Toggle automation

Use this action to flip an automation between enabled and disabled. If the automation is off, it turns on. If it’s on, it turns off and anything it is running right now is stopped.

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 toggle an automation 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. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the automation you want to toggle.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Toggle automation.
7. Select Save.

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 automation.toggle. A basic example looks like this:

action: automation.toggle
target:
  entity_id: automation.motion_lights

This enables automation.motion_lights if it was off, and disables it if it was on.

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 automation entity behind that target.

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

• Use this action when you want a single control, such as a button or a toggle helper, to switch an automation on and off.
• Unlike Turn off automation, this action always stops the actions that are running. It has no option to let them finish.
• If you need a specific result, use Turn on automation or Turn off automation instead.

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: use one button to enable and disable the motion lights

Let a single wall button switch a motion lighting automation on and off.

• Trigger: Event received
  • Target: Living room button
  • Event type: Single press
• Action: Toggle automation
  • Target: Motion lights

- alias: "Toggle the motion lights automation with the living room button"
  triggers:
    - trigger: event.received
      target:
        entity_id: event.living_room_button
      options:
        event_type:
          - single_press
  actions:
    - action: automation.toggle
      target:
        entity_id: automation.motion_lights

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:

• Turn on automation: Enables an automation.

• Turn off automation: Disables an automation.