I don't want to rehash anything here, but I did hope to put this suggestion where it belongs in the hope it will gain some consideration.
Hubitat in general seem to like (and even promote) the idea that "choice is a good thing".
Based on that, I strongly suggest/request the possibility of incorporating one of the 3rd party dashboard apps into the firmware. I'd love to see a decent bit of dashboard software included out of the box.
Rule machine and webcore coexist. Great choice.
I hope the same can eventually be said for dashboards. In my opinion, the two standard dash options just don't cut it. They're also (imo) so far behind the 3rd party offerings, it would take an unfeasonable amount of resources to turn them into serious contenders. Which will never happen.
Personally, I'd (obviously?) love to see a local version of sharptools, paid for as part of the usual hubitat yearly subs. But I doubt that'll happen. I love the hub but can't recommend the hub as things stand. If something like sharptools was included as part of the setup, I would definitely have a few neighbours (now) who'd have c7/c8s.
@josh - is this even technically possible (i. E local execution), or is this doomed regardless? The issue many people have with sharptools is cloud reliance. Not my area, but I think some of the other popular 3rd party options can operate locally, which is kind the hubitat ethos.
It should look as good as SharpTools (very large range of icons with the same look)
It should work 100% locally
I eagerly await it's release!
The above is (partly) in jest. I'd settle for some integrated add on similar to what HubiVue promised (100% local and the same 'look' across all platforms.
A native way to add a nice, colored custom icon or an animation to a tile in the tile control itself. An icon that changes for each state of the device. (many folks do this now in CSS).
Dashboard themes - Choose a pre configured color scheme or a full topic theme, and also the ability to make custom themes we can save reuse across dashboards.
Something similar to the HA dashboard "cards" that can be designed by users and shared with others like we share custom apps and drivers.
A better way to make multi-sized tiles instead of using a small grid and expanding them across multiple rows and columns. Just have multiple tile size options in each tile.
Drop shadows for tiles, not just text.
Dashboards that change to display the dashboard correctly on different sized screens, specifically phones vs desktop.
Let’s not forget the real power of SharpTools is that it works cleanly across Hubitat, SmartThings, and Home Assistant.
I get that we’re all cheering for Hubitat in this forum, but if you’re looking for fancy local dashboards, Hubitat is not going to get you anywhere close to what Home Assistant can do out of the box today.
For me, dashboards went from “must have” to “dusty screen on the wall.” Ironically, that’s also why I never fully moved over to Home Assistant.
That said, I’m curious what this group would actually pay for a first-class local solution. History says: you want it to be amazing, and you want it to cost exactly $0.
I might pay a small subscription fee, if that would spurn quick development of new dashboards.
Ultimately, though, I think it is in Hubitat's financial interests to make them a free part of the platform. Dashboards are one of the single items that are keeping some people from trying Hubitat, and why some people are apparently leaving the platform.
I work in software development. One high-end onshore developer can easily run around $300K/year all-in. That’s $25K/month. If the product is $10/month, you’d need about 2,500 paying customers just to cover one developer.
Lets see if we can get 2500 to sign up for $10/month...
Yeah, I think $120/year is a bit much. I was thinking like $25/year, and I agree, it would take a lot of subscribers to ROI a new developer.
I also work in software development, but a needed new feature in an app rarely spurns hiring a new developer. It is usually a matter of shifting priorities using the existing resources.
Like the old phrase goes .... "horses for courses".
Hubitat permits integrations with third-party Dashboards like SharpTools using a developer-provided app or MakerAPI, permitting those who need such integrations to bear the cost of the integration.
Others, whose needs are simpler, can avoid those costs.
Yeah, but we want local control, not some brought in cloud service. What good is a local hub that will run through an internet outage, if the dashboards are still internet dependent?
Ok, but my bigger point is the hoops we jump through to use any alternatives, which new users do not want to deal with. People read about all the gripes with Hubitat dashboards and they don't even want to try the platform, or they try it and they leave just because of dashboards.
Would you rather buy a vacuum you have to assemble yourself, or the one that just works out of the box?
Good point, but that is pretty much the same as people on cloud based hubs need to do when the internet goes out.
We can also still use devices pages to control devices, but my point was just that a local hub should have a decent local dashboard as a built-in part of the platform.
I'm sure this happens, but do we have any idea, really, how significant loss of users due particularly to dashboard functionality is? I expect there aren't any stats, so seems like all we have are personal experiences. Either "...my friend/neighbor/I left HE or wouldn't try it..." or in my case, two friends who started using Hubitat after I did - one (like me) doesn't use dashboards, other uses legacy. Who's "right" about dashboards?
Every platform sheds users over time due to a range of factors (ease of use, functions/features, supported devices/connection type, frequency and stability of updates, breaking changes, etc.) and platforms have to prioritize and balance resources spent on those "deal breakers." I expect (and hope!) that if enough customers are/were voting w/their feet due to dashboards that HE would notice the signal size and adjust activities accordingly.
I def don't want HE to go the way of the dodo due to missing an important market signal. I also don't want them to expend resources on items that aren't significant to their overall success.
Either way, we def should keep asking for things we want or think HE needs, relaying feedback we have heard. We, after all, are part of the signal. Just can't expect that our "must have" feelings/experiences are self-evident proof and will result in a must have by HE staff, as they balance resources/plans.
Ability to manipulate target dashboard in place with tools (WYSIWYG) instead of creating CSS lines and testing them one at a time. Shrink, resize everything in place, icons, tile size, fonts, location, ....
Remove the need to know the item class when creating or changing a dashboard. That should be details behind the curtain.
Ability to easily import artwork for icons and backgrounds to build out user specific dashboards.
If it has to be CSS based, a much better editor tool for the CSS file.
Some sort of format paint brush function so you can copy look and feel of one tile to many.
Easier process to add a device to a page by exiting page and rolling through a list to include for that dashboard then going back to the dashboard to continue editing. Too cumbersome. Should be able to select any device for any dashboard and the tool maintains whatever list/directories are needed behind the curtain...
I agree on that one. If devices still need to be added to dashboards like we have to with custom apps, that menu should be right on the dashboard itself to "bring it in". Going to the settings page and clicking into the dashboard editor, or going into the dashboard child app to add devices, is just cumbersome.
Edit: Really, that could be added now, we just would need an icon on top of every dashboard that brings you into the dashboard child app screen to add devices, maybe brought up as an iframe, so we do not need to navigate away from the dashboard to add devices to it.
Who's "right" about dashboards?
I also don't want them to expend resources on items that aren't significant to their overall success. 
