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name: ha-graphs-visualization description: | Creates and configures Home Assistant graph visualizations using history-graph, statistics-graph, mini-graph-card, and apexcharts-card with time ranges, aggregations, and multi-sensor support. Use when displaying sensor data over time, creating trend charts, comparing historical data, or building energy/climate/air quality dashboards.

Works with Home Assistant native cards, HACS custom cards, and YAML configurations.

Home Assistant Graphs and Visualization

Create informative graphs and charts for sensor data visualization in Home Assistant dashboards.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Display sensor data over time with history-graph for recent data (hours/days)
• Create long-term trend analysis with statistics-graph for weeks/months
• Build compact sparkline graphs with mini-graph-card for dashboard space efficiency
• Generate publication-quality charts with ApexCharts for multi-sensor comparisons
• Add dual Y-axis graphs for temperature + humidity or similar combinations
• Troubleshoot ApexCharts span.end errors with validated configurations

Do NOT use when:

• You only need current sensor values without history (use gauge or entity cards)
• Building real-time monitoring without historical context (use current state displays)
• You haven't installed required HACS cards (mini-graph-card or apexcharts-card)

Quick Start

This skill covers four main graphing solutions:

• History Graph (native): Simple sensor history with automatic long-term statistics
• Statistics Graph (native): Long-term trend analysis with aggregations
• Mini-Graph-Card (HACS): Popular, lightweight graphs with customization
• ApexCharts Card (HACS): Advanced publication-quality charts with annotations

Basic Examples

History Graph (Native):

type: history-graph
entities:
  - entity: sensor.temperature
    name: Living Room
  - entity: sensor.humidity
hours_to_show: 24

ApexCharts (HACS) - VALIDATED CONFIG:

CRITICAL: The span.end field must be one of: "minute", "hour", "day", "week", "month", "year", "isoWeek"

type: custom:apexcharts-card
header:
  show: true
  title: 24 Hour History
  show_states: true
graph_span: 24h
span:
  end: hour  # REQUIRED: minute/hour/day/week/month/year/isoWeek
yaxis:
  - min: 0
    max: 50
    decimals: 1
apex_config:
  chart:
    height: 200
  xaxis:
    type: datetime
    labels:
      datetimeFormatter:
        hour: "HH:mm"
  legend:
    show: true
series:
  - entity: sensor.temperature
    name: Temperature
    color: "#e74c3c"
    stroke_width: 2

Common ApexCharts Errors:

• ❌ WRONG: "span": {"end": "now"} → Causes parsing error
• ✅ CORRECT: "span": {"end": "hour"} → Valid value

Usage

Follow these steps to create Home Assistant graphs:

1. Select graph type based on data (native vs HACS)
2. Configure time ranges appropriate for data frequency
3. Add multiple entities for comparisons
4. Set y-axis bounds for proper scaling
5. Apply styling for readability

Graph Selection Decision Tree

START
│
├─ Need simple sensor history (last 24-48h)?
│  └─ YES → Use history-graph (native)
│
├─ Need long-term trends (weeks/months)?
│  └─ YES → Use statistics-graph (native)
│
├─ Need minimalist design with moderate customization?
│  └─ YES → Use mini-graph-card (HACS)
│
└─ Need advanced features (annotations, comparisons, multi-axis)?
   └─ YES → Use apexcharts-card (HACS)

Comparison Matrix

Feature	History Graph	Statistics Graph	Mini-Graph-Card	ApexCharts
Type	Native	Native	HACS	HACS
UI Editor	✅ Full	✅ Full	❌ YAML only	❌ YAML only
Performance	⚡ Fast	⚡ Fast	⚡ Fast	⚠️ Moderate
Customization	🔹 Basic	🔹 Basic	🔸 Good	🔶 Extensive
Multiple Entities	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Chart Types	Line	Line/Bar	Line/Bar	Line/Bar/Area/Column
Time Range	Hours	Calendar periods	Hours	Flexible spans
Statistics	Auto	Built-in	Manual	Manual
Best For	Quick history	Long-term trends	Clean design	Power users

History Graph Card (Native)

Best for: Simple sensor history visualization (recent data)

Basic Configuration

type: history-graph
entities:
  - entity: sensor.temperature_living_room
    name: Living Room
  - entity: sensor.temperature_bedroom
    name: Bedroom
hours_to_show: 24
refresh_interval: 0  # Default: auto-refresh

Key Features

• Displays sensor history from recorder database
• Automatically switches to long-term statistics for older data
• Bold line = recorder data, thin line = statistics
• If hours_to_show > recorder retention: uses long-term statistics

Performance Note: History graphs are very fast because they use HA's built-in recorder data.

