layout: page

title: "Configuration Backup to GitHub"

description: "Instructions how backup your Home Assistant configuration to GitHub"

date: 2017-01-05 18:00

sidebar: true

comments: false

sharing: true

footer: true

logo: github.png

ha_category: Infrastructure

Backing up and regularly syncing your Home Assistant configration to [GitHub](http://GitHub.com) has several benefits:

- A remote copy of your key Home Assistant YAML files in case you need to recover

- A documented history of your changes for troubleshooting purposes

- It will help the Home Assistant community learn from your configuration examples

<p class='note'>

This is not a comprehensive tutorial on using GitHub, more information can be found in the [GitHub Help](https://help.github.com/) pages. This guide assumes the user has an intermediate experience level and is comfortable with such concepts as: navigating the Home Assistant directory structure, logging in as the Home Assistant user, and working with the command line.

</p>

<p class='note'>

This will not create a full backup of your Home Assistant files or your OS. In addition to backing up to Github, you should consider having regular backups of all your Home Assistant configuration files and images of your SD card if applicable.

</p>

Some best practices to consider before putting your configuration on GitHub:

- Extensive use of [secrets.yaml](https://home-assistant.io/topics/secrets/) to hide sensitive information like usernames, passwords, device information, and location

- Exclusion of some files, including `secrets.yaml` and device-specific information using a [`.gitignore`](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore) file

- Regularly commiting your configuration to GitHub to make sure that your backup is up to date

- Use a README.md to document your configuration and include screenshots of your Home Assistant GUI

In order to put your configuration on GitHub, you must install the git package on your Home Assistant server (instructions below will work on Raspberry Pi, Ubunutu, or any Debian-based system):

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install git

<p class='note warning'>

Before creating and pushing your Home Assistant configuration to GitHub, please make sure to follow the `secrets.yaml` best practice mentioned above and scrub your configuration for any passwords or sensitive information.

</p>

Creating a `.gitignore` file in your repository will tell git which files NOT to push to the GitHub server. This should be used to prevent publishing sensitive files to the public. It should contain a list of filenames and pattern matches. This list should include at least your `secrets.yaml` file, device configuration files, and the Home Assistant database/directory structure. The `.gitignore` file should be placed in your Home Assistant directory.

Here is a sane example, but yours should be based on the files in your structure:

*.pid

*.xml

*.csr

*.crt

*.key

www

OZW_Log.txt

home-assistant.log

home-assistant_v2.db

*.db-journal

lib

deps

tts

secrets.yaml

known_devices.yaml

*.conf

plex.conf

phue.conf

harmony_media_room.conf

pyozw.sqlite

.*

!/.gitignore

More information on the layout of the file can be found in the [.gitignore manual](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore).

In your Home Assistant directory, type the following commands as the Home Assistant user, replacing the email address and name with your information:

$ git init

$ git config user.email "you@example.com"

$ git config user.name "Your Name"

$ git add .

$ git commit

After the `git commit` command, you will be asked to enter a message for the commit. This will add a comment beside each file on GitHub describing the purpose for the commit. In this case, you can enter something like "Initial commit of my Home Assistant configuration."

- Connect to [GitHub](https://github.com) and login to your account (or create an account if you don't already have one).

- Click "[New Repository](https://github.com/new)" and give your repository a name/description (`Home-AssistantConfig` is used in the example below). You do NOT need to change any other options.

- Click "Create Repository"

Once you are sure you are using `secrets.yaml` and `.gitignore` correctly, it is time to push your configuration to the GitHub Repository that you just created.

In your Home Assistant directory, type the following commands as the Home Assistant user, replacing "username" in the URL with your GitHub username:

$ git remote add origin https://github.com/username/Home-AssistantConfig

$ git push -u origin master

You will be asked to enter your GitHub username and password (or ssh key passphrase if you use [GitHub with ssh](https://help.github.com/categories/ssh/)).

Congratulations, you now have a copy of your current Home Assistant Configuration on GitHub!

You should update your repository on a regular basis; ideally after you make a major configuration change (new device, new component, etc.). The below script will update your repository with any changed configuration files and allow you to add a comment with the commit for tracking purposes:

<p class='note'>

You may need to adjust the paths in the script depending on your Home Assistant configuration.

</p>

cd /home/homeassistant/.homeassistant

source /srv/homeassistant/homeassistant_venv/bin/activate

hass --script check_config

git add .

git status

echo -n "Enter the Description for the Change: " [Minor Update]

read CHANGE_MSG

git commit -m "${CHANGE_MSG}"

git push origin master

Every time you run this script, you will be prompted for a comment to describe the change(s) that you are commiting. This comment will be displayed beside each changed file on GitHub and will be stored after each commit. You will also be asked to enter your GitHub username and password (or ssh key passphrase if you use [GitHub with ssh](https://help.github.com/categories/ssh/)).

You can enter these commands to get a list of the files in your local git repository and a status of files that have changed but not commited yet:

$ git ls-files

$ git status

Examples:

homeassistant@raspberrypi:~/.homeassistant $ git ls-files

.gitignore

README.md

automation.yaml

configuration.yaml

customize.yaml

device_tracker.yaml

group.yaml

script.yaml

homeassistant@raspberrypi:~/.homeassistant $ git status

On branch master

Your branch is up-to-date with 'origin/master'.

Changes not staged for commit:

(use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)

(use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

modified: .gitignore

modified: automation.yaml

modified: customize.yaml

modified: group.yaml

no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")