Acknowledge alert

Use this action to acknowledge an alert. The alert stops sending repeating notifications, even though the problem it warns about is still there. For example, you know the garage door is open, and you don’t need more reminders.

An acknowledged alert has the state off. Selecting the toggle of the alert entity on a dashboard does the same.

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 acknowledge an alert from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
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. From the search box, search for and select Turn off.
6. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the alert. You can also select an area, a device, or a label.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

This action has no additional 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 alert.turn_off. A basic example looks like this:

action: alert.turn_off
target:
  entity_id: alert.garage_door

This acknowledges the alert.garage_door alert.

Options in YAML

This action has no additional 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 alert entity behind that target.

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

• An acknowledgement only lasts while the alert is active. The next time the alert starts, it sends notifications again.
• When the problem is resolved, you still get the done message, if the alert has one.
• If the alert is set up with can_acknowledge: false, it can’t be acknowledged, and this action fails with an error.
• To start the notifications again, use Turn on alert.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > 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.

Automation: acknowledge an alert from a phone notification

Your alert sends a notification with an Acknowledge button to your phone. When you select the button, this automation acknowledges the alert, so you don’t get more reminders. The notification must include an action with the ID ACKNOWLEDGE_GARAGE, see the Companion app documentation.

• Trigger: Manual event received
  • Event type: mobile_app_notification_action
  • Event data: action: ACKNOWLEDGE_GARAGE
• Action: Turn off
  • Target: Garage door alert

alias: "Acknowledge the garage door alert from my phone"
triggers:
  - trigger: event
    event_type: mobile_app_notification_action
    event_data:
      action: ACKNOWLEDGE_GARAGE
actions:
  - action: alert.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: alert.garage_door

Automation: silence the garage door alert when you get home

When you get home, you can see whether the garage door is open yourself, so you don’t need more reminders. This automation acknowledges the garage door alert when you arrive.

• Trigger: Zone
  • Entity with location: You (person.you)
  • Zone: Home
  • Event: Enter
• Action: Turn off
  • Target: Garage door alert

alias: "Silence the garage door alert when I get home"
triggers:
  - trigger: zone
    entity_id: person.you
    zone: zone.home
    event: enter
actions:
  - action: alert.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: alert.garage_door

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

Explore related actions:

• Turn on alert: Removes the acknowledgement of an alert, so it sends notifications again.

• Toggle alert: Acknowledges an alert, or removes the acknowledgement if it’s already acknowledged.