Trigger alarm

The Trigger alarm action manually triggers your alarm control panel. This is useful for testing your alarm setup to make sure the siren, notifications, and automations all respond correctly. You might also use it in an emergency scenario where you want to sound the alarm on demand.

This action works with any alarm control panel entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] in Home Assistant that supports triggering.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To trigger an alarm from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create to start a new one.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area your alarm panel is in (like your hallway or entryway). You can also select a floor, a device, a specific entity, or a label.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Trigger alarm.
7. Optional: enter the Code if your alarm panel requires one.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger. A basic example looks like this:

action: alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger
target:
  entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm

This triggers alarm_control_panel.home_alarm without a code.

If your alarm panel requires a code, include it in the data section:

action: alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger
target:
  entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm
data:
  code: "1234"

Options in YAML

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action at a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will run the action on every matching alarm_control_panel entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific alarm_control_panel entity, such as alarm_control_panel.living_room.
• Device: every alarm_control_panel entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every alarm_control_panel entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every alarm_control_panel entity on a floor.
• Label: every alarm_control_panel entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on both of them at once.

Good to know

• The Trigger alarm action works on any alarm control panel entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] in Home Assistant that supports triggering.
• Triggering the alarm sets it to the triggered state, which typically sounds the siren and sends notifications. Use with care in a production setup.
• Whether a code is required depends on your alarm panel and its configuration.
• To silence the alarm after triggering, use Disarm alarm.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Action: trigger the alarm for testing

Manually trigger the alarm to verify your siren and notification automations are working. Remember to disarm it again once you’ve confirmed everything works.

• Action: Alarm control panel: Trigger alarm
• Target: Home alarm

action: alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger
target:
  entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm

Automation: trigger the alarm on a panic button press

Wire a physical button to trigger the alarm instantly. Keep the button in a discreet location so you have a quick way to sound the alarm in an emergency.

• Trigger: Device: Panic button pressed
• Action: Alarm control panel: Trigger alarm
• Target: Home alarm

alias: "Panic button triggers alarm"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.panic_button
    to: "on"
actions:
  - action: alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger
    target:
      entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm

Automation: trigger the alarm on smoke detection

If a smoke sensor goes off while the alarm is not disarmed, trigger the alarm to sound the siren and alert you immediately.

• Trigger: Smoke sensor detects smoke
• Condition: Alarm is not disarmed
• Action: Alarm control panel: Trigger alarm
• Target: Home alarm

alias: "Trigger alarm on smoke detection"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.smoke_detector
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: not
    conditions:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm
        state: disarmed
actions:
  - action: alarm_control_panel.alarm_trigger
    target:
      entity_id: alarm_control_panel.home_alarm

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Disarm alarm: Disarm an alarm control panel. Optionally provide a code if your alarm panel requires one.