Template condition with dates fails but works in template test

Configuration
1

I’m trying to toggle some behaviour on alternating weeks. I’ve got the following:

(((now() - as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 00:00:00"))).days // 7) % 2) == 0

which works just fine in the dev tools template tester. Unfortunately when testing this in a condition, it’s always false.
I’ve tested multiple dates using:

(((as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 18:00:00")) - as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 00:00:00"))).days // 7) % 2) == 0

(((as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-11 18:00:00")) - as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 00:00:00"))).days // 7) % 2) == 0

Again, works in the tester, fails in the condition. Any idea what’s going on here?

2

Post how it appears in your automation (in YAML format). I assume it’s part of a Template Condition.

3

should new() be now() ???

4

Typo here. Not in the code.

5

YAML view shows the static date test as:

condition: template
value_template: >-
  (((as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-18 18:00:00")) -
  as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 00:00:00"))).days // 7) % 2) == 0
6

The template is missing its outer double-braces.

condition: template
value_template: >-
  {{ (((as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-18 18:00:00")) -
    as_local(as_datetime("2025-4-4 00:00:00"))).days // 7) % 2) == 0 }}

Without the double-braces, it’s not interpreted as a template but a literal string.

7

Sigh… that’s not easy to spot.
Feature request opened: