Cant get an automaiotn to trigger on time!

Configuration
1

I’m trying to set up an automation based on a time i can input in the UI and change when required.

i think i have everything set up correct but i cant get it to fire the animation at all

the following is in my config

sensor:
  - platform: time_date
    display_options:
      - 'time'
  
  
# Example configuration.yaml entry
input_datetime:
  only_time:
    name: Kitchen Lights On
    has_date: false
    has_time: true
  only_time2:
    name: Kitchen Lights Off
    has_date: false
    has_time: true

and the below is the automation, which when i trigger manually sends the alert to my phone

- id: '1576757804787'
  alias: test kitchen light automation
  description: test kitchen light automation
  trigger:
  - platform: template
    value_template: 'value_template: "{{ states(''sensor.time'') == (state_attr(''input_datetime.only_time2'', ''timestamp'') | int | timestamp_custom(''%H:%M'', False)) }}"'
  condition: []
  action:
  - data:
      message: test for timers at a set time
      title: test for lights on
    service: notify.notify

if i run the template code in the editor i get true or false returned depending on the time and the entered time accordingly

Any suggestions??

2

Your trigger is way off base. Not sure where you got the idea to put value_template inside the string being returned in the value_template… but that’s just not how this works.

  - platform: template
    value_template: "{{ states('sensor.time') == states('input_datetime.only_time2') }}"

Your syntax was correct. Even your double single quotes. I simplified it a little bit seeing that you are just using time without a date.

3

that was me copy and pasting like a muppet!!! i’ve removed that but it still doesn’t work. but if i paste it into the template in the dev tools section it gives me true when they match and false if not.

how ever if i used the simplifed code of yours i just get false all the time :frowning:

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4

it should work, if not just remove the quotes around the other template. As I said before, your code was correct you just added the wrong extra stuff

5

it seems to be working now!!! it doesn’t work as soon as it trips for the time it some times take a few seconds to run but i’ll go with that as its working!!

6

Folks,

I can’t seem to get this automation to work.

Don’t I need to format my input_datetime value to remove the seconds? I looks like sensor.time is only HH:MM while the input_datetime is HH:MM:SS?

{{states('sensor.time') == (states('input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time')) }}
{{states('sensor.time')}}
{{(states('input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time'))}}

Results:

False
09:06
00:30:00

My config.yaml snippets:

- platform: time_date
  display_options:
    - 'time'
    - 'date'

input_datetime:
  backyard_floodlight_reset_time:
    name: 'Backyard Floodlights Reset Time'
    has_date: false
    has_time: true
    initial: 00:30
7

use everything before the fifth character

{{states('sensor.time') == states('input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time')[:5]}}
{{states('sensor.time')}}
{{states('input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time')[:5]}}

Also, there’s no need to wrap functions in parenthesis. Code is order of operation, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Functions act like a single number.

8

THANK YOU Petro!!

I tried so many different variations, I just ended up getting lost.

For the next person who runs down this rabbit hole, here are two variations which appear to work the same:

{{ states('sensor.time') == states.input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time.state[:5]}}
{{ states('sensor.time') == states('input_datetime.backyard_floodlight_reset_time')[:5]}}

Thank you again!