Use an automation condition when you need a point-in-time availability gate, a wait_template when the current state may already satisfy the requirement, and wait_for_trigger when you need a new event to occur. Add a timeout to every wait that must not run indefinitely, then either set continue_on_timeout: false or branch on wait.completed so a timeout has an intentional outcome.
Choose between a check, a wait, and a timeout
Home Assistant automations and scripts use the same action building blocks, including conditions, waits, and branching actions. The right pattern depends on whether you are deciding immediately, pausing for a state, or listening for a new event. The official automation and script building-block documentation describes these actions and their variables.
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| What you need | Use | Important behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Decide once when a trigger starts a run | Initial automation condition | The condition is evaluated at that point. Later availability does not retry or restart the run. |
| Check again after earlier actions | Condition action in the sequence | A failed condition stops the remaining sequence. |
| Wait for a predicate that might already be true | wait_template |
The wait completes immediately when the template is already true. |
| Wait for a new state change or other event | wait_for_trigger |
An already-present state does not satisfy the wait; a new matching trigger must occur after the wait starts. |
| Prevent an unbounded wait | timeout |
By default, the sequence continues after the timeout. |
| Stop automatically when the deadline expires | continue_on_timeout: false |
The remaining actions are not run after a timeout. |
| Perform fallback work on timeout | Test wait.completed |
Use an explicit success and timeout branch so notifications or cleanup run only when appropriate. |
Home Assistant summarizes a condition as checking whether something is true right now. That point-in-time meaning is the key distinction between a condition and a wait; the official conditions documentation explains the evaluation model.
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Gate the automation when the trigger starts
Put an availability check in the automation-level conditions list when the actions should run only if the device is acceptable at trigger time. This is the simplest and cheapest guard: the trigger starts a run, Home Assistant evaluates the conditions, and the action sequence proceeds only if they pass.
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Check that an entity is not unavailable
The exact entity ID and state names depend on the integration. Many entities expose unavailable while their source cannot be reached, but some integrations also use unknown or another state. Confirm the value in Developer Tools or the entity details before writing the condition.
alias: Run only when the device is available
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.example_trigger
to: 'on'
conditions:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
actions:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.exampleThis example is a gate, not a retry mechanism. If sensor.example_device is unavailable when the binary sensor turns on, the run is rejected. If the sensor becomes available ten seconds later, Home Assistant does not revisit the condition and does not start the automation again.
Start work when availability changes
If becoming available should itself launch the work, create a trigger for that transition instead of expecting a condition to notice it. For example, a state trigger can watch for the entity to change from unavailable to a usable state. Keep any additional conditions that must be true for the resulting run. This separates two jobs: the trigger detects the event, while conditions filter runs that should not proceed.
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Some devices have more than one usable state. A template condition can express that policy explicitly, such as allowing a sensor to be anything except unavailable and unknown, or requiring a readiness flag from the integration. Do not assume that every integration reports connectivity identically; inspect the entity’s actual state and attributes and encode the states that are valid for your installation.
Check availability again inside the action sequence
An automation may perform several actions before it reaches the device that matters. Add a Condition building block at that later point when availability must be rechecked after those earlier actions. A failed action condition ends the remaining sequence, so no later service calls are made.
Use a condition when stopping is enough
actions:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'The trigger was received; checking the device before continuing.'
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.exampleHere the notification runs first. If the device is unavailable when the condition is reached, the light action is skipped and the sequence ends. This is useful for a silent safety gate, but it does not tell anyone why the sequence stopped unless you add separate handling.
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Use If or Choose for a deliberate fallback
When failure should send a notification, perform cleanup, or use an alternate device, use an if or choose action rather than relying on a failed standalone condition. The branches make the intended success and failure paths visible in traces and prevent fallback actions from running accidentally.
actions:
- if:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
then:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
else:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'The device is unavailable; the light was not switched on.'Use choose when there are multiple mutually exclusive states, such as a primary device, a backup device, and a final notification. Each choice should test a condition that reflects the actual entity states in your system.
Wait until an entity becomes available, with a deadline
Use wait_template when the condition you care about could already be true when the wait begins. Home Assistant evaluates the template immediately and reevaluates it as referenced entities change. A template that is already true therefore passes without an unnecessary delay.
