HomeAssistantVS/sessions/mcp_backup_test_session.md

MCP Backup Test Session - 2026-07-24

Goal

Test ha-direct MCP's auto-backup feature by creating, saving, and modifying an automation.

Status

• Automation WAS created successfully (despite error message)
• User deleted it manually
• Session interrupted for full restart

Key Findings

1. ha-direct has an asyncio bug: ha_config_set_automation throws INTERNAL_ERROR: Task got Future attached to a different loop but the automation still gets created
2. Two MCP servers are connected:
   • homeassistant - Direct HA integration (prefix: homeassistant_*)
   • ha-direct - Best practices skill + automation CRUD (prefix: ha-direct_ha_*)
3. BestPracticeKey: Required for write tools when strict mode is ON. Key rotates hourly, read from SKILL.md

Test Automation Created

alias: "MCP Backup Test"
description: "Test automation to verify ha-direct backup functionality"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    to: above_horizon
actions:
  - action: notify.notify
    data:
      title: "MCP Test"
      message: "Automation created via ha-direct!"

Next Steps After Restart

1. Recreate the test automation using ha_config_set_automation
2. Verify backup was created using ha_manage_backup(scope="edits", action="list")
3. Modify the automation
4. Verify new backup was created
5. Test restore from backup

Command Sequence

# 1. Get BestPracticeKey (read SKILL.md)
ha-direct_ha_get_skill_guide(skill='home-assistant-best-practices', file='SKILL.md')

# 2. Create automation (include BestPracticeKey)
ha-direct_ha_config_set_automation(config={...}, BestPracticeKey="I-HAVE-READ-THE-BEST-PRACTICES-GUIDE-bd08e62b")

# 3. List backups to verify
ha-direct_ha_manage_backup(scope="edits", action="list")

# 4. Modify automation (get identifier from step 2)
ha-direct_ha_config_set_automation(identifier="automation.entity_id", config={...}, BestPracticeKey="...")

# 5. Verify new backup
ha-direct_ha_manage_backup(scope="edits", action="list")

Bug Report Filed

• Error: INTERNAL_ERROR on ha_config_set_automation
• Details: asyncio event loop mismatch
• Report saved: /data/.local/share/opencode/tool-output/tool_f95b39529001j266BHbdc6n5ve