Enable motion recording

With this action, you let your Amcrest or Dahua camera record a clip to its configured storage location when motion is detected.

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 use this action in an automation or 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.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the camera you want to control. You can also select an area, a device, or a label.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Amcrest: Enable motion recording.
7. Select Save.

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 amcrest.enable_motion_recording. A basic example looks like this:

action: amcrest.enable_motion_recording
target:
  entity_id: camera.driveway

This lets the camera.driveway camera record a clip when motion is detected.

This action has no additional options.

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 camera entity behind that target.

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

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.

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:

• Disable motion recording: Stops the camera from recording a clip when motion is detected.

• Enable recording: Lets the camera record continuously to its storage location.

• Disable recording: Stops the camera from recording continuously to its storage location.