Cancel a timer

Use this action to cancel a running or paused timer. The timer resets to its last initial value, and the timer finished event does not fire. This is handy when you want to stop a countdown without triggering whatever the timer was supposed to set off.

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 cancel a timer 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 timer you want to cancel.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Timer: Cancel timer.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

This action has no options.

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 timer.cancel. A basic example looks like this:

action: timer.cancel
target:
  entity_id: timer.laundry

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 timer entity behind that target.

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

• Canceling does not fire the timer.finished event. To end a timer early and fire that event, use the Finish a timer action instead.

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:

• Start a timer: Starts a timer, or restarts it with a new duration.

• Pause a timer: Pauses a running timer, keeping the remaining time.

• Finish a timer: Finishes a running or paused timer earlier than scheduled.

• Change a timer: Adds or subtracts time on a running timer.