As said above, prioritization. Now it's pretty easy to make your dashboards look any way you want
(Mine on my iphone)
But as I said above, it's about automation, not remote control.
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I think one of my points I tried to come across in the original message, was not having to diving down the rabbit hole of searching for alternative solutions for things.. to have a device that has things built-in from the start, that don't depend on a community provided solution where the developer eventually gets bored with the side project and then the code doesn't even work properly after the main code (Hubitat) is updated with changes.. or other possible reason it stops working at some point..
Perhaps it was removed for a good reason? Perhaps the code has some sort of malicious intent that the non-developer/coder wouldn't know about.. I'm just pull straws here at examples.. since I'm unable to read the original post
Not sure if this has been answered but the goal is to NOT use Echo Plus as your hub if you have hubitat. If you paired your Zigbee devices to the Echo, unpair them or you will run into duplicate devices showing in Alexa. Personally I recommend adding everything in Hubitat first, including groups and scenes, and then linking Alexa using the Skill. I found it's a pain to juggle between routines and automations in the Alexa App / Google Home App and Hubitat. Create your scenes and automations in Hubitat, which you can port to a switch in the Alexa App. Hit the switch and it will trigger your scene via hubitat. It will drive you nuts to combine both so again, add all devices in hubitat first, install the apps you want to use, then slowly start to bring things in to your voice assistants.
I feel compelled to throw in here, a bit of uplift for the Hubitat team and hopefully encouragement to smplteddybear.
I am not a programer and the last formal education I've had with computer languages was in the days of Fortran and Cobal (yes, decades ago). I appreciate the work and the product you guys have put together. It is working well. I also appreciate the continued support via this media and that you are constantly refining.
To smplteddtbear, I offer, work the process, one step at a time and let the team here help you. They each may have a slightly different approach, so one of them will suit your needs.
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I understood your original post. I am not part of the Hubitat staff, and I have no more influence on the product than you do.
That said, you really need to understand that the Hubitat hub is very early in its development. The company is tiny, with only a few people. Hubitat does not have the product maturity or resources that a large enterprise could bring to the table.
As others said upthread, itās a question of priorities with limited resources.
I believe that the Hubitat Terms of Service, to which all of us agree when we register and update our hubs, states it well in paragraph 1.c.:
c. Customer acknowledges that the Hubitat Platform is under continuous development, is not complete or otherwise at the final stage of development and that Hubitat makes no representation that the Hubitat Platform is error or bug free. Customer acknowledges and agrees that the Hubitat Platform may experience unscheduled downtime and agrees that Hubitat shall not be liable for any harm resulting from unscheduled downtime. Customer acknowledges that Hubitat has no obligation to provide support for the Customer's use of the product.
Addressing your other point:
It was none of the reasons you cite. You can figure it out if you dig. I understand that you donāt seem to want to expend that effort, and want a mature, turnkey system. Thatās not Hubitat at this point in its development. I was just trying to help and suggest what, I believe, is the only native drag-and-drop solution for Hubitat today.
Hubitat does have a vibrant community of developers and users that try to extend the product and help each other. I hope that works for you. If so, try to pay it forward and help others as you gain greater experience with the product.
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So this is where my expectation differs quite strikingly from yours. From my perspective, Hubitat provides me with a device controller, and a sufficient diversity of apps for function (Simple Automation, Groups & Scenes, Motion/Mode Lighting, Rule Machine).
The built-in collection of apps/drivers is sufficient for most needs. However, Hubitat also does this:
It provides the end-user the capacity to create their own device drivers for devices and their own apps (it is up to the end-user to learn Groovy to do so, if they so wish).
And, it provides the end-user with at least one app (MakerAPI) that acts as an interface to anything external that you desire.
Let me expand on MakerAPI, because it is the Hubitat app that I use the most. MakerAPI lets me run most of my automations using Node-RED. MakerAPI lets me import zigbee sensors paired to zigbee2mqtt into Hubitat. And finally, I do not use Dashboards, preferring the interface provided by the iOS/MacOS Home App - once again MakerAPI permits me to do that using Homebridge.
It is not a question of diving down a rabbit hole. The built-in apps are clearly sufficient for most needs. The point is that Hubitat provides the end-user the capacity to create their own tools, or use external tools as suits their needs.
In the instance of a Dashboard, in addition to the built-in Dashboard, there are at least 3-4 other projects that come to mind to provide Dashboard functionality. It is totally up to the end-user to decide which is best for them. Hubitat does its job by providing the essential tools needed to use any of them.
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You mean like the "Let's Get Started" option you have the ability to kickstart your hub with if you read everything at the end of the setup wizard? 
(What this does is install a few common built-in apps with "fake"/virtual devices so you can see what's possible. You can then use these apps for reference to set up new ones, swap out the virtual devices with real ones, remove any you don't want, or really just do whatever you want.)
