ha-automation

name	ha-automation
description	Automation YAML patterns, triggers, conditions, actions, and best practices for Home Assistant.

Home Assistant Automation Skill

Automation YAML patterns, triggers, conditions, actions, and best practices for Home Assistant.

Activation Triggers

Activate this skill when:

• Creating or modifying automations
• Working with automation YAML
• Designing trigger logic
• Building condition chains
• Creating action sequences

Automation Structure

# Complete automation template
alias: "Descriptive Name"
id: unique_automation_id  # Optional but recommended
description: "What this automation does and why"
mode: single  # single, restart, queued, parallel

# Variables available throughout
variables:
  room: "living_room"
  default_brightness: 80

trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion
    to: "on"
    id: motion_detected  # For use in choose

condition:
  - condition: sun
    after: sunset

action:
  - service: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: "light.{{ room }}"
    data:
      brightness_pct: "{{ default_brightness }}"

Trigger Types

State Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.door
    from: "off"
    to: "on"
    for:
      seconds: 30
    attribute: any  # Optional: trigger on attribute change

Time Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: time
    at: "06:30:00"

  # Multiple times
  - platform: time
    at:
      - "07:00:00"
      - "12:00:00"
      - "18:00:00"

  # Input datetime
  - platform: time
    at: input_datetime.wake_up_time

Time Pattern

trigger:
  - platform: time_pattern
    hours: "/2"  # Every 2 hours
    minutes: "30"

  - platform: time_pattern
    minutes: "/5"  # Every 5 minutes

Sun Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: sun
    event: sunset
    offset: "-01:00:00"  # 1 hour before sunset

Numeric State

trigger:
  - platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.temperature
    above: 75
    below: 85
    for:
      minutes: 5

Template Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: template
    value_template: >
      {{ states('sensor.power') | float > 1000 and
         is_state('input_boolean.high_power_alert', 'on') }}
    for:
      minutes: 5

Event Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: event
    event_type: mobile_app_notification_action
    event_data:
      action: "TURN_OFF_LIGHTS"

Device Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: device
    type: turned_on
    device_id: abc123def456
    entity_id: switch.smart_plug
    domain: switch

Webhook Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: webhook
    webhook_id: my_custom_webhook
    allowed_methods:
      - POST
    local_only: true

MQTT Trigger

trigger:
  - platform: mqtt
    topic: "home/doorbell/status"
    payload: "pressed"

Condition Types

State Condition

condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.guest_mode
    state: "off"

  # Multiple states (OR)
  - condition: state
    entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home
    state:
      - "armed_home"
      - "armed_away"

Numeric State

condition:
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.battery
    above: 20

Time Condition

condition:
  - condition: time
    after: "22:00:00"
    before: "06:00:00"
    weekday:
      - mon
      - tue
      - wed
      - thu
      - fri

Sun Condition

condition:
  - condition: sun
    after: sunset
    before: sunrise
    after_offset: "-00:30:00"

Zone Condition

condition:
  - condition: zone
    entity_id: device_tracker.phone
    zone: zone.home

Template Condition

condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: >
      {{ now().month in [6, 7, 8] }}  # Summer months

Logical Operators

condition:
  - condition: and
    conditions:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.vacation
        state: "off"
      - condition: or
        conditions:
          - condition: state
            entity_id: person.john
            state: "home"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: person.jane
            state: "home"

Action Patterns

Service Call

action:
  - service: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: light.kitchen
    data:
      brightness_pct: 100
      transition: 2

Dynamic Targets

action:
  - service: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: >
        {{ expand('group.all_lights')
           | selectattr('state', 'eq', 'on')
           | map(attribute='entity_id')
           | list }}

Delay & Wait

action:
  - delay:
      seconds: 30

  - wait_for_trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.door
        to: "off"
    timeout:
      minutes: 5
    continue_on_timeout: true

  - wait_template: "{{ is_state('lock.front', 'locked') }}"
    timeout: "00:01:00"

Choose (If/Else)

action:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: state
            entity_id: sun.sun
            state: "below_horizon"
        sequence:
          - service: light.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: light.porch
            data:
              brightness_pct: 100
      - conditions:
          - condition: numeric_state
            entity_id: sensor.illuminance
            below: 100
        sequence:
          - service: light.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: light.porch
            data:
              brightness_pct: 50
    default:
      - service: light.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: light.porch

If/Then/Else

action:
  - if:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.notify
        state: "on"
    then:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          message: "Alert!"
    else:
      - service: persistent_notification.create
        data:
          message: "Alert logged"

Repeat

action:
  # Repeat count
  - repeat:
      count: 3
      sequence:
        - service: light.toggle
          target:
            entity_id: light.alert
        - delay:
            milliseconds: 500

  # While loop
  - repeat:
      while:
        - condition: state
          entity_id: binary_sensor.motion
          state: "on"
      sequence:
        - delay:
            seconds: 10

  # For each
  - repeat:
      for_each:
        - light.bedroom
        - light.office
        - light.kitchen
      sequence:
        - service: light.turn_off
          target:
            entity_id: "{{ repeat.item }}"
        - delay:
            seconds: 1

Parallel

action:
  - parallel:
      - service: light.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: light.living_room
      - service: media_player.play_media
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.speaker
        data:
          media_content_id: "welcome_home.mp3"
          media_content_type: "music"

Response Variables

action:
  - service: weather.get_forecasts
    target:
      entity_id: weather.home
    data:
      type: daily
    response_variable: forecast

  - service: notify.mobile_app
    data:
      message: >
        Tomorrow's forecast: {{ forecast['weather.home'].forecast[0].condition }}

Templates

Common Templates

# Current time
"{{ now().strftime('%H:%M') }}"

# Entity state
"{{ states('sensor.temperature') }}"

# State with default
"{{ states('sensor.battery') | float(100) }}"

# Attribute
"{{ state_attr('climate.thermostat', 'current_temperature') }}"

# Time since last change
"{{ (now() - states.sensor.motion.last_changed).seconds }}"

# Entity count
"{{ states.light | selectattr('state', 'eq', 'on') | list | count }}"

# Area entities
"{{ area_entities('Living Room') }}"

# Device entities
"{{ device_entities('device_id') }}"

Best Practices

1. Use descriptive aliases - Clear names help debugging
2. Add descriptions - Explain the automation purpose
3. Use automation modes appropriately:
   • single: Default, ignores new triggers while running
   • restart: Stops current run, starts new
   • queued: Queues new triggers
   • parallel: Runs multiple instances
4. Use trigger IDs - For complex choose logic
5. Add logging for debugging:

   action:
     - service: system_log.write
       data:
         message: "Automation triggered: {{ trigger.entity_id }}"
         level: info
   

6. Validate before saving - Use Developer Tools
7. Test with trace - Review automation traces