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Start with the automation trace, then use Activity and logs to prove where the failure occurred. A trace tells you whether Home Assistant saw the trigger, which condition stopped the run, what each action returned, and where an error or wait ended the path. If no new trace exists, the qualifying event probably never occurred or the automation is disabled. If the trace reaches an action but the device does not change, investigate the entity, integration, and corresponding log entry. This workflow lets you isolate trigger, condition, action, device, and integration problems without guessing.
What does a Home Assistant automation trace show?
Every time an automation runs, Home Assistant records a step-by-step trace of what happened. The trace graph displays the trigger, conditions, actions, branches, waits, repeats, and the point where execution stopped. Selecting a node reveals its configuration, evaluated result, changed variables, and related activity. The timeline adds ordering and timestamps, so you can distinguish a trigger that never fired from an action that failed later.
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A trace represents one execution, not the entire history of an automation. Select the run that matches the event you reproduced; an older successful run can otherwise make a broken current configuration look healthy. Keep the entity, expected transition, and approximate local and UTC time beside you while investigating.
How should I reproduce an automation that did not trigger?
Reproduce the exact event while recording enough context to identify the run. A trigger reacts at a specific moment, not while a state remains true, so create a new qualifying transition instead of waiting for an already-true state to fire again.
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- Write down the expected transition. Record the entity ID, the old and new state (for example,
closed→open), any attribute that matters, and the approximate time. Note your time zone so you can match the trace timeline and logs. - Confirm the automation is enabled. An automation switched off in the UI cannot create a new run, even if its trigger condition occurs.
- Create a fresh transition. If a door was already open when you saved the automation, close it and open it again. Leaving it open does not create another closed-to-open event.
- Change one variable at a time. Avoid simultaneously editing the automation, restarting Home Assistant, and moving the device. A controlled reproduction makes the resulting trace and log entries causally useful.
- Open the trace immediately. Select the run whose timestamp matches your reproduction, before more tests overwrite the limited trace history.
For sensors that oscillate around a threshold, note whether the value crossed in both directions. Many short runs can indicate a sensor repeatedly moving between detected and clear states rather than a trace malfunction.
Where do I open an automation trace?
In the current Home Assistant interface, open Settings > Automations & scenes, select the automation, open the overflow menu, and choose Traces. You can also open Traces from the automation editor. Pick the execution whose timestamp and trigger context match your test.
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Read the graph and timeline together
- Trigger node: confirms which trigger matched and shows the event or state data supplied to the run.
- Condition nodes: show the evaluated result. A failed condition ends that path; actions below it do not run.
- Action nodes: show service calls, variables, delays, waits, and their order. An error node identifies the action that raised it.
- Branches and repeats: reveal which branch was selected and whether a loop or repeat completed.
- Timeline: supplies timestamps and ordering, which is essential when waits overlap device updates or another automation run.
Home Assistant’s own guidance is concise: “Most problems show up in the trace of the automation, so open the trace first.” Treat the trace as your primary evidence before changing YAML or hardware.
How do I tell whether the trigger, condition, or action failed?
Classify the run by its stopping point. The first missing or unsuccessful stage determines the next diagnostic source.
| Trace result | What it establishes | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| No new trace | Home Assistant did not record a run for the reproduction. | Verify the automation is enabled and that the trigger’s qualifying event actually occurred. |
| Stopped because a condition failed | The trigger ran, but the evaluated condition was false; later actions did not execute. | Select the ending condition node and inspect its evaluated values, entity states, time window, and templates. |
| Stopped on an error | Execution reached an action that returned an error. | Read the action error, then correlate its timestamp and entity with Home Assistant Core logs. |
| Action completed, device unchanged | Home Assistant attempted the action, but the entity may be unavailable or the integration may have rejected or ignored it. | Inspect the entity state, Activity entry, and related warning or error in logs. |
| Single execution or maximum parallel runs reached | An earlier run may still be active, or the automation mode prevented another run. | Inspect the “Triggered by” information, waits, and the automation’s configured mode. |
| Many short runs | A sensor may be changing back and forth around a threshold or between detected and clear states. | Review trigger values and timestamps; add suitable filtering, a duration, or a different trigger design if the behavior is expected. |
What should I check when there is no new trace?
No trace means the automation did not start, so action troubleshooting is premature. First prove that the event Home Assistant requires actually happened.
Verify the automation and entity
- Confirm the automation toggle is on and that you are editing the automation whose entity IDs are present in the live system.
- Open the triggering entity and watch its state while reproducing the event. A displayed attribute changing may not be the state transition your trigger uses.
- Check spelling, case, and entity IDs. A trigger for one device will not react to a similarly named replacement entity.
- For a state trigger, perform the transition after the automation is saved. A state that was already true is not a new trigger event.
- For an event trigger, verify the event type and data fields, including capitalization and nesting.
If the entity never reports the expected change, investigate the device or integration before editing the automation. Activity and System Logs can show whether Home Assistant received any update at the time.
