Sync
Use this action to force a synchronization between your Harmony Hub and the Harmony cloud. Run it after you change activities, devices, or commands in the Harmony app so Home Assistant picks up the latest configuration.
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 synchronize the Harmony Hub from an automation or a script:
- Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
- Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
- 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.
- In the Then do section, select Add action.
- Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the Harmony remote you want to control.
- From the actions shown for that target, select Sync.
- Select Save.
Options in the UI
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 harmony.sync. A basic example looks like this:
action: harmony.sync
target:
entity_id: remote.tv_room
This synchronizes the configuration of remote.tv_room with the Harmony cloud.
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 remote entity behind that target.
-
Entity: one specific remote entity, such as
remote.living_room. - Device: every remote entity that belongs to a device.
- Area: every remote entity in a room or area.
- Floor: every remote entity on a floor.
- Label: every remote 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
- A configuration file with the available activities, devices, and commands is written to your Home Assistant configuration directory at startup. Run this action when you want that information refreshed after making changes in the Harmony app.
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.
AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain actions or suggest the right one when you describe what you want in plain language.
Related actions
These actions work well alongside this one:
- Change channel: Sends a change channel command to the Harmony Hub.