Wait for the entity to leave the unavailable state
actions:
- wait_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
timeout: '00:00:30'
- if:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ wait.completed }}"
then:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
else:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'The device did not become available before the timeout.'The 30-second value is an illustrative configuration, not a universal recommendation. Choose a deadline based on the integration’s normal recovery time and the consequences of delaying the automation. The template must match the integration’s real behavior: if a device reports unknown during startup, checking only for unavailable could allow the sequence to continue too early.
Understand what the timeout does
A timeout ends the wait; it does not automatically decide what the rest of the automation should do. The default for continue_on_timeout is true, so actions after the wait continue unless you change that behavior or branch explicitly. The script syntax documentation describes this default and the wait variables.
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To abort the remaining sequence automatically, set continue_on_timeout: false:
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actions:
- wait_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
timeout: '00:00:30'
continue_on_timeout: false
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.exampleWith this form, the light action runs only if the template becomes true before the deadline. A timeout stops the sequence without executing that action. This is concise when no timeout notification, retry, or cleanup is required.
Use the wait result for success and timeout branches
When both outcomes need handling, leave continuation enabled and inspect wait.completed. It is true when the template or trigger completed the wait and false when the timeout expired. The wait context also provides wait.remaining, which is useful when several waits must share one overall time budget.
actions:
- wait_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
timeout: '00:00:30'
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ wait.completed }}"
sequence:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
default:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'Availability wait timed out; no light command was sent.'Keep timeout handling in the branch that owns it. If a later action assumes the device is available, place it only in the successful sequence. Put notifications, safe-state commands, or logging in the timeout sequence and make sure those actions do not themselves depend on the unavailable device.
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Use wait_for_trigger when the automation must observe a new trigger event after the wait starts. This is different from testing the entity’s current state. If the target state is already present, a trigger wait continues listening and does not finish merely because the entity is currently in that state.
Wait for a readiness transition
actions:
- wait_for_trigger:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.example_device_ready
to: 'on'
timeout: '00:00:30'
continue_on_timeout: false
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.exampleThis pattern is appropriate when the transition to on is the event that matters, such as a device completing a calibration cycle. It is not appropriate when the sensor may already be on before the sequence reaches the wait; use wait_template for that case so an already-satisfied predicate passes immediately.
Inspect trigger details and timeout state
For a wait with a timeout, wait.completed indicates whether the wait finished normally and wait.remaining reports the remaining time. A wait_for_trigger also exposes wait.trigger; it is none when the timeout occurs. These values let you distinguish a matching event from an expired deadline and include useful context in notifications or logs.
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actions:
- wait_for_trigger:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.example_device_ready
to: 'on'
timeout: '00:00:30'
- if:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ wait.completed and wait.trigger is not none }}"
then:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
else:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'No new ready event arrived within 30 seconds.'The exact trigger fields must match the event you need. A state trigger can include a specific entity and target state; other trigger types can be used when the integration exposes an event rather than a state transition.
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Combine several waits under one overall deadline
Sequential waits can accidentally create a much longer delay than intended. For example, two independent 30-second waits can consume up to a minute. Use wait.remaining from the first wait as the timeout for the next one when the entire operation must fit within a single budget.
actions:
- wait_template: "{{ not is_state('sensor.example_device', 'unavailable') }}"
timeout: '00:00:30'
- if:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ not wait.completed }}"
then:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'The device did not become available in the overall time budget.'
else:
- wait_for_trigger:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.example_device_ready
to: 'on'
timeout: "{{ wait.remaining }}"
- if:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ wait.completed }}"
then:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
else:
- action: notify.notify
data:
message: 'The device became available but did not report ready in time.'When designing shared budgets, decide whether the second operation should be skipped if there is no time left and guard that case explicitly. A short remaining duration is still a valid timeout; it should not be treated as proof that the second event occurred.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Know what restarts and automation modes do to waits
A Home Assistant restart stops a pending wait
A running script or automation that is waiting does not survive every interruption. A Home Assistant restart stops scripts and automations that are currently waiting, so do not promise that a pending wait_template, wait_for_trigger, or delay will resume after startup. If the operation must recover, design a separate startup trigger or state-based automation that reconstructs the desired work from the current entity states.