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Open the trace node where the path ends and read its evaluated result rather than inferring the answer from the YAML. The details show the values Home Assistant used at that instant, which can differ from the values you see later.
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Common condition causes
- State changed after the check: a motion sensor may have cleared before the condition was evaluated.
- Time condition boundary: a run at the exact start or end of a time window can fall outside the interval, depending on the configured boundary.
- Numeric threshold: a value such as 20.0 may not satisfy a strict greater-than comparison intended for 20 or higher.
- Template context: a template can evaluate differently when an attribute is unavailable, unknown, or represented as text.
- Wrong branch: a choose action may have selected its default sequence because none of the branch conditions matched.
Use the failed node’s variables and rendered values to correct the condition. Do not conclude that the trigger failed simply because no device action followed it; a condition can intentionally stop a successful trigger.
Why does the trace say it ran but the device did not change?
When the trace reaches the service call, Home Assistant attempted the action. The remaining question is whether the target entity was available and whether its integration accepted the command.
Check the target entity
- Open the entity and note whether it is
unavailableorunknownat the action timestamp. - Confirm the service targets the current entity, not a removed or renamed device.
- Compare the requested value with the device’s supported range, modes, and attributes.
- Look for a later state update. Some devices acknowledge a command after a delay, so the trace timestamp and Activity timeline may not be adjacent.
If the entity was available and the action completed without the expected state update, inspect the integration’s log and diagnostics. A vendor device, cloud service, network path, or device-side schedule can override a command after Home Assistant sends it.
How can Activity prove what caused a state change?
Open the affected entity and inspect its Activity entry at the relevant time. An entry marked By automation or By script can link the state change to a trace and establish causality.
If Activity says that no cause was recorded, do not assume the automation made the change. Investigate a physical button, the device vendor’s app, an internal device schedule, an external system, or integration behavior. Then use the timestamp to search System Logs. Activity is useful for attribution; it does not replace the trace for seeing why an automation path stopped.
Where are Home Assistant logs, and which log should I use?
For core automation errors, open Settings > System > Logs and select Home Assistant Core. The formatted view is convenient, but enable Show raw logs or download the log when you need complete exception text, surrounding lines, or exact timestamps.
Enable integration debug logging for a reproduction
- Open Settings > Devices & services.
- Select the integration associated with the failing entity.
- Enable debug logging for that integration.
- Reproduce the problem once, using the same controlled event as the trace test.
- Disable debug logging immediately after the reproduction so routine logs do not grow unnecessarily.
- Download the log and, when offered, download the integration diagnostics.
Match log timestamps to the trace timeline. A core error at the exact service-call time supports an action or integration diagnosis; an integration warning before the trigger may explain why the entity never changed.
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How do I test a trigger without waiting for a real event?
Use the editor’s trigger or condition test where it supports the automation type. For event triggers, the Events tool lets you listen for a real event and then fire the same event type with matching YAML data.
Testing an event trigger
- Go to Settings > Tools > Events.
- Listen for the event type while performing the real device action, if you do not know the exact event name or data structure.
- Copy the event type and relevant YAML fields from the listener output.
- Fire that event type with the same data in the Events tool.
- Open the resulting automation trace and inspect the triggering-event dialog to confirm the event matched the trigger definition.
Manually firing an event proves that the automation logic recognizes that payload; it does not prove that the physical device or integration will emit the payload in normal use. Keep those two questions separate.
How do I test templates used by a trigger or condition?
Use the template editor with representative entity states and attributes, but supply the values your template expects. The template editor does not automatically provide the trigger variable that exists during an automation run.
- Test normal values, boundary values, and
unknownorunavailablestates. - If the template reads trigger data, define equivalent test values in the editor rather than assuming
triggerexists. - Compare the rendered result’s type and capitalization with the condition or trigger that consumes it.
- After the template test passes, reproduce the real event and inspect the trace variables, because runtime context can still differ.
How do automation modes and waits cause missed runs?
A trace can show that an automation was triggered while another execution was still active. Long delays, waits for a state, or a stalled device response are common reasons. The configured automation mode determines whether a new trigger starts another run, queues, replaces, or ignores it.
Inspect the run’s “Triggered by” information and look for an unfinished wait or repeat. If the trace indicates that the single-execution or maximum-parallel limit was reached, finish or cancel the earlier run, then reproduce once. Design the mode around the automation’s purpose: a door alert may need every event, while a lighting sequence may intentionally prevent overlapping runs.
How many traces does Home Assistant keep?
Home Assistant keeps the last five traces for each automation by default when no retention setting is configured. A busy automation can therefore overwrite the run you need before you inspect it.
Increase retention in YAML
Add a trace setting to the YAML automation, choosing a number appropriate for your troubleshooting window:
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trace:
stored_traces: 20Use a unique id for YAML automations; traces are not available for a YAML automation without one. Traces are saved and loaded across a normal restart, but traces created since the last restart can be lost after an unexpected stop. Configure retention before a long observation period, not after the needed run has already disappeared.
What is the best evidence source for each failure stage?
