Set custom effect

The Set custom effect action plays a custom effect on a Magic Home light by cycling through a list of colors you provide. You control the colors, the effect speed, and how the light transitions from one color to the next.

This lets you build your own effects beyond the built-in ones, for example a slow fade through your favorite colors or a fast strobe for a party.

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 set a custom effect 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 Magic Home: Set custom effect.
6. Under Targets, choose the lights to apply the effect to.
7. Enter the Colors, and optionally a Speed and Transition.
8. Select Save.

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 light entity behind that target.

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

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 flux_led.set_custom_effect. A basic example looks like this:

action: flux_led.set_custom_effect
target:
  entity_id: light.led_strip
data:
  colors:
    - [255, 0, 0]
    - [0, 255, 0]
    - [0, 0, 255]
  speed_pct: 80
  transition: "jump"

Options in YAML

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.

Automation: slow green-to-white breathing effect when all lights should dim for energy saving

At 22:00, shift the LED strip to a slow two-color gradual effect cycling between a dim green and warm white, replacing a static full-brightness white that consumes more power. The low speed and limited color palette keep the effect gentle.

• Trigger: Time: 22:00
• Action: Magic Home: Set custom effect

alias: "Switch LED strip to low-energy evening effect"
triggers:
- trigger: time
  at: "22:00:00"
actions:
- action: flux_led.set_custom_effect
  target:
    entity_id: light.led_strip
  data:
    colors:
      - [0, 60, 20]
      - [80, 80, 60]
    speed_pct: 20
    transition: gradual

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:

• Set zones: Sets strip zones for Addressable v3 controllers.

• Set music mode: Configures music mode on Magic Home lights with a built-in microphone.