read

name	read
description	List/read Home Assistant automation and script configs through HA NOVA Relay. For analysis, use ha-nova:review.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires the ha-nova CLI (run 'ha-nova setup' first) and the HA NOVA Relay in Home Assistant (App, or standalone container on Container/Core).

HA NOVA Read

Scope

Read only:

• automation.list
• automation.read
• script.list
• script.read
• automation.trace
• script.trace

Not for helpers — use ha-nova:helper.

Multi-target is inventory-only:

• use skills/ha-nova/bulk-patterns.md for prefix / domain / area / label
• keep full YAML reads single-target only

No writes.

• MUST NOT issue POST, PUT, PATCH, or DELETE relay requests.
• MUST NOT call service endpoints or any other mutation path learned during the read flow.
• If the task becomes a config change, hand off to ha-nova:write with resolved IDs and current config.

Bootstrap (once per session)

Read and follow ../ha-nova/session-bootstrap.md. Verify relay CLI: ha-nova relay health If this fails: ha-nova setup

Relay Contract

Use file-based requests:

1. Write final JSON with the client's native file-writing tool. Do not create placeholder templates and patch them later with perl -0pi, sed -i, or similar rewrites.
2. Run ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file>.
3. Use ha-nova relay core --method <METHOD> --path <PATH> --body-file <payload-file>.
4. Use --jq-file <filter-file> for complex filters and --out <result-file> for large responses. ha-nova relay jq is single-input; compare files natively.

Flow

Listing automations / scripts

Use the compact entity registry (abbreviated keys: ei=entity_id, en=name, ai=area_id):

Create <payload-file> with:

{"type":"config/entity_registry/list_for_display"}

Then run:

ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file> --jq-file <filter-file>

Write <filter-file> with one of:

[.data.entities[] | select(.ei | startswith("automation.")) | {entity_id: .ei, name: .en, area_id: .ai}] | .[0:30]

[.data.entities[] | select(.ei | startswith("script.")) | {entity_id: .ei, name: .en, area_id: .ai}] | .[0:30]

For bulk inventory by prefix, domain, area, or label, reuse skills/ha-nova/bulk-patterns.md and return the compact table only. For area scope, use the search/related area projection rules, not compact-registry ai.

Keyword search

Use short stems; limit results.

ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file> --jq-file <filter-file>

Write <filter-file> with:

[.data.entities[] | select(.ei | startswith("automation.")) | select((.ei + " " + (.en // "")) | test("KEYWORD";"i")) | {entity_id: .ei, name: .en, area_id: .ai}] | .[0:20]

If 0 results: try synonyms/shorter stems: test("kw1|kw2";"i").

For "automations in room X": stay inside read and follow the area-first search/related flow from skills/ha-nova/bulk-patterns.md.

Reading a single config

Resolve the config key via entity registry first; UI-created items often use numeric unique_id values.

1. Resolve unique_id:
   • create <payload-file> with {"type":"config/entity_registry/get","entity_id":"automation.{slug}"}
   • run ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file> --out <registry-file>
   • then run ha-nova relay jq -r --file <registry-file> '.data.unique_id' (POSIX example; on Windows/PowerShell pass the same filter with native argument quoting)
   • write the final entity_id value directly into <payload-file>; do not use placeholder tokens such as REPLACE_ENTITY_ID
   • for scripts: use script.{slug}
2. Fetch config into <result-file>:
   • ha-nova relay core --method GET --path /api/config/automation/config/{unique_id} --jq-file <filter-file> --out <result-file>
   • for scripts: /api/config/script/config/{unique_id}
   • prefer copying skills/ha-nova/config-body-filter.jq to <filter-file>
   • if unavailable (flat-copy installs), recreate exactly:

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

   • if the contents differ, overwrite the same <filter-file> with the canonical line before the first config read; do not create alternate config-filter filenames
   • POSIX heredocs shown elsewhere are examples only; on Windows/PowerShell preserve the same jq body with native file writing
3. Validate:
   • ha-nova relay jq --file <result-file> -e --jq-file <filter-file>
   • use type == "object"
4. For counts or follow-up transforms, use ha-nova relay jq --file <result-file> with length or --jq-file <filter-file>.

Read the saved file with the native file-reading tool. Do not analyze configs from shell output.

Related entities

Find automations/scripts that use a specific entity:

Create <payload-file> with:

{"type":"search/related","item_type":"entity","item_id":"{entity_id}"}

Then run:

ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file>

If id is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question. Never use raw get_states.

Output Format

Apply skills/ha-nova/output-rules.md to all user-facing output.

After reading a config, present (the bold labels below are semantic slots — localize them at runtime per output-rules.md, never print them as literal English headings):

**{Automation|Script}: {alias}**
- **ID:** {id}
- **Entities:** {list all entity_ids used in triggers, conditions, and actions}
- **Triggers:** {short description of each trigger}
- **Conditions:** {short description or "none"}
- **Actions:** {short description of each action, grouped by trigger if applicable}
- **Mode:** {single|restart|queued|parallel}

Then show the full YAML config:

alias: ...
triggers: ...
actions: ...

For list operations, render the List Frame (output-rules.md) with these columns:

| Entity ID | Name | Area |
|-----------|------|------|

Never show raw JSON to the user.

Trace Debugging

For trace queries:

Prefer CLI helpers: ha-nova trace latest <entity> --json, ha-nova trace list <entity> --json, ha-nova trace get <entity> <run_id> --json. They resolve unique_id and normalize trace shapes. If none exist, explain that Home Assistant keeps only recent traces and YAML automations/scripts need an id.

Manual relay path:

1. Resolve the unique_id. item_id requires the unique_id, NOT the entity_id slug. Create <payload-file> with the config/entity_registry/get request, then run:

   ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file> --out <registry-file>
   ha-nova relay jq -r --file <registry-file> '.data.unique_id'
   

2. List recent traces using the resolved unique_id: Create <payload-file> with:

   {"type":"trace/list","domain":"automation","item_id":"{unique_id}"}
   

   ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file>
   

   For scripts: "domain":"script". Trace lists may be .data array or .data.traces; inspect first. Pick the newest real run_id. Do not use a list index such as "0" or "4".
3. For a detailed trace, prefer ha-nova trace get; otherwise save trace/get to <result-file>: Create <payload-file> with:

   {"type":"trace/get","domain":"automation","item_id":"{unique_id}","run_id":"{run_id}"}
   

   ha-nova relay ws --data-file <payload-file> --out <result-file>
   ha-nova relay jq --file <result-file> empty
   

   Read the file with your native file-reading tool.
4. Summarize timestamp, trigger, conditions, actions, and result.
5. Treat trace config as historical; compare current config separately.
6. If traces do not cover the relevant period, optionally check last_changed via /api/states/{entity_id}.
7. Before presenting conclusions, verify item_id in trace data matches the target's unique_id. see skills/ha-nova/SKILL.md → Claim-Evidence Binding.

Latency Policy

• no agent dispatch for simple reads
• no proactive /health preflight
• no exploratory retry loops without concrete failure

Safety

• Read-only skill: never issue mutating relay or service calls.

• For write intent, hand off to the owning skill; unfamiliar writes go through ha-nova:fallback first.

• never guess ids

• if multiple close matches, ask one selection question