Choose the narrowest source that can answer your question, then use a second source to corroborate it. This avoids searching every log when the trace already identifies a failed condition.
| Failure stage | Primary evidence | Useful corroboration | Reproducibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Trace trigger node and triggering-event details | Entity Activity or event listener output | Natural state change or manually fired event |
| Condition | Trace condition node and evaluated variables | Entity history at the same timestamp | Editor test plus a real transition |
| Action | Trace action node and error text | Home Assistant Core log | Controlled reproduction with one service call |
| Device or entity | Entity state and Activity timeline | Integration log and diagnostics | Command sent while the entity is available |
| Integration or network | Integration debug log | Downloaded diagnostics and device-side records | Debug logging enabled only for the reproduction |
Retention and privacy affect every path. If the trace or log has already been overwritten, increase retention and reproduce again. If sharing is required, remove sensitive values before exporting any evidence.
How do I share a trace safely?
A downloaded trace can contain more than automation logic. It may include values from secrets.yaml, API keys, webhook IDs, coordinates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, entity states, person or device names, and webhook payload data.
- Open the downloaded JSON or log in a text editor rather than uploading it immediately.
- Replace private text with
REDACTEDand private numbers with safe, consistent placeholders. - Preserve the JSON structure, key names, timestamps, and state transitions so another person can still follow the execution.
- Remove unrelated entities and payloads that are not needed to diagnose the automation.
- Rotate an exposed password, API key, or webhook ID before sharing the file publicly.
- Explain the expected transition, the observed result, Home Assistant version, and the exact time zone used for timestamps.
Do not rely on hiding a value by changing its label; secrets can appear in nested variables and raw log lines. Redaction should be performed before the file leaves your system.
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For a door-light automation that appears unreliable, use this sequence:
- Confirm the automation is enabled and note the door entity, expected
closed→opentransition, and current time. - Close the door, wait for the closed state to register, then open it once.
- Open the matching trace. If none exists, inspect the door entity’s Activity and integration status before touching the action.
- If the trace ends at a time-of-day or occupancy condition, read that node’s evaluated values; the light service was never called.
- If the service node errors, open Home Assistant Core logs at the same timestamp.
- If the service succeeds but the light remains unchanged, check availability, target entity, Activity attribution, and the light integration’s debug log.
- Repeat with an event or condition test only after the real-event path is understood, so a synthetic success is not mistaken for proof that the device emitted the right event.
This order preserves causality: trigger evidence first, then logic, then execution, then the external device.
Which mistakes make automation debugging harder?
A few habits create misleading evidence or destroy the evidence you need.
- Testing an already-true state: no qualifying transition occurs, so no trace is created.
- Changing several automations at once: you cannot tell which edit changed the result.
- Reading only the latest trace: a newer run may follow a different branch or have different entity values.
- Leaving debug logging enabled: unrelated activity can bury the reproduction and expose more private data.
- Assuming a successful action equals a physical result: the device may be unavailable, overridden, or rejected by its integration.
- Sharing raw exports: traces and logs can contain credentials, locations, contact details, and webhook data.
- Using a YAML automation without an ID: trace availability is lost for that automation.
What is the fastest decision tree for a missing action?
Ask these questions in order and stop at the first “no”:
- Did a new trace appear? If no, verify the automation and qualifying event.
- Did the trigger node match? If no, inspect event type, state transition, and payload.
- Did every condition pass? If no, correct the evaluated value or branch logic.
- Did the action node complete? If no, read the error and Core log.
- Was the target entity available? If no, investigate the device or integration.
- Did Activity attribute the resulting state change to the automation? If no, look for a competing device, vendor, schedule, or external source.
The answer identifies the next evidence source without requiring a wholesale rewrite of the automation.
What should I remember when a trace appears to contradict reality?
Trust the timestamped execution record for what Home Assistant evaluated, then verify the outside system separately. A trace can show a service call completed while a device fails to move, reports a delayed state, or is changed by another controller. Conversely, a device can change for a reason Activity cannot attribute. Correlating trace, Activity, entity state, and the appropriate log is what turns an apparent contradiction into a specific failure stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a Home Assistant trace that was overwritten?
Usually not from the automation UI once it has fallen outside the stored-trace limit. Increase stored_traces before reproducing the issue again, and preserve downloaded traces during a long investigation.
Why does my automation work when I run its actions manually but not from the trigger?
Manual action testing bypasses the trigger and condition path. Compare a real run’s trigger payload, condition values, and automation mode; the action itself may be fine while the event never matches or a condition stops execution.
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Traces are saved and loaded across a normal restart. Traces created since the last restart can be lost if Home Assistant stops unexpectedly, so download important evidence before maintenance or power changes.
How can I tell whether another automation changed the device?
Check the entity’s Activity entry for its cause and compare its timestamp with all relevant traces. An entry with no recorded cause warrants checking the physical device, vendor application, device schedule, and integration logs.
Is it safe to paste a trace into a support forum?
Not without inspection. Remove credentials, webhook IDs, coordinates, addresses, contact details, person and device names, and sensitive payloads; use consistent placeholders and rotate any secret that was exposed.
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