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Search-based Entity Mapping (avoiding copy/paste)

File: packages/grow_mapping_tool.yaml

The problem this solves

Dashboard 1’s mapping fields are plain input_text helpers. Typed by hand, that means looking up each entity ID elsewhere in Home Assistant, copying it, and pasting it into the right field - tedious and error-prone across ~30 fields.

The solution: a script exposing a native searchable entity picker

Home Assistant’s entity selector (the same search-and-pick widget used throughout the automation/script editor) can be exposed as a script field, and script fields with selectors render as a proper form with real search on the Developer Tools -> Actions page. This project ships one generic script, script.grow_assign_mapping, that uses this to let you search for and pick a device instead of typing an entity ID.

How to use it

  1. Go to Developer Tools -> Actions (older HA: “Services”).
  2. Search for the action “Grow Assistant: Set Mapping” (script.grow_assign_mapping).
  3. In “Mapping field”, pick which Grow Assistant function you want to assign (e.g. “Dehumidifier IO”). This dropdown supports typing to filter.
  4. In “Target entity”, search for and select your actual device/sensor entity. Leave it empty to clear that mapping instead.
  5. Click Perform Action. The corresponding input_text.grow_map_* helper is set automatically - no entity ID lookup or copy/paste needed.
  6. Repeat for every function you want to map. The “Setup Status” card on Dashboard 1 updates as you go.

Why this and not a picker directly embedded in the dashboard

Home Assistant does not (as of this writing) render selector-based fields inline in a dashboard card without a HACS custom card. Developer Tools -> Actions is a fully native, no-HACS way to get the same searchable picker widget. A nicer one-click, in-dashboard picker (e.g. via a custom card) is a reasonable candidate for the visual-polish pass in Phase 9, once the functional workflow has proven itself - it is not required for Phase 1 to be usable.

Adding new mapping fields later

If a future phase introduces a new mappable function, add it in two places in packages/grow_mapping_tool.yaml:

  1. A new option under the mapping_key selector’s options list.
  2. A new entry in the helper_for_key variable’s Jinja dictionary, pointing at the corresponding input_text.grow_map_* helper entity ID.