Home Assistant Time Machine

Home Assistant Time Machine is a web-based tool that helps you create, browse, and restore snapshots of your Home Assistant configuration. It focuses on YAML-based config areas and lets you safely roll back individual items without restoring an entire full backup.

Key Features

• Browse snapshots of YAML configuration, including automations, scripts, Lovelace dashboards, ESPHome files, and packages
• Restore individual items with automatic pre-restore safety backups
• Built-in diff viewer, including filters to show only changed or deleted files
• Smart incremental backups that store only changed files while presenting complete snapshots in the UI
• Scheduled backups with configurable retention limits and flexible backup locations
• Home Assistant add-on support with ingress access, plus standalone Docker deployment
• REST API for triggering backups, scanning backup folders, scheduling jobs, and restoring items
• Optional automation-triggered backups via Home Assistant add-on stdin

Use Cases

• Quickly revert a single broken automation or script after an edit
• Track and compare changes across dashboard, ESPHome, or package configuration over time
• Automate scheduled or event-driven configuration snapshots for safer experimentation

Limitations and Considerations

• Focused on Home Assistant configuration files; it is not a full system snapshot/restore replacement
• Requires access to your Home Assistant config and backup directories via appropriate volume mounts/paths

It is well-suited for Home Assistant users who want granular, confidence-inspiring restores and a clear history of configuration changes. With both an add-on and Docker option, it can fit common Home Assistant deployment setups.