But back to the issue, "built-in" just means that the app comes with the hub firmware. This is as opposed to custom/user apps that you have to install (as code) yourself. Similar with drivers. I think Hubitat Dashboard actually is installed by default, or was last time I used a brand-new hub, but it doesn't really do anything unless you configure it, anyway--nor would most apps, so I'm not sure how just having them "installed" is helpful (how would Groups and Scenes know what groups you want to create?). I'll agree that Dashboard isn't the friendliest. However, I think the Community is, so you should have good luck if you ask questions as they arise. I see you have some good advice above already, so I'll touch on one tip that I'm not sure I've seen addressed yet:
You can leave the width and height blank (they are not by default) for rows and/or columns, and they will automatically size to fit the width or height of your screen. This won't necessarily work for all screens; unlike ActionTiles or SharpTools, tiles won't wrap around to the next row but rather just resize in accordance with your specified number of columns and rows. (I actually prefer this behavior; I don't have to wonder how a screen of a slightly different size might wrap my tiles and mess up anything I wanted to be next to something else. I'm sure others prefer the other behavior instead.) But it works for most screens of similar sizes and saves you from needing to make a new Dashboard for each--but if you do want to do that, you can copy the JSON from one to a new one to get a head start.
I also wouldn't worry too much about Hubitat Dashboard changing so much that any of the community solutions you've found will stop working. The biggest change to Dashboard was about two years ago when Dashboard 2.0 came out (if you think the current Dashboards are awkward, I wish I could remember how legacy Dashboard worked...). I recall exactly zero changes since then except recent token/security changes that don't affect the Dashboards themselves beyond that, so you'll probably be good for a while. 
And if they make major changes, hopefully that's Dashboard 3.0 and you'll have the option to keep using these indefinitely.
Oh, and there also are third-party solutions--like SharpTools I mentioned above (actually pre-dates any version of Hubitat Dashboard), and ActionTiles is rumored to be coming soon. If you use iOS, you can also use an official HomeBridge integration and use that as your UI. I've actually come to rely less and less on Dashboards in Hubitat in favor of "real" automation instead (motion, presence, temperature, etc. drive things on their own), but it's still nice as one place to monitor things (e.g., lots of sensor states). I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. Good luck!
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I find it hilarious when folks start pointing out a terms of service agreement.. Where is this agreement before making the $140 purchase? Don't remember having to check of any box to agree to the ToS before giving my money away..
Pretty sure this thing has been around for a few years now.. I couldn't call that "early development.." but if that is the reason/excuse you need to justify the device lacking some basic core functions/simplicity then go for it.
I understand what your intentions are, but that doesn't change the bottom line of the situation. And "native" does not mean 3rd party (community driven/provided) - Native is baked in, out the box, from the start..
Edit I'm just throwing this at the tail of this post.. I'd like to keep the conversation going, and learn more from what folks have to share, but apparently I'm being silenced for the next 14 hours due to being a "new user.." Wouldn't a new user need more help than some others? Cut off their voice/post ability midway through a conversation? Logic escapes me there.. any how..
I'm still reading through the forms, and trying to find solutions (per suggestion in this thread) to make things "easier" in using this hubitat. I haven't given up on it, certainly not after one day.. although I would like to be able to "set it and forget it" sooner than later, and just have things work and never have to go back into the settings/menu again once everything is setup..
Also, I accidentally removed the post below this one.. meant to click the edit but, but didn't work out that way in the end... and not sure how to get it back.. it says something about being flagged, but don't see an option to "flag" it
I think I understand what you want, but I would postulate that it does not exist in the market place. That opinion is based on having used, or am currently using, 7 different home automation platforms.
That said, it is what it is - I'm not making apologies for any system's shortcomings. If you find the perfect hub with all things you want built in natively - by all means buy it! Good luck (no sarcasm intended)!
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No, in the context I used the word ānativeā, it means āruns on the hub natively, and does not require another auxiliary hub running part of the system.ā There are other ānon-nativeā solutions that run Dashboard components in the cloud or that require a Raspberry Pi, etc.
Look, I have no agenda, and Iām not trying to ājustifyā anything. I originally had a Wink hub, then that system imploded; then I migrated to SmartThings, realized, after two weeks, that it was imploding. Then I migrated to Hubitat, and it does what I need, for now.
I am not a fanboy. If a better solution comes along and Hubitat stops meeting my home automation needs, then I may migrate again.
But I donāt have any interest in arguing with you. Good luck.
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Wow, a lot to process in the OP, but I couldnāt agree more with this assessment.
Slow down and try to tackle problems one by one, or things can definitely get overwhelming fast. This is mostly a DIY-based system, and as others have said itās still in its early stages of development in the big scheme of things.
You might be interested in some systems from Lutron if youāre looking for more straightforward, app-based control of lighting.
They have many options for smart switches that donāt require neutrals. Some are quite a bit more expensive than zigbee or z-wave based options, but they are solid devices.
Whether or not you decide to stick with Hubitat.
