Requirements
Although you’re more than welcome to just read this post for general knowledge, check out my recommendations for what you need to have, in order to be able to fully use the provided information.
Home Assistant allows extensive customization, and one of the most effective ways to improve the look of your dashboard is by applying themes. These themes go far beyond switching between light and dark mode—they allow you to change the colors, backgrounds, card appearances, icons, and much more. You can create your own themes from scratch or take advantage of the vast library of existing themes available from the Home Assistant community.
Before diving into themes, let’s address an important point: Themes only change the visual aesthetics of your dashboard. They do not rearrange or modify the functionality of your cards. If your dashboard is cluttered or your cards are disorganized, applying a theme won't solve those issues. Much like seeing a beautifully styled dish on food packaging, the screenshots that illustrate themes often use well-organized dashboards as examples. First, take the time to arrange your dashboard, and then start experimenting with themes to make it visually stunning.
Enabling Themes in Home Assistant
To use custom themes, you'll first need to enable them in your configuration.yaml
file. Follow these steps:
- Open the
configuration.yaml
file, which is located in theconfig
folder of your Home Assistant instance. - Add the following lines at the bottom of the file:
frontend: themes: !include_dir_merge_named themes
- Save the
configuration.yaml
file. - Restart Home Assistant to apply the changes.
- This setting allows Home Assistant to load themes from a specific directory (
themes
) and merge them into your configuration.
Installing Themes
There are two primary ways to install themes in Home Assistant:
1. Using HACS
If you have HACS installed, installing themes is incredibly simple:
- Go to the Frontend section of HACS.
- Browse or search for themes you like.
- Select and download the theme directly from HACS.
- The theme will be automatically placed in the
config/themes/
directory.
Once the theme is installed, it’s ready to be applied in your dashboard.
2. Manually Downloading Themes
If a theme isn't available in HACS, you can manually download it from GitHub or other repositories:
- Find the theme you want to install (such as from the Home Assistant Community Forum or GitHub).
- Download the theme files.
- Create a folder in the
config/themes/
directory (e.g.,config/themes/<theme_name>
). - Place the downloaded theme files in this folder.
Home Assistant will automatically detect and load these themes after the next restart.
Applying a Theme
To apply a theme, follow these steps:
- Open your Home Assistant dashboard.
- Click on your profile picture in the bottom left corner.
- Under the Themes section, you’ll see a dropdown with available themes.
- Select the theme you want to apply, and it will instantly change the appearance of your dashboard.
You can always revert back to the default theme if something goes wrong, so feel free to experiment!
My Theme and Customization
One of my favorite themes is the Dark Teal theme. After downloading it, I made some custom tweaks to give the cards rounded corners and adjust some other CSS details to fit my personal taste. With CSS knowledge, it's easy to modify any theme to your liking.

Where to Find More Themes
There are plenty of excellent themes available online. Here are a few places to start:
- Home Assistant Community Forum - Themes: This is an excellent source for themes contributed by the community. You'll find both dark and light themes, minimalist themes, and vibrant, colorful options.
- GitHub: Searching for "Home Assistant Themes" on GitHub will provide many options with detailed installation instructions. I've curated several nice ones in the gallery below (click on an image for its GitHub source)
Once you've chosen a theme, you can always refine it by editing its CSS to match your preferences, ensuring your dashboard truly feels like your own.
Conclusion
By using themes in Home Assistant, you can completely transform the look and feel of your dashboard without changing its functionality. Theming allows you to customize everything from the color scheme to the shape of your cards. Remember to start with an organized dashboard, so the theme you apply can truly enhance its appearance. In future posts, I’ll cover how to further fine-tune these themes and even build your own from scratch for a fully personalized smart home experience.
Happy theming!
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