When a custom card "does not work," it is often because the user has incorrect expectations. There is no magic; the user must configure it correctly for the card to function.
Most custom cards are not selectable in the card chooser. This is a feature that the card developer needs to implement. You can suggest this improvement to the developer of your favorite card.
Note
For example, see the Home Assistant documentation on custom cards.
Since you cannot select it, you need to use the "Manual" card option at the bottom of the list.
Most configuration examples for custom cards look like this:
- type: "type:some_card"
This will not work. Using the manual card as a list item results in:
- - type: "type:some_card"
This will not work and will produce the following error:
To fix this, remove the -
(both the dash and the space) in front of type
and adjust the indentation of the rest of the configuration.
- type: "type:some_card"
type: "type:some_card"
Consider suggesting to the developer of your favorite card to provide examples that work with the "Manual" card option.