Entity Rename

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Phrases: rename entities
• Fix entity names
• Standardize entity IDs

Example prompts

• “rename entities”
• “fix entity names”
• “standardize entity IDs”
• “/entity-rename”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Prerequisites
2. 2Discovery
3. 3Convention Proposal
4. 4Reference Scanning
5. 5Batch Execution
6. 6Verification and Cleanup

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit c0d05e2. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • ssh
  • make
  • python
  • python3

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

  • github.com

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

  • HA_TOKEN

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Entity Rename loads about 1.9k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.7k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 82 tokens; SKILL.md has 483 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~82

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.9k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~2.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:24

  # Check .env exists with HA connection

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:25

  test -f .env && grep -q HA_TOKEN .env && echo "ENV_OK" || echo "ENV_MISSING"

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:31

  source .env 2>/dev/null

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:35

  `setup-infrastructure` first or create `.env` manually.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from dcb/homeassistant-claude-kit at commit c0d05e2, republished under its MIT licence (© dcb). 483 words, ~1,923 tokens.

name

entity-rename

description

Batch rename Home Assistant entities to follow a consistent naming convention. Discovers entities, proposes renames, executes via HA API, and updates all YAML/TypeScript references automatically. Trigger phrases: "rename entities", "fix entity names", "standardize entity IDs", "entity rename", "clean up names".

# Check .env exists with HA connection
test -f .env && grep -q HA_TOKEN .env && echo "ENV_OK" || echo "ENV_MISSING"

# Check entity registry exists (needs make pull first)
test -f config/.storage/core.entity_registry && echo "REGISTRY_OK" || echo "REGISTRY_MISSING"

# Check ha-ws is available on HA instance
source .env 2>/dev/null
ssh "$SSH_USER@$HA_HOST" "command -v ha-ws" >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "HAWS_OK" || echo "HAWS_MISSING"

source venv/bin/activate
python tools/entity_explorer.py config/ --full

Living Room (12 entities to rename):
  climate.jch_8862dcd1     -> climate.living_room_ac
  light.hue_ambiance_spot_1 -> light.living_room_spot_1
  ...
  [Approve all] [Edit] [Skip room]

# Write to entity-renames.json (or a temp batch file)
python3 -c "
import json
renames = [
    {'old_id': 'climate.jch_8862dcd1', 'new_id': 'climate.living_room_ac'},
    ...
]
with open('rename_batch.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(renames, f, indent=2)
"

source venv/bin/activate
python tools/update_yaml_refs.py rename_batch.json --dry-run

climate.jch_8862dcd1: 34 references across 5 files
  config/automations/climate.yaml: 18 refs
  config/scripts/climate.yaml: 8 refs
  config/configuration.yaml: 4 refs
  dashboard/src/lib/entities.ts: 2 refs
  config/automations.yaml: 2 refs

# Rename a single entity
ssh "$SSH_USER@$HA_HOST" "source /etc/profile.d/claude-ha.sh; source ${HA_REMOTE_PATH:=/config/}.env; ha-ws entity update sensor.old_name new_entity_id=sensor.new_name"

# Batch rename from a file
cat rename_batch.json | python3 -c "
import json, sys, subprocess
for r in json.load(sys.stdin):
    cmd = f'ha-ws entity update {r[\"old_id\"]} new_entity_id={r[\"new_id\"]}'
    print(f'Renaming: {r[\"old_id\"]} -> {r[\"new_id\"]}')
    subprocess.run(['ssh', '$HA_HOST', f'source /etc/profile.d/claude-ha.sh; source ${HA_REMOTE_PATH:=/config/}.env; {cmd}'])
"

source venv/bin/activate
python tools/entity_rename.py rename_batch.json

python tools/update_yaml_refs.py rename_batch.json

# Back up first (safety rule 10)
ssh "$SSH_USER@$HA_HOST" "cp ${HA_REMOTE_PATH}.storage/core.config_entries ${HA_REMOTE_PATH}.storage/core.config_entries.bak"

# Patch AL zone lights arrays
ssh "$SSH_USER@$HA_HOST" "python3 -c \"
import json
with open('${HA_REMOTE_PATH}.storage/core.config_entries') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
for entry in data.get('data', {}).get('entries', []):
    if entry.get('domain') == 'adaptive_lighting':
        opts = entry.get('options', {})
        lights = opts.get('lights', [])
        # Replace old IDs with new IDs
        opts['lights'] = [MAPPING.get(l, l) for l in lights]
with open('${HA_REMOTE_PATH}.storage/core.config_entries', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
print('AL zones patched')
\""

import json, datetime
with open('entity-renames.json') as f:
    tracker = json.load(f)
for rename in batch:
    tracker['renames'].append({
        'batch': batch_number,
        'date': datetime.date.today().isoformat(),
        'old_id': rename['old_id'],
        'new_id': rename['new_id'],
        'references_updated': rename.get('ref_count', 0),
    })
with open('entity-renames.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(tracker, f, indent=2)

# Sync updated registry from HA
make pull

# Validate YAML references
make validate

# Grep for any remaining old entity IDs
for old_id in $(python3 -c "import json; [print(r['old_id']) for r in json.load(open('rename_batch.json'))]"); do
    echo "Checking: $old_id"
    grep -rn "$old_id" config/ dashboard/src/ || echo "  Clean"
done

© dcb, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in .claude/skills/entity-rename of dcb/homeassistant-claude-kit.

• SKILL.md
• references/naming-convention.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit c0d05e2