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Home Assistant dashboards can feel cluttered when cards are hard to arrange or show information you do not need. The right fix depends on the cause: choose a different view layout for an arrangement problem, use conditional visibility to hide selected content, or create a separate dashboard for another purpose or audience.
First, identify what is making the dashboard annoying
Home Assistant dashboards are built from cards that display information and let you control devices. Some cards focus on a device or group; others present general data or logic. Before changing the layout, decide whether the problem is where cards appear, which cards appear, or who needs a particular dashboard.
- Cards are awkwardly arranged: try a view type suited to your preferred layout.
- Some content is irrelevant in certain situations: set conditional visibility on the card or section.
- Different people or screens need different content: consider a separate dashboard.
Choose a view layout that fits the content
Home Assistant documents four dashboard view types. Their layouts address different needs; none is a universal fix.
| View type | How it arranges content | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Sections | Groups cards into sections in a grid; cards can be resized. | You want grouped content and control over card size. |
| Masonry | Places cards in columns according to their size. | You want a column layout that accommodates cards of different heights. |
| Panel | Displays one card at full width. | A single card should take the whole view. |
| Sidebar | Arranges content in two columns. | You want a two-column layout. |
These descriptions follow Home Assistant’s dashboard views documentation. If you use Sections, its dense placement option can fill gaps between cards, but gives you less control over card order. Resizing is supported, although editor limitations can apply to nested cards; see the official Sections documentation and dashboard cards documentation.
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Hide cards or sections when they are not relevant
Conditional visibility lets you show a card or section only when specified conditions are satisfied. When you configure multiple conditions, all of them must be met. If you set no conditions, the card or section is shown to all users. This is useful for reducing clutter that depends on context, rather than changing the overall layout. Home Assistant explains the feature in its dashboard cards documentation and Sections documentation.
Use a separate dashboard for a different purpose
A second dashboard can keep a specialized set of cards apart from the main one—for example, a tablet-oriented view or a dashboard intended for a different audience. That is an organizational option, not a requirement to buy a tablet. Home Assistant documents this approach in Multiple dashboards.
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Know what view visibility does—and does not do
You can configure whether a view tab is displayed, but hiding the tab does not prevent access to that view through its URL. Treat this setting as a way to simplify navigation, not as a security boundary. The limitation is documented on Home Assistant’s dashboard views page.
Quick Recap
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