Home Assistant Entities When to Use This Skill Use this skill when... Use ha-automations instead when... Understanding entity domains Creating automation rules Customizing entities Working with triggers/actions Creating template sensors Writing automation conditions Setting up groups Working with scripts/scenes Working with device classes Handling events Entity ID Structure domain.object_id Examples: light.living_room_ceiling sensor.outdoor_temperature binary_sensor.front_door_contact switch.garden_irrigation Common Domains Domain Description Example light Lighting control light.kitchen switch On/off switches switch.outlet sensor Numeric sensors sensor.temperature binary_sensor On/off sensors binary_sensor.motion climate HVAC control climate.thermostat cover Blinds, garage doors cover.garage lock Door locks lock.front_door media_player Media devices media_player.tv camera Camera feeds camera.front_yard vacuum Robot vacuums vacuum.roomba fan Fan control fan.bedroom alarm_control_panel Alarm systems alarm_control_panel.home person People tracking person.john device_tracker Device location device_tracker.phone weather Weather info weather.home input_boolean Virtual toggle input_boolean.guest_mode input_number Virtual number input_number.target_temp input_select Virtual dropdown input_select.house_mode input_text Virtual text input_text.message input_datetime Virtual date/time input_datetime.alarm input_button Virtual button input_button.reset automation Automations automation.motion_light script Scripts script.morning_routine scene Scenes scene.movie_night group Entity groups group.all_lights timer Countdown timers timer.laundry counter Counters counter.guests zone Geographic zones zone.home sun Sun position sun.sun For complete device class tables (binary sensor and sensor), see REFERENCE.md . Entity Customization customize.yaml
Single entity
light.living_room : friendly_name : "Living Room Light" icon : mdi : ceiling - light
Binary sensor
binary_sensor.front_door : friendly_name : "Front Door" device_class : door
Sensor
sensor.outdoor_temperature : friendly_name : "Outdoor Temperature" device_class : temperature unit_of_measurement : "°C" Glob Customization customize_glob : "light._ceiling" : icon : mdi : ceiling - light "sensor._temperature" : device_class : temperature unit_of_measurement : "°C" "binary_sensor.*_motion" : device_class : motion Template Sensors template : - sensor :
Simple state
- name : "Average Temperature" unit_of_measurement : "°C" device_class : temperature state :
- { { ((states('sensor.living_room_temp') | float + states('sensor.bedroom_temp') | float + states('sensor.kitchen_temp') | float) / 3) | round(1) } }
With attributes
- name : "Power Usage" unit_of_measurement : "W" device_class : power state : "{{ states('sensor.energy_meter_power') }}" attributes : cost_per_hour :
- { { (states('sensor.energy_meter_power') | float * 0.15 / 1000) | round(2) } }
Availability
- name : "Solar Power" unit_of_measurement : "W" device_class : power state : "{{ states('sensor.inverter_power') }}" availability : "{{ states('sensor.inverter_power') != 'unavailable' }}" For template binary sensors, switches, buttons, numbers, groups, utility meters, counters, and timers, see REFERENCE.md . State Attributes Common Attributes Domain Common Attributes light brightness , color_temp , rgb_color , hs_color , effect climate temperature , current_temperature , hvac_action , preset_mode media_player volume_level , media_title , media_artist , source cover current_position , current_tilt_position weather temperature , humidity , pressure , wind_speed , forecast person source , latitude , longitude , gps_accuracy sun elevation , azimuth , next_rising , next_setting Accessing Attributes
In templates
{ { state_attr('light.living_room' , 'brightness') } } { { state_attr('climate.thermostat' , 'current_temperature') } } { { state_attr('sun.sun' , 'elevation') } }
In conditions
condition : - condition : numeric_state entity_id : light.living_room attribute : brightness above : 100 Quick Reference State Functions Function Description Example states('entity') Get state states('sensor.temp') state_attr('entity', 'attr') Get attribute state_attr('light.x', 'brightness') is_state('entity', 'value') Check state is_state('light.x', 'on') is_state_attr('entity', 'attr', 'val') Check attribute is_state_attr('climate.x', 'hvac_action', 'heating') states.domain All entities in domain states.light expand('group.x') Expand group members expand('group.all_lights') Agentic Optimizations Context Command Find entity usage grep -r "entity_id:" config/ --include=".yaml" List customizations grep -rA2 "^[a-z_]\..:" config/customize.yaml Find template sensors grep -rB2 "platform: template" config/ --include=".yaml" Find groups grep -rA5 "^group:" config/ --include=".yaml" List domains used grep -roh "[a-z_]\." config/ --include="*.yaml" | sort -u