Calendar event is active

The Calendar event is active condition passes when a calendar 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] has an active event. Use it to gate an automation so it only runs when a specific calendar event has started and not yet ended.

Using this condition from the user interface

If you prefer building automations visually, Home Assistant walks you through this condition step by step. You pick what to check, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use this condition in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the And if section, select Add condition.
4. From the search box, search for and select Calendar event is active.
5. Under Targets, select a calendar entity, an area, a floor, or a label.
6. If you selected more than one target, under Condition passes if, pick Any or All.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this condition 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 condition as calendar.is_event_active. A basic example looks like this:

condition: calendar.is_event_active
target:
  entity_id: calendar.my_calendar

This passes when an event of calendar.my_calendar is active.

Options in YAML

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

Targets of the condition

This condition requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will check. You can point the condition 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 evaluate every matching calendar entity behind that target.

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

You can also select different target types in one condition. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same condition to check both of them at once.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, open an automation, and add this condition. Trigger the automation with and without the condition met, and watch whether it continues or stops.

More examples

Real scenarios where this condition gates an automation. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: send reminder for a sunset run if no calendar event is active

Half an hour before sunset, if there is not an active event in the calendar, this automation sends a notification to the mobile phone with a reminder to go for a sunset run.

• Trigger: Sun
• Condition: Calendar event is active
• Blocks: Not
• Action: Send notification via mobile_app_phone

alias: "Send reminder for a sunset run if no calendar event is active"
triggers:
  - trigger: sun
    event: sunset
    offset: "-00:30:00"
conditions:
  - condition: not
    conditions:
      - condition: calendar.is_event_active
        target:
          entity_id: calendar.my_calendar
actions:
  - action: notify.mobile_app_phone
    data:
      message: Let's go for a sunset run!

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the condition you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.