill violation.

Guardrails

• Never use raw get_states — use targeted registry/config reads
• Max 3 related configs in collision scan

References

• Refs: skills/ha-nova/relay-api.md, skills/ha-nova/payload-schemas.md, skills/ha-nova/best-practices.md, skills/ha-nova/automation-patterns.md, skills/ha-nova/template-guidelines.md, skills/ha-nova/safe-refactoring.md, skills/ha-nova/write-safety.md
• Agent refs: skills/ha-nova/agents/resolve-agent.md, skills/ha-nova/agents/apply-agent.md
• Review refs: skills/review/SKILL.md, skills/review/checks.md, docs/reference/skill-architecture.md

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: markusleben
• Source: markusleben/ha-nova
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://github.com/markusleben/ha-nova

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.