HA Context Export

HA Context Export is a Home Assistant custom integration that creates a sanitized snapshot of your Home Assistant configuration for technical analysis, documentation, and AI-assisted troubleshooting.

It is not a backup and is not intended for restoration.

What it exports

• Entity registry metadata
• Device metadata
• Areas
• Helper configuration where safely available
• YAML configuration files (sanitized)
• Lovelace dashboards and resources
• Installed custom integration metadata

What it deliberately excludes

• secrets.yaml
• Home Assistant authentication data
• Raw core.config_entries
• Databases, logs, media, and backups
• Entity unique IDs
• Device MAC/network identifiers and serial numbers
• Current entity state values
• Precise GPS/location data

Sensitive-looking keys and common token formats are redacted on a best-effort basis before the export is written.

Installation with HACS

This repository can be added to HACS as a Custom repository of type Integration.

1. Open HACS.
2. Open the menu in the top-right corner.
3. Choose Custom repositories.
4. Add this repository URL and select Integration.
5. Download HA Context Export.
6. Restart Home Assistant.
7. Go to Settings → Devices & services → Add integration.
8. Search for HA Context Export and add it.

One-click dashboard download

The integration automatically loads its Lovelace card; no separate frontend repository or Lovelace resource is required.

After installing or updating the integration and restarting Home Assistant:

1. Edit a dashboard.
2. Choose Add card.
3. Select HA Context Export.
4. Press Export erstellen & herunterladen.

The card creates a fresh sanitized export through an authenticated Home Assistant API call and then starts a real browser download. It deliberately avoids Home Assistant markdown links and SPA routing, which can swallow ordinary download-link clicks.

If the card picker does not list the card, it can also be added manually:

type: custom:ha-context-export-card

Other usage

Home Assistant also exposes an Export context button entity / ha_context_export.create action. Those create an export and show fallback download links in a persistent Home Assistant notification.

The ZIP stays on the Home Assistant instance until it is replaced by a newer export.

Security model

The ZIP is stored below Home Assistant's private .storage directory and is never placed in /config/www.

The dashboard card itself talks to an authenticated, administrator-only API endpoint. Once an export has been generated, HA Context Export creates a cryptographically random short-lived capability URL for the binary download. The token:

• is returned only to the authenticated frontend or embedded in a fallback notification link,
• expires after 60 minutes,
• is replaced whenever a new export is created,
• is checked with constant-time comparison before the ZIP is served.

Requests without the current valid token cannot download the export. The response is marked no-store and uses a no-referrer policy.

Automatic sanitization cannot prove that arbitrary user-authored text contains no sensitive information. Review an export before sharing it outside your own trusted workflow.

License

MIT