Pair with Home Assistant
A new screen has to be added to Home Assistant as a device, like any ESPHome device. Until that is done, Tessera lists the screen under Screens with the note "not yet in Home Assistant" and an Open Devices & services button.
Add the device
- Open Settings → Devices & services in Home Assistant.
- Home Assistant has usually found the screen already: click Add on the discovered ESPHome device. Not there? Add the ESPHome integration by hand, with the screen's IP address and port
6053. - Asked for an encryption key? In Tessera, click Show the API key and copy it. Not the OTA password, that one is only for updates over Wi-Fi. With the ESPHome Device Builder app installed, Home Assistant often fills the key in by itself.
Allow actions
Without this step the screen shows values but can't switch anything.
- On the new device, open Configure.
- Turn on Allow the device to perform Home Assistant actions.
Back in Tessera, within about 30 seconds the screen appears in the sidebar and the "not yet in Home Assistant" note disappears. Now give it tiles: Your first page.
Good to know
- Copy API key copies nothing? That happens when Home Assistant is opened over plain
http. The key then appears selected in a box: press Ctrl+C, or Command+C on a Mac. - Home Assistant asks for the key again later. A screen that is already added also has Copy API key in Tessera.
- The screen is its own device. Its brightness, standby and the other screen settings are entities of that device, so an automation can change them.