Is it possible to add or remove entities from a group with a script or automation?

Configuration
1

Currently I’m using the Alexa Media Player component to send notifications to a group of Echo devices.

All the the Echo devices are in a group, and I can simply send a notification to group.echo_talk and this is great if I want to message the same devices each and every time.

What I’d like is an input_boolean or switch for each Echo device, which will add or remove it from the group, as I don’t want all messages going to all devices at all times, is this possible?

2

Not sure why this doesn’t seem to be documented, but go to the Services page and you’ll find the group.set service.

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3

Here is a simple example script creating a group of every light. You cannot remove items from an existing group… but you CAN overwrite the entire group! :slight_smile:

############################################
## Creates group.every_light
############################################
create_every_light_group:
  sequence:
    - service: group.set
      data_template:
        object_id: "every_light"
        entities: >
          {{ states.light |  map(attribute='entity_id') | join(',') }}
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4

Thanks, I did check the docs for the docs

But it does not mention the group.set service at all.

I’ll look into making some sort of automation that re-creates the group whenever the switches are flipped.

5

Here’s how I do it. First I create a group with all lights, minus those on the “ignore list”, that I call group.actionable_lights.

create_actionable_lights_group:
  sequence:
    - service: group.set
      data_template:
        object_id: "actionable_lights"
        entities: >
          {%- set ignore_list = ['light.garage_entry','light.kitchen_cabinet','light.network_closet','light.upstairs_bathroom_nightlight','light.entertainment_area_1','light.dining1','light.dining2','light.dining3','light.dining4','light.dining5','light.dining6','light.dining7','light.dining8','light.dining9','light.xiaomi_hub_light'] -%}
          {{ states.light | rejectattr('entity_id','in',ignore_list) | map(attribute='entity_id') | join(',') }}

Then I query group.actionable_lights for lights that are on to create group.lights_on.

lights_on_update:
  sequence:
    # Create both a group and a variable list.
    - service: group.set
      data_template:
        object_id: "lights_on"
        entities: >
          {%- set actionable_lights = 'group.actionable_lights' -%}
          {%- set on_states = ['on'] -%}
          {%- set entities = states | selectattr('entity_id','in', state_attr(actionable_lights, 'entity_id')) | selectattr('state','in',on_states) | map(attribute='entity_id') | join(', ') -%}
          {%- if "light." not in entities -%}
            {{ "light.none" }}
          {%- else -%}
            {{ entities }}
          {%- endif -%}
6

Thanks for the example, it looks like jinja2 allows for quite a bit of control while creating groups.

Right now I only have 5 echo devices but I may be more in future, and it will be handy to turn off certain echo devices at certain times. :slight_smile:

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