How many days of history should I keep?

7 days is fine for most people. If you use energy graphs or statistics, 14-30 days might make sense. Remember to exclude unnecessary entities - that's more important than the number of days.

Do I lose history when switching to MariaDB?

Yes, you start with an empty database. It's technically possible to migrate data, but it's complex and error-prone. Most people just start fresh.

Why is my Raspberry Pi slow?

SD cards are slow for database operations. Switch to an external SSD via USB 3.0, install MariaDB, and add active cooling. It makes a huge difference.

Can too many integrations make HA slow?

Yes, especially cloud-based integrations that poll often. Review your integrations and disable those you don't use. Also check if some integrations have unnecessarily high poll frequency.

Performance Optimization in Home Assistant

Performance Database Advanced

A slow Home Assistant is frustrating. Dashboards that take forever to load, automations with delay, and a UI that stutters. Fortunately, most problems can be solved with the right configuration.

🔍 Typical Performance Problems

Problem	Symptoms	Cause
Slow UI	Dashboard loads slowly	Large database, many entities
Sluggish history	Graphs take long time	SQLite bottleneck
High CPU	Constant 80%+ load	Too many integrations polling
SD card wear	Corrupt database, crashes	Too many database writes
Slow startup	5+ minutes to boot	Large database, many add-ons

📊 Recorder Optimization

Recorder is Home Assistant’s history engine. It writes everything by default - that’s often too much.

Basic Configuration

# configuration.yaml
recorder:
  purge_keep_days: 7          # Keep only 7 days of history
  commit_interval: 1          # Write to database every second
  auto_purge: true            # Automatic cleanup at 04:12

Exclude Unnecessary Entities

# configuration.yaml
recorder:
  purge_keep_days: 7
  exclude:
    # Domains that generate A LOT of data
    domains:
      - automation          # Automations don't need history
      - updater             # Update status
      - camera              # Camera states (images aren't stored)

    # Specific entity patterns
    entity_globs:
      - sensor.sun_*        # Sun sensors (update constantly)
      - sensor.*_battery    # Battery (changes slowly)
      - binary_sensor.updater

    # Individual entities
    entities:
      - sensor.date_time
      - sensor.time
      - sensor.uptime

Include Only What Matters

Alternative approach - only save what you actually use:

# configuration.yaml
recorder:
  purge_keep_days: 14
  include:
    domains:
      - sensor              # Sensors
      - climate             # Thermostats
      - light               # Lights (for energy tracking)
    entities:
      - person.brian        # Presence
      - binary_sensor.motion_living_room
  exclude:
    # Except these from included domains
    entity_globs:
      - sensor.*_battery
      - sensor.*_linkquality

Entities to Exclude (Recommended)

Entity Type	Why
`sensor.*_battery`	Changes slowly
`sensor.*_linkquality`	Zigbee signal - rarely needed
`sensor.date_time`	Updates every second
`binary_sensor.updater`	Unnecessary
`automation.*`	Trigger history is rarely useful
`script.*`	Same as automation
`*_last_seen`	Zigbee last seen timestamps

🗄️ MariaDB (External Database)

For larger installations, MariaDB is recommended over SQLite.

When to Switch to MariaDB?

Situation	Recommendation
< 50 entities	SQLite is fine
50-200 entities	SQLite with optimization
200+ entities	Consider MariaDB
Raspberry Pi + SD card	MariaDB on external SSD
Slow graphs	MariaDB helps

Installation

Go to Settings → Add-ons → Add-on Store
Search “MariaDB” and install

Configure add-on:

databases:
  - homeassistant
logins:
  - username: homeassistant
    password: "your-strong-password"
rights:
  - username: homeassistant
    database: homeassistant

Start add-on

Update configuration.yaml:

recorder:
  db_url: mysql://homeassistant:your-strong-password@core-mariadb/homeassistant?charset=utf8mb4
  purge_keep_days: 14

Restart Home Assistant

MariaDB Tuning

For better performance, add options in add-on config:

{
  "databases": ["homeassistant"],
  "logins": [
    {
      "username": "homeassistant",
      "password": "your-password"
    }
  ],
  "rights": [
    {
      "username": "homeassistant",
      "database": "homeassistant"
    }
  ],
  "options": {
    "innodb_buffer_pool_size": "256M",
    "max_connections": 200
  }
}

