Stop vacuum

The Stop vacuum cleaner action immediately stops the vacuum’s current activity (cleaning, returning to dock, spot clean, etc.).

Use it when you want the robot to stop right away instead of pausing or returning to the dock, like during an unexpected spill, a pet accident, or another situation where you need it out of the area immediately.

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 use this action from an automation or script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Create or edit an automation.
3. Add an action and search for Vacuum: Stop vacuum cleaner.
4. Select the target vacuum, area, or group.
5. Save your automation.

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.

action: vacuum.stop
target:
  entity_id: vacuum.upstairs

This stops vacuum.upstairs.

entity_id is optional. Omitting it stops all connected vacuums.

Options in YAML

YAML sometimes provides additional options for more complex use cases that are not available through the UI.

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 vacuum entity behind that target.

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

• This action only works for vacuums that are currently active or returning.

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: stop the vacuum if a leak is detected

If a leak sensor activates in the kitchen, this automation stops the vacuum immediately so it does not drive through water.

• Trigger: Leak detected
• Action: Stop vacuum
• Target: Downstairs vacuum

alias: "Stop vacuum on leak"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.kitchen_leak
    to: "on"
actions:
  - action: vacuum.stop
    target:
      entity_id: vacuum.downstairs

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.