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FWIW, here's a partial list of Hubitat Dashboard apps available. I don't use any of them, but the list is slightly longer than the 3-4 that I originally stated:
- Sharptools (commercial)
- ActionTiles (not yet released, commercial)
- The Home Remote (free/commercial)
- Hubitat Dashboard - Android Dashboard app
- HubiDash
- Smartly (linked to above)
- HousePanel
And this independent of other options like:
MakerAPI + NodeRED + NodeRED dashboard
HomeBridge + Apple Home app
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You donāt even wanna know whatās still leftover on my to-do list from 2020 
.
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Think dashboards are a very, very, very "personal preference" thing.
I can't stand the vast majority of the examples in the "show off your dashboard" thread. To me, many look like a massive list of devices, all on one page, in commodore64 colours from the late 80's. But hey, I'm sure plenty of people think mine are foul. 
Hubitat is an awesome base platform. Which allows you to take any of a variety of routes from base camp.
IMO
(sharptools fan, BTW)
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I think the best dashboard is... no dashboard at all. 
My family has never asked me any question about our automation in which I could answer "Use the dashboard."
I have a dashboard set, but I am the only one that has ever seen it. And my goal is to be able to delete them ASAP. (My prediction is: at least a year out. )
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I'm with you. I use the Apple Home app very very rarely. Rare enough that it almost certainly wasn't worth the effort setting up multiple instances of HomeBridge etc. etc.
OTOH - got to play with another node app .....
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Automated lights etc fair enough, no dash needed imo.
I do like to see what's going on with the heating and what's happening with outdoor motion. Haven't managed to install any hardware to take the place of a few icons on a dash with room temps and buttons to randomly 'boost' a room if I feel like it.
I'm sure that if I put enough time and effort into running extra hardware, physical pushbuttons, strategically placed led displays, stealthy traffic light led indicators etc then I might be able to relegate my current (often-used) sharptools dashboard to "there to use if you want to".
But I'm not there yet and not sure I'll ever want to be. There's always a better idea or something I'd like to tweak which is a hell of a lot easier to do if there's nothing fixed and physical to re-do.
I guess I've just beaten myself in a discussion in that, were my ideas and projects spot on already with no need to improve, then I could get away without a dash.
But I suppose that my personal expectation (and it really is just that - not based on false promises etc of which there are none) is that an out of the box slick interface would be pretty awesome. I adore @josh's sharptools, but id be lying if I didn't wish I could have its features without the cloud reliance.
When I first got Hubitat, I'd been using OpenRemote as 1-of-4 Secondary ZWave controllers. It was 100% customizable, and I'd spent many hours creating it.. quite beautiful.... and STILL I couldn't get the family interested in my hard work.
Took about a month of using Hubitat as a secondary to determine that it was the Hub I'd been looking for and started over, and migrated my whole home (65 devices at that time.. 2018) in a day. Took another month to get over the cost of adding a Lutron SmartBridge Pro, but 90% because the built-in Lutron integration with Staples Connect had spoiled me. Turns out the Hubitat integration was everything I had wanted, maybe more.
Out of habit, I built a complete set of Hubitat Dashboards in 2018 and found the same as most everyone else.. ugly, but functional. Perfect for One Person's need.
But my needs are not anyone else's. I love fully automated. So much so that I actively need to remind myself that it's not for everyone. And therefore my Dashboard goal of zero is the same: Not for everyone.
I would agree with most about the dashboards but I have on occasion found them to be useful. If you are incapacitated for any length of time having the ability to to do things like control lights is very helpful. I do like the simplicity of the Apple Home UI - thanks to HomeBridge I have my Rings and Arlos both showing snapshots up under one "page". It just works.
Like @aaiyar, I've tried many possibilities.
I spent time getting my devices into HomeKit years ago and there they still are.. still no traction on getting even that good looking a UI into my family's hands. But I like it. I turn to it first, usually. But I don't have any sensors over on HomeKit since I do no automation there (except Presence). So if I want to know "What was that noise?" in the middle of the night, yep, gotta hit the Motion Sensor dashboard on Hubitat.
I see now that I barely spoke to the OPs items... I think the main thing I read is how it's not preset to be more out of the box useable. Especially that the one big clue needed when you open the box is: that you MUST add Apps. I participated in a conversation about this topic more than a year ago... and imagine my surprise when the 'next' release had Let's Get Started
It's maybe halfway to what @SmplTeddyBear desires.. But for those of us that have been here a long time, it's evidence that 'the spotlight does shine' on new users occasionally. It's easy to imagine a couple of man weeks were spent on that... and that another man month wouldn't do it any harm.
If this community weren't answering questions at almost real time.. real time in a typing constrained universe anyway... then the current state of documentation would be cause for losing a greater percentage of Hubitat owners. I have access to a lot of documentation from several billion dollar corporations... and I still suffer from not being able to find an answer. For some reason the search terms I think in, never appear in documentation. Once I learn the word those corporations use for "my today problem", it's easy to find where the answer was.
it happened today.. I went searching for more details of a feature, using their name for that feature.. and found two occurrences. Both simply indicated the features existed. nothing about how to use it or more importantly, common mistakes or fixes.
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