Statistics Graph Card (Native)

Best for: Long-term trend analysis (weeks, months, years)

Basic Configuration

type: statistics-graph
entities:
  - sensor.energy_daily
stat_types:
  - mean
  - min
  - max
period:
  calendar:
    period: month
chart_type: line

See references/reference.md for stat types and period options.

Mini-Graph-Card (HACS)

Installation: HACS → Frontend → Search "mini-graph-card"

Best for: Minimalist design, lightweight, moderate customization

Basic Temperature Graph

type: custom:mini-graph-card
entities:
  - sensor.temperature_bedroom
  - sensor.temperature_living_room
name: Temperature Comparison
hours_to_show: 24
points_per_hour: 2
line_width: 2
font_size: 75

Multiple Entities with Colors

type: custom:mini-graph-card
entities:
  - entity: sensor.temperature
    name: Temp
    color: '#e74c3c'
  - entity: sensor.humidity
    name: Humidity
    color: '#3498db'
    y_axis: secondary
show:
  labels: true
  legend: true
  name: true
  state: true

See references/reference.md for complete configuration options and examples/examples.md for more patterns.

ApexCharts Card (HACS) - VALIDATED CONFIGURATIONS

Installation: HACS → Frontend → Search "apexcharts-card"

Best for: Advanced visualizations, publication-quality charts, complex comparisons

CRITICAL: Valid Span Configuration

Always use one of these valid values for span.end:

span:
  end: minute   # Start of current minute
  end: hour     # Start of current hour (RECOMMENDED)
  end: day      # Start of current day
  end: week     # Start of current week
  end: month    # Start of current month
  end: year     # Start of current year
  end: isoWeek  # Start of ISO week (Monday)

Never use: "now" or other string values - these cause errors.

Basic Time Series (VALIDATED)

type: custom:apexcharts-card
header:
  show: true
  title: Temperature History
  show_states: true
graph_span: 24h
span:
  end: hour  # REQUIRED
yaxis:
  - min: 0
    max: 50
    decimals: 1
apex_config:
  chart:
    height: 200
  xaxis:
    type: datetime
    labels:
      datetimeFormatter:
        hour: "HH:mm"
  legend:
    show: true
series:
  - entity: sensor.temperature_living_room
    name: Living Room
    color: "#e74c3c"
    stroke_width: 2
  - entity: sensor.temperature_bedroom
    name: Bedroom
    color: "#3498db"
    stroke_width: 2

Multi-Sensor with Dual Y-Axis (VALIDATED)

type: custom:apexcharts-card
header:
  show: true
  title: Temperature & Humidity
  show_states: true
graph_span: 24h
span:
  end: hour
yaxis:
  - id: temp
    min: 0
    max: 50
    decimals: 1
  - id: humidity
    opposite: true
    min: 0
    max: 100
apex_config:
  chart:
    height: 250
  xaxis:
    type: datetime
    labels:
      datetimeFormatter:
        hour: "HH:mm"
series:
  - entity: sensor.temperature
    name: Temperature
    yaxis_id: temp
    color: '#e74c3c'
    stroke_width: 2
  - entity: sensor.humidity
    name: Humidity
    yaxis_id: humidity
    color: '#3498db'
    stroke_width: 2

Supporting Files

• examples/examples.md - Comprehensive real-world examples (climate dashboards, air quality, energy usage, multi-room comparisons, annotations, area charts)
• references/reference.md - Technical depth (performance optimization, advanced ApexCharts configuration, troubleshooting, best practices, official documentation)

See references/reference.md for best practices, color schemes, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.

Notes

• History graphs automatically switch to long-term statistics for older data
• ApexCharts span.end MUST use valid enum values (hour/day/week/month/year)
• Mini-graph-card points_per_hour controls performance (lower = faster)
• Statistics graphs are best for long-term trends (weeks/months)
• Custom cards require HACS installation and HA restart