UGSo Blocks for HA

New in 0.1.47: Action functions with parameters and conditional return values. The complete catalogue now supports 166 block types.

New in 0.1.46: Language → System / DE / EN / FR now applies to the entire interface, dialogs, status, confirmations and validation messages. User names, entity data, package labels and YAML/Jinja are not translated automatically.

New in 0.1.45: four duplicate toolbox entries removed. Number only under Mathematics, text under Text, colour under Colour, expandable AND/OR/NOT under Logic. Values contains percentage; existing projects remain compatible.

New in 0.1.44: searchable action and target selection, five target types, multiple targets and manual Jinja entry. Usage and limits.

New in 0.1.42: three compact, equally sized YAML import buttons, with two-line labels when needed. Eingabefeld leeren on the right clears the pasted text and import error. The current automation and replacement checkbox remain unchanged.

New in 0.1.41: 15 nested Jinja block types, 163 types in total. Edit entities, filters, comparisons, calculations and simple if/else/for templates. Exact originals remain until editing; unsupported templates remain original blocks. Decomposition and limits.

Since 0.1.40, all themes use 16 px block text. The block menu stays at 100%: fitting, mouse wheel and zoom controls affect only the workspace. Initial zoom 100%, fitting 85–120%, manual zoom 50–240%. Large automations remain scrollable; fitting never shrinks below 85% to preserve readability. Verified at Full HD, 2560 px and HiDPI.

New in 0.1.39: 148 block types, extended HA triggers/conditions, targets/variables/options, waits, parallel branches, action groups and Jinja (experimental) with recognition and preserved originals. Guide, limits and sources.

Language → System language / DE / EN / FR follows preferred browser languages, with English as the fallback for unsupported languages. App labels, dropdowns, help, categories and dialogs are translated. Switching saves the valid project and reloads the editor; incomplete blocks or unavailable storage keep the current view. Technical IDs, variable names, user text, templates and YAML are unchanged. Packages retain their authors’ language. French documentation; the catalog uses separate DE/EN/FR block images.

New in 0.1.18: Custom block/template editor in a 95% dialog, custom category, multiple blocks per package, copyable JSON and ZIP import/export. Block-package catalog.

New in 0.1.17: Load entities from HA and search existing block fields by name/ID. Light/script/helper filters, manual IDs offline and server-side credentials. Usage, image and limits.

New in 0.1.16: UGSo Standard/Dark/Modern/Tritanopia selector and zoom-to-fit control. Choice saved locally; own blocks follow palettes. Usage, images and upstream sources. Still 111 block types.

Version 0.1.47 · experimental HA app. Visual Blocks generate native Home Assistant automation YAML. Home Assistant runs the automation. Actions and targets are selectable from read-only HA catalogues.

Since 0.1.25, select YAML → Code importieren, paste YAML and click Importieren instead of Save. Without the checkbox, triggers, conditions and actions are added; the current name, settings and block shapes are preserved. Conditions are combined with AND; additional triggers may start more runs. To replace everything, select Aktuelle Automation vollständig ersetzen and confirm. One supported automation as an object or single-item list is accepted, up to 1 MB. Invalid code or cancellation leaves the current blocks unchanged. Switching modes retains pasted text for this page session; successful import returns to output. Adding requires a valid current automation; complete replacement also works with incomplete blocks. File import through Öffnen remains available.

Blocks use classic Blockly puzzle shapes (Geras) with 16 px text. The menu stays at 100% independently of editor zoom. Workspace fitting uses 85–120%; large automations remain scrollable. Themes, zoom and readability.

Block catalog and original plugins

New in 0.1.13: 18 blocks for timeouts, objects, logic, loops and lists. Native HA delays with units/runtime values, wait until with timeout, stop this run, repeats, dictionary access/reassignment, case selection, range comparison, fallback and lists. ioBroker / original Blockly / UGSo mapping and limitations.

New in 0.1.12: Conversion with nine blocks for number, Boolean, string, type, datetime, date formatting/components, duration and JSON. Dynamic format fields and a JSON pretty-print checkbox. JSONata remains a planned extension. Guide and ioBroker comparison.

New in 0.1.11: seven Date and time blocks: clock comparisons, overnight periods, datetimes, calendar starts, next sun events, time calculations and formatting. Guide and ioBroker comparison.

New in 0.1.10: Change variable by … in the variables menu, with default step 1, negative and fractional steps. Image, example and prerequisites.

New in 0.1.9: Logik category with comparison, compact AND/OR, NOT, true/false, null and conditional value selection. Variables now accept Boolean and null too. Six new blocks with images and example.

