Drag & Drop Card 2.0.0: The Visual Dashboard Builder Update

Drag & Drop Card 2.0.0 is the biggest update I have released so far.

What started as a flexible drag-and-drop layout card has now grown into a much more complete visual dashboard builder for Home Assistant. With this release, the goal is simple: make it easier to build premium, highly customized dashboards without losing control over layout, responsiveness, styling, and live Home Assistant data.

You can still place cards freely on a canvas, but version 2.0.0 adds a whole new layer of tools around that idea: animated lines, layers, new card types, packages, API support, better import/export, HADS integration, improved screen saver features, and a much more polished editing experience.

You can find the wiki here: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/start-here

A More Complete Dashboard Builder

The first thing you may notice in 2.0.0 is that the experience feels more like a real visual builder.

The first-time setup widget has been redesigned, the native Home Assistant card picker preview has been improved, and the editing toolbar has become cleaner and more useful. The card is now better at handling fixed Full HD dashboards, auto-scaling layouts, wall panels, tablets, and mobile surfaces.

The idea is that a new user should immediately understand: this is not just another Lovelace card. This is a canvas.

Lines & Connectors

One of the biggest new features is the new Lines & Connectors system.

You can now create visual relationships between cards directly on the canvas. Lines can be attached to cards, animated, styled, layered, and used to show flows, dependencies, energy movement, status paths, or simply make a dashboard feel more alive and structured.

Connectors support visual styling, animation, direction, glow, hook points, and z-index control.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/connectors-and-interactions

Layers

Layers are another major addition in 2.0.0.

With layers, cards can belong to visibility groups. This means you can build one dashboard that changes depending on what you want to see: day mode, night mode, guests, security, maintenance, energy, or anything else you can imagine.

Instead of duplicating dashboards, you can keep everything in one canvas and reveal only what matters.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/layers

New Card Types

Drag & Drop Card 2.0.0 also introduces new built-in card types designed specifically for the canvas.

The new HTML / Web Card lets you build custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript widgets directly inside the dashboard. The Table Card gives you structured layouts for data. The Icon Card makes it easy to create large visual state indicators. The Text Card gives you better control over headings, labels, and typography.

These cards are built for dashboards where visual layout matters just as much as the data itself.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/built-in-ddc-cards

Packages

Packages are a new way to work with dashboard-related YAML.

The idea is to make it easier to keep automations, scripts, helpers, sensors, and other Home Assistant YAML close to the dashboard experience they belong to. This is especially useful when building dashboards that are meant to be shared, reused, or shipped as complete solutions.

Packages also include diagnostics, helping you understand whether the backend support is available and working correctly.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/packages

API Support

Version 2.0.0 introduces a local dashboard API.

This API allows dashboard settings to be read and changed from custom UI, HTML cards, automations, and future AI/LLM-assisted workflows. You can use it to toggle layers, change settings, control dashboard behavior, and build more interactive dashboard experiences.

This opens the door for dashboards that are not only visual, but also programmable.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/api

Screen Saver

The screen saver has also received a major upgrade.

It is now a proper idle-view system for wall panels, tablets, and always-on dashboards. You can show a premium idle screen with clock, date, calendar, and status entities such as Alarm, Weather, and Energy.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/screen-saver

Import, Export, and HADS

Sharing dashboards is a big part of this release.

You can export a complete dashboard design, import full dashboards, export single cards, and import individual cards into the active tab. This makes it much easier to back up your work, move designs between systems, and share dashboard ideas with others.

This also connects directly to HADS, the Home Assistant Dashboard Store.

Read more: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/export-import-and-hads

A Better Foundation

There are also many improvements across the whole card: better mobile behavior, improved toolbar positioning, better native Home Assistant editor integration, improved responsive layout handling, cleaner popup menus, better background options, particles, YouTube backgrounds, theme handling, and many smaller fixes.

This release is not just about adding more features. It is about making Drag & Drop Card feel more complete, more stable, and more ready for building real dashboards.

Final Thoughts

Drag & Drop Card 2.0.0 is a big step toward the kind of Home Assistant dashboard builder I have wanted for a long time: visual, flexible, powerful, and still close to Home Assistant.

If you are building wall panels, tablet dashboards, room control surfaces, or just want more freedom than a normal stacked Lovelace view can offer, this release is for you.

Start here: 

https://hads.smarti.dev/wiki/start-here