Max Gramser
66b1590184
GitHub issue #8: Home Assistant on a server or virtual machine is out of reach of the screen. New screen and Firmware & USB get a Download choice: ESP Screens builds the profile's firmware as always and offers ESPHome's factory image, which the owner flashes with ESPHome Web in Chrome or Edge. - Firmware: a download job compiles without uploading; only the image of the profile's latest successful build in this process is served, a new job withdraws it, and a build without a factory image fails. - USB on the Home Assistant machine stays first in both lists, also before a board is plugged in; Download and Later stay chosen once picked. - The not-yet-in-Home-Assistant card knows a downloaded screen. - The device name pattern is valid again under Chrome's v flag. - Docs: README, DOCS, EASY_SETUP, DOCKER, TROUBLESHOOTING. App only; firmware stays 0.2.58. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Installation and everyday use
See the full installation guide.
Open Settings → New screen to install a screen: connect it via USB to the
Home Assistant machine, choose the board, name and USB port, then click Install.
The profile with unique keys goes into the ESPHome folder of the HA configuration,
any missing Wi-Fi goes into secrets.yaml (existing secrets are left untouched), and the
build and flash run in the same window; it then shows the API key
for pairing. Is the Home Assistant machine out of reach of the screen, such as a server or a
virtual machine? Choose Download under Install via: ESP Screens builds the firmware and
you put it on the screen from your own computer with ESPHome Web in
Chrome or Edge. Pairing itself happens in Home Assistant under Settings → Devices & services (a button in the window and on the not yet in Home Assistant card under My screens). Each screen has its own profile. Settings → Firmware & USB is
for existing profiles: check, build or reinstall via USB, the IP address (OTA) or
Download. Existing ESPHome profiles in the HA config folder are
found automatically.
Settings (top right) also has the nightly firmware updates, the Alerts cheatsheet
(an alert on one screen, or on every screen with the esp_screens_show_alert event)
and Claude: install the ESP Screens skill for Claude Code in Home Assistant, or
download it for claude.ai, and ask Claude for the alert automation.
At the top of the editor you set the Top bar for each screen: the name on the left, up to six items on the right (time, analog clock, date, or an entity with an icon, such as temperature, a door, the alarm, or "last changed"). Drag to reorder, tap to configure; firmware 0.2.32 or newer renders them.
After pairing via the HA ESPHome integration, choose the tiles in ESP Screens.
Tile settings has click behavior, larger values and mini-sliders.
Screen settings has brightness and standby. Inspector helps with
missing attributes or an offline screen. New cards require firmware 0.2.0.
Each screen also has Override YAML for a persistent, hardware-specific
<screen>.local.yaml file. It is loaded after the shared package and does not
replace the managed name, credentials, Wi-Fi, OTA or package connection.
The screen carries the same settings itself (firmware 0.2.44 or newer): hold the top bar for about a second and a half, or put the built-in Settings card on a page. What is changed there appears here within a second, and the other way around.
In Home Assistant every screen also has a Wake and a Sleep button (firmware 0.2.45 or
newer). Press them from an automation with button.press: Wake lights the screen up and restarts the
standby time, Sleep puts the screen in standby right away, also with Auto standby off. Wake is not a
touch, so an open card or a later page still goes back to page 1 on time (firmware 0.2.56 or newer).