How can I have an automation listen to all entities of a certain device class?

Configuration
1

I have an automation that is triggered by doors opening/closing. I want to change it so that I don’t have to edit the trigger every time I add a new door sensor and instead have it trigger by all doors without specification.

I can achieve what I want to do in node red, but getting everything working after that is too much trouble, and I already have an automation working perfectly, just needs the trigger part changed.

I have tried an event trigger and then adding a condition but I really don’t like that that means the automation is constantly being triggered by all events. I’d rather have it only trigger when it’s actually a door. I also tried a template trigger that checks that the device_class attribute is door, but quickly realized that the way I have it set up I’m just listening for an entity to change it’s device class to door lol.

2

Most likely you just need a Template-based trigger, but you will need to provide more details about what you mean by

Generally speaking, you can limit a template to a specific domain by using the state object format. For doors, use binary_sensor then apply filters to get your desired result. The following example could be used as a template sensor to trigger on every opening or closing of a door:

{{ states.binary_sensor | selectattr('attributes.device_class', 'eq', 'door') 
| selectattr('state', 'eq', 'on') | list | count }}

Edited for clarity

1 Like
3

Yeah, the current automation trigger is

platform: state
entity_id:
  - binary_sensor.garage_door
  - binary_sensor.front_door
  - binary_sensor.bedroom1_door
  - binary_sensor.bedrom2_door

And so it will trigger any time any one of these doors state changes.

That template just returns a count of doors that are currently opened. Even if I change it to select attributes on and off, would that still work as a trigger? Or should I just get rid of the list and count flags?

4

Sorry, I didn’t explain that coherently… Use the template in a template sensor, then trigger off the state of that sensor. The sensor’s state will update every time you open or close a door. If you need to only trigger on openings or closing you can use trigger variables in your conditions.

5

Ah, gotcha. Unfortunately that wouldn’t work for my setup. In my automation I pull details about the specific door that changed, like it will send me an alert if I’m not home about what door opened and other things like that.

6

Those are the kind of details that I mentioned in my first post… It’s a lot easier for the rest of us to be helpful if you share your automation or at least a complete description of what you are trying to do.

7

Sorry about that, I definitely should have included it in my original post. Here’s the full automation as it currently stands.

alias: Announce Doors Opened/Closed
description: ''
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - binary_sensor.garage_door
      - binary_sensor.front_door
      - binary_sensor.bedroom1_door
      - binary_sensor.bedroom2_door
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: >-
      {{ "unavailable" not in [states("trigger.from_state"),
      states("trigger.to_state")] }}
action:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: not
            conditions:
              - condition: state
                entity_id: person.him
                state: home
        sequence:
          - service: notify.mobile_app_him
            data:
              title: Door changed
              message: >-
                {{ trigger.to_state.attributes.friendly_name }} is {% if
                trigger.to_state.state == 'on' %}
                  open
                {% elif trigger.to_state.state == 'off' %}
                  closed
                {% else %}
                  unavailable
                {% endif %}. Door was {{ trigger.from_state.state }}
    default: []
  - service: tts.google_cloud_say
    data_template:
      entity_id: |-
        {% if states.person.him.state == 'home' %}
          {% if states.automation.nighttime_lights.state == 'on' %}
            media_player.minis
          {% else %}
            media_player.office_speaker
          {% endif %}
        {% else %}
          media_player.minis
        {% endif %}
      message: >-
        {{ trigger.to_state.attributes.friendly_name }} is {% if
        trigger.to_state.state == 'on' %}
          open
        {% elif trigger.to_state.state == 'off' %}
          closed
        {% else %}
          unavailable
        {% endif %}.
mode: single
max: 10
8

From what I can see, you’ve already set your trigger up the most efficient way possible. Currently, state trigger don’t accept templates. I think you could get most of the data you’re using by completely restructuring you automation to work without using trigger variables, but I wouldn’t bother with it. There are only so many doors or in a home. If I had to listen to a tts announcement every time a door was opened or closed I’d probably end up smashing my smart speakers.

9

I definitely get your point, but I also only plan to add sensors to key points across the house.