The catalog of all 163 blocks shows an image and description for each block. The original-plugin table links directly to upstream sources.

New in 0.1.8: Variablen → Variable erstellen …, Set/Read variable blocks and a Templates category with dedicated value and condition blocks. Variables generate native HA variables actions; reads produce {{ name }}. Jinja is evaluated in HA. Usage, example and import limits.

New in 0.1.7: search at the bottom of the menu, multiline text, percentage slider, colour/light action, today’s date and dependent helper dropdowns. Plus/minus adds or removes the last input or else-if branch; S toggles else. Removing inputs detaches blocks without deleting them. The gear remains for reordering.

The date comparison includes the year and uses HA’s now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d'), evaluated in HA’s time zone. It is a condition, not a trigger. Import maps this shape to the date block and other template conditions to the general template block. The light action generates RGB colour and percentage brightness. Timers use their configured duration; additional parameters stay in the generic HA action. Actual device capabilities must be checked in HA.

Our original UGSo house/puzzle icon is used by the UI, browser and HA app. Ten original plugins are bundled locally. Colour blending and random colours are implemented since 0.1.15; automatic growing connections and live action selection remain pending. Text joining and list editing are implemented.

Install from the HA app store

Add or refresh https://github.com/rockbaer2007/ugso-ha-mqtt-addons in the app store. Install UGSo Blocks for HA, start it and select Open Web UI. The app supports amd64 and aarch64 and serves the editor through HA ingress. No additional token is needed to open it. It reads HA entities through the Supervisor and does not write HA system files.

Start and files

Code lives beside Grafik Visual Studio in the shared repository. In blocks_for_ha, using Node.js 22.12 or newer:

npm install
npm run dev

Editor: http://127.0.0.1:4180/. Preview, copy, download and reopen supported YAML as Blocks. Files must contain one automation object or a list with one entry. Unsupported structures are rejected. JSON projects also retain block positions; the browser persists the latest project locally.

ioBroker / our Blocks: existing features

111 block types including the automation root; variables, templates, date/time and conversion are described in the catalog:

ioBroker concept	UGSo Blocks for HA	HA output
Script container	Automation	triggers, conditions, actions
State trigger	State reached	trigger: state
Numeric trigger check	Above/below threshold crossing	trigger: numeric_state
Schedule	Time	trigger: time
Astro	Sunrise/sunset	trigger: sun
System start, different lifecycle	HA starts	trigger: homeassistant
State comparison	State is	condition: state
Numeric comparison	Number above/below	condition: numeric_state
AND/OR/NOT	All/at least one/none of the conditions	and, or, not
Control/toggle	On/off/toggle	Appropriate entity-domain action
Adapter action	Generic HA action	action, optional entity target and JSON data
Pause	Wait seconds	delay
If/else if/else	Extensible if block	if or choose
Number	Number value block, also used as a shadow default	Constant threshold or delay
Text	Text value block with shadow	Log message
Percentage	Slider value 0–100	Number constant
Colour	Colour value	Colour constant
Light colour	Light with colour/brightness	rgb_color, brightness_pct
Date	Today equals/on-or-after/on-or-before	HA template condition
Control helper	Dependent action dropdown	Switch/counter/timer
Debug output	Log with severity	system_log.write
Control script	Start/stop/call and wait	script.turn_on, script.turn_off or direct call
Update state, different semantics	Refresh entity	homeassistant.update_entity

Name, description, ID and single, restart, queued, parallel modes are available. Queued/parallel support a maximum count. Three examples cover light, battery and evening light.

System blocks added in version 0.1.6

The System category contains three new action blocks. Values also includes a green Text block with a String output for the log message input. Numbers and conditions cannot connect to this input.

ioBroker	Our block	Controls and HA behavior
Debug output	Log	Editable text shadow or text block; Info, Warning, Error, Debug or Critical dropdown. Generates system_log.write.
Control script	HA script	Enter script ID; choose start without waiting, stop, or call and wait.
Update state	Refresh entity	Requests a refresh through homeassistant.update_entity. Does not set state and has no ioBroker ack semantics.
Text	Text value block	Editable log message, retained in projects and YAML.

Start without waiting generates script.turn_on and lets the automation continue. Stop generates script.turn_off. Call and wait generates a direct script.name call: the automation waits for completion and errors can propagate to the caller. Script parameters still use the generic HA action.

YAML import recognizes exact supported System action shapes. Additional data such as a custom logger or script variables remains in the generic HA action. Refresh behavior depends on integration support. Log messages are written when HA executes the automation; Info and Debug may be filtered by HA logging configuration.