Restart mode cancels the previous run
In automation mode: restart, a new trigger cancels the previous run. That cancellation includes an active wait or delay. If a second trigger arrives while the first run is waiting, inspect the automation mode and decide whether replacing the old run is really what you want. The automation troubleshooting documentation covers traces and run behavior.
Do not solve a cancellation problem by making the timeout longer. First decide whether each trigger should have its own wait, whether a new trigger should replace an old one, and whether a persistent state change can safely retrigger the work after an interruption.
Troubleshoot an availability wait that behaves unexpectedly
The wait is stuck even though the entity is already ready
- Check whether the action is
wait_for_trigger. It waits for a new matching event and ignores a state that was already present when the wait began. - If the current state should count, replace it with a
wait_templatethat tests the predicate directly. - Verify that the template references the correct entity ID and the exact state spelling used by the integration.
Actions run after the deadline
- Look for an omitted
continue_on_timeout. Its default istrue, so later actions normally continue after a timeout. - Set
continue_on_timeout: falsewhen the sequence should stop. - Alternatively, branch on
wait.completedand place success-only actions inside the successful branch.
A wait disappears when another trigger arrives
- Inspect the automation’s configured mode. In Restart mode, the newer run cancels the earlier run, including its wait.
- Open the automation trace for both runs to see which trigger started each run and where the earlier sequence ended.
- If overlapping runs are not intended, redesign the trigger or mode policy rather than relying on a longer timeout.
The wait vanishes after Home Assistant restarts
- Treat a restart as an interruption; the pending wait is not guaranteed to resume.
- Add a startup or state-based recovery path if the desired outcome can be inferred from the current entity states.
- Make recovery idempotent so running it twice does not create duplicate notifications or unsafe service calls.
The condition passes or fails unexpectedly
- Use Developer Tools to inspect the entity’s current state and attributes.
- Test the condition at the point where it is used; an initial condition and a later condition can legitimately produce different results.
- Review the automation trace to identify the exact branch that ran. Home Assistant’s troubleshooting guide documents trace-based diagnosis.
Test each path before relying on it
Test more than the normal success case. Temporarily make the device unavailable, start the automation, and confirm that the initial condition blocks the run or that the later condition stops the sequence. Then make the entity available before a template wait begins; it should continue immediately. Repeat with the entity unavailable, allow the timeout to expire, and verify the intended notification, cleanup, or stop behavior.
For wait_for_trigger, begin with the target state already present and confirm that the wait still listens for a new event. Then cause the transition after the wait starts and verify that the successful branch runs. Finally, trigger a second automation run while the first is waiting and check the trace if the automation uses Restart mode.
Keep test values separate from production values. A 30-second timeout is convenient for demonstrations, but a door lock, heating system, alarm, or irrigation controller may need a different deadline and a safer timeout action. Record the reason for the chosen duration in a comment so a later change does not silently weaken the safety behavior.
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- Use an initial condition for a decision that belongs at trigger time.
- Use a condition action for a later point-in-time gate.
- Use
iforchoosewhen a failed check needs an explicit fallback, notification, or cleanup path. - Use
wait_templatewhen an already-true predicate should pass immediately. - Use
wait_for_triggerwhen only a new event after the wait starts should release the sequence. - Give every potentially indefinite wait a realistic timeout.
- Remember that timeout continuation defaults to true; choose explicitly between stopping and branching.
- Keep success-only service calls inside the success branch.
- Check
wait.completed,wait.remaining, and, for trigger waits,wait.triggerwhen you need to explain the outcome. - Account for Home Assistant restarts and the configured automation mode; an active wait can be cancelled.
- Use traces and the actual entity states from your integration rather than assuming every device reports availability the same way.
A reliable pattern for most automations
For many device-control automations, the most predictable structure is: filter obviously invalid runs with an initial condition, perform early actions, recheck availability immediately before the device command, wait with a bounded template only when recovery is acceptable, and branch explicitly on success versus timeout. This prevents an unavailable entity from receiving a service call, prevents a sequence from waiting forever, and leaves a trace that explains why the action did or did not run.
The critical choice is semantic rather than syntactic. A condition answers, “Is this acceptable right now?” A template wait answers, “Keep checking until this predicate becomes true, but stop by this deadline.” A trigger wait answers, “Did the required new event happen after this point?” Once that distinction is clear, availability checks and timeout handling become composable parts of the same automation.
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