Trigger automation

Use this action to run the actions of an automation right away, without waiting for its triggersA trigger is a set of values or conditions of a platform that are defined to cause an automation to run. [Learn more]. This is useful for testing an automation, or for reusing one automation from another.

By default the conditions of the automation are skipped, so its actions always run. Turn off Skip conditions if you want the conditions to be checked first.

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 run 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 run.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Trigger automation.
7. Optional: turn off Skip conditions if you want the conditions of the automation to be checked.
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 automation.trigger. A basic example looks like this:

action: automation.trigger
target:
  entity_id: automation.evening_routine

This runs the actions of automation.evening_routine, whatever its conditions say.

To check the conditions first, set skip_condition to false:

action: automation.trigger
target:
  entity_id: automation.evening_routine
data:
  skip_condition: false

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 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

• The automation runs even when it’s turned off.
• Templates in the automation that use trigger data have nothing to read, because there is no trigger. Keep that in mind if the actions rely on the trigger variable.
• To run the same steps from several places, a script is often a better fit than triggering an automation. See Turn on script.

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: run the evening routine from a button

Reuse an existing evening routine automation when someone presses a button.

• Trigger: Event received
  • Target: Hallway button
  • Event type: Single press
• Action: Trigger automation
  • Target: Evening routine

- alias: "Run the evening routine from the hallway button"
  triggers:
    - trigger: event.received
      target:
        entity_id: event.hallway_button
      options:
        event_type:
          - single_press
  actions:
    - action: automation.trigger
      target:
        entity_id: automation.evening_routine

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.

• Reload automations: Reloads the automation configuration.