References: HA system log, HA scripts, HA Core actions.

Gear icon: extend branches

As in the familiar ioBroker editor, the gear opens a small workspace. Attach else if clauses to the if container and optionally add else. Then connect conditions and actions in the main block.

• One branch generates if/then, optionally else.
• Multiple branches generate choose; else becomes default.
• HA runs the first matching branch, skipping any other matching branches.
• Removed clauses detach connected blocks. Reconnect or remove them before exporting.
• YAML import and JSON projects preserve branches. Older projects retain existing else actions.

AND/OR/NOT has its own gear for 1–100 condition value inputs. Triggers and actions support chains. Sun, comparison and switching choices use dropdowns. Generic HA action data currently uses JSON; a visual data-field mutator is planned.

Connections and controls

The category menu is dark and the block flyout is light. Values are green, triggers orange, conditions purple and actions blue. Category markers identify each block group; the selected category has an additional highlight.

• Left output / right value input: Conditions produce Boolean values for the automation condition slot, if/else-if and AND/OR/NOT. Numbers produce Number values for thresholds and delays. Type checks reject incompatible connections.
• Previous / next: Triggers and actions each form their own statement chains and cannot be mixed.
• Statement cavity: Then/else slots accept action sequences. Conditions belong in value inputs.
• Shadow numbers: Thresholds and delays have editable defaults that can be replaced by number blocks. Removing a replacement restores the default. Log messages use String text blocks with editable shadows. Sensor and entity value blocks are not implemented yet.
• Context menu: Right-click or long-press for Blockly actions such as duplicate, comment, collapse, disable, delete and help. Help links to the documentation. Comments remain in JSON projects; YAML comment export is not implemented.
• Disable: Disabled actions, triggers and conditions are omitted from export. Required content remains required: missing triggers, empty if conditions or empty action branches prevent export.
• Trash: Delete blocks, open the trash and drag deleted blocks back to the workspace. History lasts for the current session. Undo/redo is also available.
• Insertion marker: Blockly previews the potential connection while dragging.

Projects from version 0.1.4 and earlier are upgraded automatically. Old condition chains become AND groups preserving their YAML meaning. Existing supported YAML files remain importable.

Blockly library and tracked development status

We already use the original Blockly 13.3.0 library rather than building a separate block engine. Blockly provides the workspace, category toolbox and flyouts, typed connections, shadow blocks, mutators, context menu, zoom, trash and insertion markers. HA block definitions, structural validation, project migration and the YAML generator are UGSo code. No ioBroker JavaScript is executed.

The original workspace and block-parts documentation and Blockly examples guide familiar interaction patterns. Library updates require connection, import/export and browser checks.

Task	Status in 0.1.16 / next step
Connection geometry and type checks	Boolean conditions and Number values use side connections; triggers/actions use separate statement chains
Extensible blocks	If, AND/OR/NOT, cases, objects and lists implemented; visual action-data fields planned
Default values	Shadow numbers and text blocks implemented; entity value blocks pending
Sensor values and attributes	Dedicated blocks pending; already usable through templates. Conversion blocks now provide type conversion
Editor controls	Context menu, help, disable, trash recovery, zoom and insertion markers available
Comments	Retained in projects; YAML comments and dedicated comment block pending
Menu and block colors	Dark category menu, light flyout and distinct group colors implemented
ioBroker categories	System, date/time, conversion, timeouts, objects and logic reviewed; HA execution differences documented
JSONata	Planned; evaluate native object/list access and an optional HA runtime adapter
Publishing and updates	Every new HA app starts in the shared repository with installable packaging; bump package and UI versions together
HA connection, catalog and plugins	Read-only entity integration and declarative block packages available; live action selection and package updates pending

This page tracks implemented features and outstanding tasks together and is maintained with each extension.

Custom blocks: implemented and roadmap

Since 0.1.18 the HA form editor, Blockly preview, value/condition/action/trigger blocks, typed fields and value inputs, package import/export and embedded project definitions are available. Usage and limits.

Embedding the original Blockly Developer Tools, dropdowns, images, variable fields, statement containers, mutators, dynamic inputs, package updates and uninstall remain planned.

System: status and next steps

Control, toggle, delay, generic actions, logging, script control, entity refresh and helper control are available. Entity selection is available since 0.1.17. Dedicated comment, state/attribute value, existence/availability and number/text helper blocks will follow progressively. ioBroker ack, adapter instances and datapoint creation have no direct HA counterpart.

