Today at a specific time: today_at

The today_at template function returns a datetimeA value representing a specific moment in time, including the date, time, and time zone. For example, 2026-04-05 14:30:00+00:00. Used for timestamps, scheduling, and time-based calculations. object for today’s date at a specific time you provide. Give it a time string like “08:00” or “14:30:00” and it returns a full datetime representing that time today, in your local time zone.

This is especially useful in automationsAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] when you need to check whether the current time is before or after a specific point in the day. For example, you might want to turn on lights only after 18:00, send a morning summary at 07:00, or check if it is still before bedtime. Instead of manually constructing a datetime from the current date and your target time, today_at handles it in a single call.

Usage

Here’s how to use this template function. Copy any example and adjust it to your setup.

{{ today_at("08:00") }}

2024-03-15 08:00:00+01:00

Function signature

The signature is a technical summary of this template function. It shows the name of the function, the values (called parameters) it accepts, and what type of data each parameter expects (for example, a piece of text or a number).

Function parameters that have a = with a value after them are optional. If you leave them out, the default value shown is used automatically. Function parameters without a default are required.

today_at(time_str: str = "00:00") -> datetime

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

Comparing with the current time

A common use is to check if the current time is before or after a specific point in the day, using now for comparison.

{{ now() > today_at("18:00") }}

false

Good to know

• The returned datetime is in your Home Assistant time zone, making it safe to compare directly with now.
• “Today” is determined when the template runs, so a template scheduled at 23:59 and compared at 00:01 will use two different dates.
• Accepts strings in "HH:MM" or "HH:MM:SS" format. Other formats raise an error.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Template, paste the example into the Template editor, and watch the result update on the right. Edit the values to see how the function adapts to your own 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].

More examples

Real scenarios where this function comes up in automations and templates. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Only run an automation in the evening

Use today_at in a conditionConditions are an optional part of an automation that will prevent an action from firing if they are not met. [Learn more] to limit an automationAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] to run only between 18:00 and 23:00.

condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: >
      {{ today_at("18:00") <= now() < today_at("23:00") }}

Calculate minutes until a time

Find out how many minutes remain until a specific time today.

{{ ((today_at("17:00") - now()).total_seconds() / 60) | int }}

150

Set a time-based brightness

Adjust light brightness based on how close it is to bedtime.

{% set bedtime = today_at("22:00") %}
{% set hours_left = ((bedtime - now()).total_seconds() / 3600)
   | float | round(1) %}
{{ [((hours_left / 4) * 100) | int, 10] | max }}

75

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with your template and expected result, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one:

• Current local date and time: now - Returns the current date and time in your local time zone.

• Convert to datetime: as_datetime - Converts a string or timestamp to a datetime object.

• Convert to UNIX timestamp: as_timestamp - Converts a datetime object or string to a UNIX timestamp.

• Create a time duration: timedelta - Creates a timedelta object from numeric time components.