Lawn mower is mowing

The Lawn mower is mowing condition passes when one or more targeted mowers are actively mowing. Use it when an automation should continue only while the mower is out in the yard, like before delaying sprinklers or sending the mower back because of rain.

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 Lawn mower is mowing.
5. Select what you want to check. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area where your mower is used. You can also select a floor, a device, a specific entity, or a label.
6. Under Condition passes if (see Behavior), pick Any or All.
7. Under For at least, set how long the mower must stay in the mowing state before the condition passes. Leave it at zero to check the current state only.
8. 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 lawn_mower.is_mowing. A basic example looks like this:

condition: lawn_mower.is_mowing
target:
  entity_id: lawn_mower.backyard

This passes when lawn_mower.backyard is currently mowing.

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 lawn_mower entity behind that target.

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

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Condition passes if option controls how the results combine:

• Any (default): the condition passes if at least one of the targeted entities matches. For example, if you check three smoke sensors and only one of them detects smoke, the condition still passes. This is useful for questions like “is there smoke anywhere in the house?”
• All: the condition passes only when every targeted entity matches. For example, if you check the same three smoke sensors, the condition passes only once all three report cleared. This is useful for “is the entire house safe now?” checks, so your automation does not send an all-clear while one room still has a reading.

Good to know

• Mowers in the unavailable or unknown state are ignored when Home Assistant evaluates the condition.
• Use For at least if you want to make sure the mowing run is really under way before the condition passes.

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: Return the mower to dock when rain starts

If rain starts while the mower is active, check that it is really mowing before sending it back to the dock.

• Trigger: State: Rain sensor turned on
• Condition: Lawn mower is mowing
  • Target: Backyard mower
• Action: Return lawn mower to dock

alias: "Dock the mower when it starts raining"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.rain_detected
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: lawn_mower.is_mowing
    target:
      entity_id: lawn_mower.backyard
actions:
  - action: lawn_mower.dock
    target:
      entity_id: lawn_mower.backyard

Automation: Pause the mower before guests enter the yard

If guests are about to arrive in the backyard, only pause the mower if it is actually mowing at that moment.

• Trigger: State: Gate opened
• Condition: Lawn mower is mowing
  • Target: Backyard mower
  • For at least: 00:02:00
• Action: Pause lawn mower

alias: "Pause the mower when the gate opens"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.back_gate
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: lawn_mower.is_mowing
    target:
      entity_id: lawn_mower.backyard
    options:
      for: "00:02:00"
actions:
  - action: lawn_mower.pause
    target:
      entity_id: lawn_mower.backyard

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.