The full comparison and implementation status is updated with every feature. Declarative block packages and a sample catalog are available since 0.1.18.

Validation and origin

The editor validates supported structure. Entity IDs are searched or entered manually; installed actions and execution in real HA are not verified. Replace example entities and check actions in HA before use. The editor does not write HA system files.

Built with Blockly. Original HA blocks, not an ioBroker fork. Our code and Blockly: Apache-2.0; YAML library: ISC. License texts are included.

Built with Blockly

Blockly is an open-source developer library from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, originally developed at Google. The app uses the unmodified official attribution badge since 0.1.19, at 32px height with surrounding space and a link to Blockly. Both SVG variants are bundled locally. Original attribution guidance.

Home Assistant sidebar

Since 0.1.20, the sidebar entry uses the monochrome building-block icon mdi:toy-brick-outline. Update and restart the app, enable Show in sidebar, and reload Home Assistant if the previous icon persists. Native app configuration uses MDI icons; the colourful UGSo icon remains in the app store and editor. HA configuration · Original icon.

Workspace search and keyboard navigation

Since 0.1.21, Suchen in the workspace toolbar finds blocks already placed on the canvas, including HA and custom blocks. The search at the bottom of the toolbox still finds available blocks to add. Search changes the view, not YAML or the saved project.

With focus in the workspace, Ctrl/Cmd+F opens search. Enter selects the next match, Shift+Enter the previous match, and Escape closes search and focuses the current block. Search buttons have German accessible labels, matching the editor UI.

The ? button opens keyboard help. Blockly 13.3 provides navigation: Tab enters the workspace; arrow keys move through blocks and fields, Enter edits fields, T focuses the toolbox, and M picks up a block. Extra navigation shortcuts are enabled: Home/End within a block, Page Up/Down within a stack, Ctrl/Cmd+Home/End between first and last blocks, and Ctrl/Cmd+arrows to scroll. Text inputs and dialogs retain their normal editing behavior. Screen-reader behavior has not been independently verified.

Original sources: workspace-search plugin, Blockly keyboard navigation.

Since 0.1.23, the introduction and automation settings use less vertical space: smaller heading and spacing, with 32-pixel project controls. This leaves more room for the workspace. The HA connection status and entity count are now displayed in the settings bar, including on narrow screens.

Since 0.1.24, the arrow at the upper right of the HA output panel collapses it to the right. Blockly expands into the free space. The narrow HA-Ausgabe rail reopens the panel, with the state saved locally. On mobile, a compact row remains below the editor. Collapsing changes neither YAML nor projects.

Since 0.1.28: States as JSON list, e.g. ["1_single","1_double"]; optional trigger IDs on every standard trigger; Triggered by ID as a native trigger condition (single ID or JSON list). Generic HA actions support Targets as JSON list, optional metadata and explicitly preserved empty data objects. Four-button automations with four choose branches can be fully imported.

Single automation · HA editor output omits the top-level id. Trigger IDs remain. Projects and automations.yaml list output retain an existing automation ID.

Home Assistant: Trigger IDs · Trigger condition

Since 0.1.29, the Blockly workspace fills the editor panel down to the legend. A taller YAML panel also expands the workspace; output remains collapsible.

Since 0.1.30: enable Times as JSON list for several fixed times, e.g. ["10:00:00","13:00:00","19:00:00"]. Any change omits to; Entities as JSON list watches multiple entities. Without to, HA also reacts to attribute changes. Event triggers support e.g. timer.finished with an optional JSON data filter. Native time conditions preserve before/after: fixed times, after inclusive and before exclusive, including overnight windows. Equal bounds mean all day. Time helpers, time templates and weekday filters remain outside the supported import. The full pool-pump automation retains multiline timer templates and nested choose branches.

Home Assistant: triggers · Time condition

Since 0.1.31, the new block supports native temperature.changed. Target (JSON): entity_id string or list. Threshold (JSON): type any, above, below, between or outside. any requires only type; above/below require value, between/outside value_min and value_max. Numbers: number plus unit_of_measurement (°C/°F). References: entity (sensor, number or input_number). Optional trigger ID. Other targets (area/device/label) remain unsupported. MQTT topics, qos/retain/evaluate_payload and multiline JSON/Jinja payloads are preserved.

Home Assistant: temperature.changed

0.1.32: Calendars and response variables. →

0.1.33: Numeric triggers with hold duration. →

0.1.34: Multiple variables in one action. →

0.1.35: Delay as duration text or template. →

0.1.36: Dynamic HA action names. →

0.1.37: Time pattern trigger.

0.1.38: Dynamic target entities.