Capacity to generate comments into the UI for automation-scripts-etc...

[BBE-FR]

Describe the enhancement

There should be a proper way to add comments in all the UI to have a comment function properly available and stored.

(Yaml comments based on "#" are not stored and lost when using GUI)

For the automation interface, currently, only the description field (alias) exists as a kind of workaround available inside some blocs of the automation GUI.
But if we could via the interface add other comments outside the blocs and keep them that would be great.

This was the third most voted WTH for the last WTH month: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wth-comments-disappear-from-yaml-editor/802437

• In the automation or script GUI, they are some way to mimic it and have some comments available and kept in the interface. some were given in the WTH discussion, only for actions:

a call to script.turn_on with no entities, then change its alias and disable it.

Set a delay of 0.1s (or less) then change its alias

• In the dashboard GUI:

Using a markdown card and set its visibility to a false condition allow to have some free text visible only in edit mode.

using a non referenced key like super_alias in example below is stored but breaks the UI edition

I think that this kind of functionality deserves a proper entry into the UI, like the action blocs and building blocs... A proper "comment bloc" or "comment card" containing free text could be added and properly stored in the JSON.

Use cases

Store any comment into a UI generated script, automation, dashboard, etc...

Visual examples

For automation / script:
A proper comment entry, with the associated "+ ADD COMMENT" located next to (+ADD TRIGGER) and (+ADD BUILDING BLOC) in the UI would allow to create a text only object anywhere, store it and restore it, and use the alias for what it is: properly name a bloc.

Anything else?

The capacity to transform the "#" yaml comments into these new UI compatible kind of comment would become another issue, only once, that could be taken into consideration by the functionality and thus allow to answer the need expressed there: https://github.com/orgs/home-assistant/discussions/533 .

Any other proposed workaround in comment would be welcomed!

Feel free to propose your workaround in the comments.

[mib1185]

This is mostly a duplicate of #533

[BBE-FR]

I was thinking the same initially, but in fact it was generated following a discussion held with @frenck in #533 !

• Preserve YAML comments in GUI automation editor #533 is dealing with the fact that # comments in yaml code are lost when opened in the GUI.

• This one is dealing with a slightly different issue: the fact that there is no way in the UI to properly generate a comment.

The two subjects are deeply linked but slightly different.

Moreover the solution to this one could become an enabler for solving #533...