Schedule is off

The Schedule is off condition is useful when an automation should continue only while a schedule is inactive. Use it to avoid interruptions during blocked times, or to wait until one or more scheduled routines have finished.

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. Select what you want to check. Under By target (see Targets), pick the schedule you want to check. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
5. From the conditions shown for that target, select Schedule is off.
6. Under Condition passes if (see Behavior), pick Any or All.
7. Under For at least, set how long the schedule must have been inactive.
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 schedule.is_off. A basic example looks like this:

condition: schedule.is_off
target:
  entity_id: schedule.quiet_time
options:
  for: "00:30:00"

This passes when schedule.quiet_time has been inactive for 30 minutes.

Options in YAML

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 schedule entity behind that target.

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

• A schedule in the unknown or unavailable state does not match this condition.
• If you use For at least, the schedule must stay inactive for the entire time.
• To check for the opposite state, use Schedule is on.

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 a reminder when the front door opens outside your delivery schedule

If you use a schedule to track when deliveries are expected, you can send yourself a reminder when the door opens outside that time.

• Trigger: State: Front door opened
• Condition: Schedule is off
  • Target: Delivery schedule
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My Device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Send a reminder when the front door opens outside the delivery schedule"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.front_door
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: schedule.is_off
    target:
      entity_id: schedule.delivery_window
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      message: "The front door opened outside the delivery schedule."

Automation: start the robot vacuum only when both quiet-time schedules are off

If you use schedules to keep certain times interruption-free, you can start your robot vacuum only when both of those schedules are no longer active.

• Trigger: Time: 14:00
• Condition: Schedule is off
  • Target: Quiet time schedule, Meeting schedule
  • Condition passes if: All
• Action: Start vacuum cleaner
  • Target: Living room vacuum

alias: "Start the robot vacuum when both quiet-time schedules are off"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "14:00:00"
conditions:
  - condition: schedule.is_off
    target:
      entity_id:
        - schedule.quiet_time
        - schedule.meeting_time
    options:
      behavior: all
actions:
  - action: vacuum.start
    target:
      entity_id: vacuum.living_room

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.

Related conditions

These conditions work well alongside this one:

• Schedule is on: Tests if one or more schedule blocks are currently active.