esphome-docs/guides/configuration-types.rst

Configuration Types
===================

.. seo::
    :description: Documentation of different configuration types in ESPHome
    :image: settings.svg

ESPHome’s configuration files have several configuration types. This
page describes them.

.. _config-id:

ID
--

Quite an important aspect of ESPHome are “IDs”. They are used to
connect components from different domains. For example, you define an
output component together with an ID and then later specify that same ID
in the light component. IDs should always be unique within a
configuration and ESPHome will warn you if you try to use the same
ID twice.

Because ESPHome converts your configuration into C++ code and the
IDs are in reality just C++ variable names, they must also adhere to
C++’s naming conventions. `C++ Variable
names <https://venus.cs.qc.cuny.edu/~krishna/cs111/lectures/D3_C++_Variables.pdf>`__
…

-  … must start with a letter and can end with numbers.
-  … must not have a space in the name.
-  … can not have special characters except the underscore (“_“).
-  … must not be a keyword.


.. note::

    These IDs are used only within ESPHome and are not translated to Home Assistant's Entity ID.


.. _config-pin:

Pin
---

ESPHome always uses the **chip-internal GPIO numbers**. These
internal numbers are always integers like ``16`` and can be prefixed by
``GPIO``. For example to use the pin with the **internal** GPIO number 16,
you could type ``GPIO16`` or just ``16``.

Most boards however have aliases for certain pins. For example the NodeMCU
ESP8266 uses pin names ``D0`` through ``D8`` as aliases for the internal GPIO
pin numbers. Each board (defined in :doc:`ESPHome section </components/esphome>`)
has their own aliases and so not all of them are supported yet. For example,
for the ``D0`` (as printed on the PCB silkscreen) pin on the NodeMCU ESP8266
has the internal GPIO name ``GPIO16``, but also has an alias ``D0``. So using
either one of these names in your configuration will lead to the same result.

.. code-block:: yaml

    some_config_option:
      pin: GPIO16

    some_config_option:
      # alias on the NodeMCU ESP8266:
      pin: D0

.. _config-pin_schema:

Pin Schema
----------

In some places, ESPHome also supports a more advanced “pin schema”.

.. code-block:: yaml

    some_config_option:
      # Basic:
      pin: GPIOXX

      # Advanced:
      pin:
        number: GPIOXX
        inverted: true
        mode:
          input: true
          pullup: true

Configuration variables:

-  **number** (**Required**, pin): The pin number.
-  **inverted** (*Optional*, boolean): If all read and written values
   should be treated as inverted. Defaults to ``false``.
-  **allow_other_uses** (*Optional*, boolean): If the pin is also specified elsewhere in the configuration.
   By default multiple uses of the same pin will be flagged as an error. This option will suppress the error and is
   intended for rare cases where a pin is shared between multiple components. Defaults to ``false``.

-  **mode** (*Optional*, string or mapping): Configures the pin to behave in different
   modes like input or output. The default value depends on the context.
   Accepts either a shorthand string or a mapping where each feature can be individually
   enabled/disabled:

   - **input** (*Optional*, boolean): If true, configure the pin as an input.
   - **output** (*Optional*, boolean): If true, configure the pin as an output.
   - **pullup** (*Optional*, boolean): Activate internal pullup resistors on the pin.
   - **pulldown** (*Optional*, boolean): Activate internal pulldown resistors on the pin.
   - **open_drain** (*Optional*, boolean): Set the pin to open-drain (as opposed to push-pull).
     The active pin state will then result in a high-impedance state.

   For compatibility some shorthand modes can also be used.

   - ``INPUT``
   - ``OUTPUT``
   - ``OUTPUT_OPEN_DRAIN``
   - ``ANALOG``
   - ``INPUT_PULLUP``
   - ``INPUT_PULLDOWN``
   - ``INPUT_OUTPUT_OPEN_DRAIN``

Advanced options:

- **drive_strength** (*Optional*, string): On ESP32s with esp-idf framework the pad drive strength,
  i.e. the maximum amount of current can additionally be set. Defaults to ``20mA``.
  Options are ``5mA``, ``10mA``, ``20mA``, ``40mA``.
- **ignore_strapping_warning** (*Optional*, boolean): Certain pins on ESP32s are designated *strapping pins* and are read
  by the chip on reset to configure initial operation, e.g. to enable bootstrap mode.
  Using such pins for I/O should be avoided and ESPHome will warn if I/O is configured on a strapping pin.

  For more detail see :ref:`strapping-warnings`.

  If you are *absolutely* sure that you are using a strapping pin for I/O in a way that will not cause problems,
  you can suppress the warning by setting this option to ``true`` in the pin configuration.

.. _config-time:

Time
----

In lots of places in ESPHome you need to define time periods.
There are several ways of doing this. See below examples to see how you can specify time periods:

.. code-block:: yaml

    some_config_option:
      some_time_option: 1000us  # 1000 microseconds = 1ms
      some_time_option: 1000ms  # 1000 milliseconds
      some_time_option: 1.5s  # 1.5 seconds
      some_time_option: 0.5min  # half a minute
      some_time_option: 2h  # 2 hours

      # Make sure you wrap these in quotes
      some_time_option: '2:01'  # 2 hours 1 minute
      some_time_option: '2:01:30'  # 2 hours 1 minute 30 seconds

      # 10ms + 30s + 25min + 3h
      some_time_option:
        milliseconds: 10
        seconds: 30
        minutes: 25
        hours: 3
        days: 0

      # for all 'update_interval' options, also
      update_interval: never  # never update
      update_interval: 0ms  # update in every loop() iteration

See Also
--------

- :doc:`ESPHome index </index>`
- :doc:`getting_started_command_line`
- :doc:`faq`
- :ghedit:`Edit`