Parameter	Value	Description
`innodb_buffer_pool_size`	256M-512M	RAM for database cache
`max_connections`	200	Concurrent connections

💾 Logbook & History

Disable Logbook for Irrelevant Entities

# configuration.yaml
logbook:
  exclude:
    domains:
      - automation
      - script
      - group
    entity_globs:
      - sensor.*_battery
      - sensor.*_linkquality

History Optimization

# configuration.yaml
history:
  exclude:
    domains:
      - automation
      - script
      - updater
    entity_globs:
      - sensor.*_battery

⚡ Integration Optimization

Reduce Polling Frequency

Many integrations poll too often:

# configuration.yaml
# Example: Reduce polling for template sensors
sensor:
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      daily_consumption:
        friendly_name: "Daily Consumption"
        value_template: "{{ states('sensor.energy') }}"
        # Update only every 5 minutes
        scan_interval: 300

Disable Unused Integrations

Go to Settings → Devices & Services
Review all integrations
Remove/disable those you don’t use
Especially: Cloud-based integrations that poll

🔧 System Optimization

Logger Configuration

Reduce log level to save resources:

# configuration.yaml
logger:
  default: warning        # Only warnings and errors
  logs:
    homeassistant.core: warning
    homeassistant.components.mqtt: warning
    homeassistant.components.zha: warning
    # Debug only for troubleshooting:
    # homeassistant.components.automation: debug

Disable Unnecessary Features

# configuration.yaml
# Only if you don't use them:
discovery:           # Auto discovery
zeroconf:           # mDNS
ssdp:               # UPnP discovery

Raspberry Pi Specific

Recommendation	Why
Use SSD	10x faster than SD card
USB 3.0 adapter	Avoid USB 2.0 bottleneck
Active cooling	Pi throttles at 80°C
Overclocking (careful)	Can give 20%+ boost

📈 Monitoring

Check Database Size

# Automation to track database size
sensor:
  - platform: sql
    db_url: mysql://homeassistant:password@core-mariadb/homeassistant?charset=utf8mb4
    queries:
      - name: Database Size
        query: "SELECT ROUND(SUM(data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024, 2) as size FROM information_schema.TABLES WHERE table_schema = 'homeassistant'"
        column: "size"
        unit_of_measurement: "MB"

System Monitor Integration

# configuration.yaml
sensor:
  - platform: systemmonitor
    resources:
      - type: processor_use
      - type: memory_use_percent
      - type: disk_use_percent
        arg: /
      - type: load_1m
      - type: load_5m

🔄 Maintenance

Weekly

Check database size
Look for errors in logs
Verify automations are running

Monthly

Clean up unused entities
Review recorder excludes
Update integrations

Manual Database Purge

If the database has grown too large:

# Developer Tools → Services
service: recorder.purge
data:
  keep_days: 3
  repack: true

📋 Performance Checklist

Quick Optimization (5 min)

Reduce purge_keep_days to 7
Exclude automation, script domains
Exclude *_battery, *_linkquality entities
Reduce logger to warning

Medium Optimization (30 min)

Review all entities - exclude unnecessary ones
Check polling intervals on integrations
Disable unused integrations
Add system monitoring

Larger Project (1-2 hours)

Migrate to MariaDB
Install on SSD (Raspberry Pi)
Fine-tune MariaDB parameters
Set up InfluxDB for long-term data

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Ofte stillede spørgsmål

How many days of history should I keep?: 7 days is fine for most people. If you use energy graphs or statistics, 14-30 days might make sense. Remember to exclude unnecessary entities - that's more important than the number of days.
Do I lose history when switching to MariaDB?: Yes, you start with an empty database. It's technically possible to migrate data, but it's complex and error-prone. Most people just start fresh.
Why is my Raspberry Pi slow?: SD cards are slow for database operations. Switch to an external SSD via USB 3.0, install MariaDB, and add active cooling. It makes a huge difference.
Can too many integrations make HA slow?: Yes, especially cloud-based integrations that poll often. Review your integrations and disable those you don't use. Also check if some integrations have unnecessarily high poll frequency.

📚 Next Steps

Backup & Security

Protect your optimized system.

See guide →

Dashboard Design

Build fast, lightweight dashboards.