I want to create many automations that are very similar, just the time varies. So I want to create the base automation logic using the UI because that way its easier and I cant fudge the syntax.
And then I want to copy and paste the lines over and over again using yaml and just editing the time section. Obviously because this will be faster than doing it using the UI.
So I created the first automation. However it doesnt show in configuration.yaml but only in automations.yaml
Where do I add the subsequent automations? I can read that automations.yaml isnt to be manually edited. But then I also read in the wiki page that one should create the automations in the configuration.yaml and then paste it into automations.yaml which sort of contradicts the initial warning.
In any case if i have to follow this process, do I need to now copy the first automation manually created also to configuration.yaml? and then re copy all of them back to automations.yaml? or just the new ones?
Its an automation therefore it will be in automations.yaml not config!
In the automations.yaml file.
That’s how automations were created and edited before it was possible via the Ui, some people don’t use the Ui at all and simply edit the automations.yaml.
Absolutely no point, if you want to create it anywhere then use a text editor that supports yaml and then paste it to automations.yaml. Remember of course that you can edit the automations.yaml to your hearts content as no changes will be seen until you reload automations and or restart HA (note automations will be reloaded if you edit one in the Ui)
I’m curious about what your automation does and why you need to make 100 copies. Maybe there is a way to make one automation that does the same. This would likely be easier to maintain.
alias: monday1
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: '08:00:00'
condition:
- condition: time
before: '00:00:00'
weekday:
- mon
after: '00:00:00'
action:
- service: rest_command.monday1
data: {}
mode: single
I have folders called monday1, monday2, monday3… then tuesday1, tuesday2 and so on for every single day of the week. and based on the day and time this triggers the playback of a playlist which i use a restful command for.
So this works out to quite a few automations overall.
So I added the second automation to automations.yaml and restarted HA but I dont see it in the UI.
I changed the ID from the one generated for the first automation automatically to a different number. And obviously changed the alias and the other parameters. I’m confused.
this is whatr my automations.yaml currently looks like
- id: '1660822974667'
alias: monday1
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: 08:00:00
condition:
- condition: time
before: 00:00:00
weekday:
- mon
action:
- service: rest_command.monday1
data: {}
mode: single
- id: '1660822974612'
alias: monday2
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: 09:30:00
condition:
- condition: time
before: 00:00:00
weekday:
- mon
action:
- service: rest_command.monday2
data: {}
mode: single
Yes, same total number of times per day. Correct. And same times too. But all the restful commands they trigger are different. Not one is identical to the other.
Here’s what I suggest you try. You will need to add more Time Triggers based on that list I asked you to prepare in my previous post.
alias: example
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: time
at: '08:00:00'
- platform: time
at: '09:30:00'
condition: []
action:
- service: "rest_command.{{ now().strftime('%A') | lower}}{{ trigger.idx | int(0) + 1 }}"
data: {}
mode: single
Each of the listed triggers is identified by an internal variable called trigger.idx. The first trigger’s trigger.idx has a value of 0, the second trigger’s value is 1, etc. We can use this to construct the appropriate rest_command. Your numbering scheme for the rest_commands starts with 1, not zero, so that’s why the template adds 1 to the value of trigger.idx.
To get today’s name, we use now().strftime('%A'). However it reports the name in titlecase (first character is capitalized) but we need it all in lowercase so that’s why we also use the lower filter.
Let me know if this does what you want or if you feel it needs modification.
You can use the Automation Editor in YAML mode or any text editor (by default, automations created by the Automation Editor are stored in automations.yaml).
If you use the Automation Editor, upon clicking the Save button it automatically executes Check Configuration to validate whatever you created/modified. If there are any errors they’ll be reported otherwise it will proceed to execute Reload Automations.
If you use a text editor, you must manually execute Check Configuration to ensure your changes are free of syntax errors. Then you must execute Reload Automations in order to load your new/modified automation.
In either case, executing Reload Automations not only loads your new/modified automation it also reloads all of your existing automations. That means if any of your existing automations are in the process of executing some part of their action (for example, a delay or wait_template or repeat, etc) they’ll be immediately terminated and then restarted from scratch (i.e. they don’t return to where they left off).EDIT Outdated information. Now it only reloads new and modified automations (not all automations).
If you use a text editor to modify the contents of automations.yaml, be advised that the contents are ultimately managed by the Automation Editor. If you add something the Automation Editor doesn’t support, like a YAML comment, the next time you use the Automation Editor and click Save it will remove all of the comments you added. In addition, it’s particular about the way some things are formatted (notably multi-line templates) and will re-format whatever you have added to comply with its formatting rules.
For users who don’t wish to use the Automation Editor to create/modify their automations, and prefer using a text editor (like Visual Studio Code), it’s possible to split the configuration of automations. The ones created with the Automation Editor reside in the default location, automations.yaml, and the ones you create with a text editor go elsewhere, into one or even more files of your choosing. The steps to split the configuration are explained here. The result is a sub-directory containing one or more files for automations you create with a text editor. They’re no longer accessible to the Automation Editor, only to whatever text editor you use , so it can’t re-format them.
