How do I install the Ha Backup skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add beclab/ha-backup in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Ha Backup safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Ha Backup?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Ha Backup free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Ha Backup?

beclab (@beclab) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Ha Backup by beclab — Agent Skill

Name: Ha Backup
Author: beclab

Ha Backup

Create, list, inspect, delete, and restore Home Assistant backups with hass-cli. Use for 'make a backup', 'list my backups', 'back up before I change something', 'delete old backups', 'restore this backup' requests. Backups go to configured agents (local and/or cloud/network).

beclab f7f8724 2.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

ha-backup

Native Home Assistant backups (the Settings > System > Backups feature). Prerequisite: ../ha-shared/SKILL.md.

List & inspect

hass-cli backup list           # backups + manager state (idle/create_backup/...)
hass-cli backup agents         # storage locations (e.g. backup.local, cloud.cloud)
hass-cli backup get <backup_id>

backup list returns backups[] (each with backup_id, name, date, agents, with_automatic_settings) plus the manager state and the last/next automatic-backup timestamps.

Create

Specify which agents to store to (get ids from backup agents):

hass-cli backup create --data '{"agent_ids":["backup.local"],"name":"before upgrade"}'

# Or use the configured automatic-backup settings:
hass-cli backup create --auto

create returns a backup_job_id and runs asynchronously. Poll hass-cli backup list until state is idle and the new backup appears in backups[]. Optional create fields: include_database (bool), include_folders (array), include_addons / include_all_addons (supervised installs), password (encrypt).

On Windows PowerShell prefer --data @file.json over inline JSON.

Delete

hass-cli backup delete <backup_id>

Restore

hass-cli backup restore <backup_id> --data '{"agent_id":"backup.local"}'

Restore params: agent_id (required — where to pull the backup from), password (if encrypted), restore_database (bool), restore_addons / restore_folders (arrays), restore_homeassistant (bool). Restoring triggers a Home Assistant restart; the CLI call returns as the process begins.

Backup-before-change playbook

hass-cli backup agents → pick an agent_id.
hass-cli backup create --data '{"agent_ids":["backup.local"],"name":"pre-change"}'.
Poll hass-cli backup list until the backup shows up.
Make the change (e.g. integration reload, workflow automation save).
If it goes wrong: hass-cli backup restore <backup_id> --data '{"agent_id":"backup.local"}'.

---name: ha-backupdescription: Create, list, inspect, delete, and restore Home Assistant backups with hass-cli. Use for 'make a backup', 'list my backups', 'back up before I change something', 'delete old backups', 'restore this backup' requests. Backups go to configured agents (local and/or cloud/network).---# ha-backupNative Home Assistant backups (the Settings > System > Backups feature).**Prerequisite:** [`../ha-shared/SKILL.md`](../ha-shared/SKILL.md).## List & inspect```bashhass-cli backup list # backups + manager state (idle/create_backup/...)hass-cli backup agents # storage locations (e.g. backup.local, cloud.cloud)hass-cli backup get <backup_id>````backup list` returns `backups[]` (each with `backup_id`, `name`, `date`,`agents`, `with_automatic_settings`) plus the manager `state` and thelast/next automatic-backup timestamps.## CreateSpecify which agents to store to (get ids from `backup agents`):```bashhass-cli backup create --data '{"agent_ids":["backup.local"],"name":"before upgrade"}'# Or use the configured automatic-backup settings:hass-cli backup create --auto````create` returns a `backup_job_id` and runs **asynchronously**. Poll`hass-cli backup list` until `state` is `idle` and the new backup appears in`backups[]`. Optional create fields: `include_database` (bool),`include_folders` (array), `include_addons` / `include_all_addons` (supervisedinstalls), `password` (encrypt).> On Windows PowerShell prefer `--data @file.json` over inline JSON.## Delete```bashhass-cli backup delete <backup_id>```## Restore```bashhass-cli backup restore <backup_id> --data '{"agent_id":"backup.local"}'```Restore params: `agent_id` (required — where to pull the backup from),`password` (if encrypted), `restore_database` (bool), `restore_addons` /`restore_folders` (arrays), `restore_homeassistant` (bool). Restoring triggers aHome Assistant restart; the CLI call returns as the process begins.## Backup-before-change playbook1. `hass-cli backup agents` → pick an `agent_id`.2. `hass-cli backup create --data '{"agent_ids":["backup.local"],"name":"pre-change"}'`.3. Poll `hass-cli backup list` until the backup shows up.4. Make the change (e.g. `integration reload`, `workflow automation save`).5. If it goes wrong: `hass-cli backup restore <backup_id> --data '{"agent_id":"backup.local"}'`.

Frequently asked questions