Set group

Use this action to create a new old-style group or update an existing one. You identify the group by its object ID and set its name, icon, members, and behavior.

This action only works with old-style groups. It cannot be used with the new-style groups you create in the UI.

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 create or update a group 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 Group: Set group.
6. Enter the Object ID and any other options you want to set.
7. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you are not prompted to choose an area, device, entity, or label.

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 group.set. A basic example looks like this:

action: group.set
data:
  object_id: my_group
  name: "My group"
  entities:
    - light.living_room
    - light.kitchen

This creates or updates the group group.my_group with two light members.

Options in YAML

Good to know

• Use only one of entities, add_entities, or remove_entities in a single call. They cannot be combined.
• A group created or updated with this action gets an auto attribute set to true.

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:

• Remove group: Removes an old-style group.

• Reload groups: Reloads the groups from the YAML configuration.