Name: create-automation
Author: jshessen

Prompt file imported from jshessen/home-assistant (.github/prompts/create-automation.prompt.md). Copyright stays with the author.

Help the user create a new Home Assistant automation.

Step 1: Gather requirements

Ask the user to describe the automation. You need:

Trigger: What event starts this automation? (e.g., time, state change, sun event, device action)
Condition (optional): Any conditions that must be true for the automation to run?
Action: What should happen? (e.g., turn on a light, send a notification, run a script)
Name: A short descriptive name for the automation

If any of these are unclear, ask before proceeding.

Step 2: Read existing automations for style reference

Read one or two existing files from home-assistant/config/automations/ to match the project's YAML style and structure.

Step 3: Create the automation file

Create a new .yaml file in home-assistant/config/automations/
Name the file after the automation (e.g., kitchen_lights_at_sunset.yaml)
Use HA 2024.8+ syntax: use action: not service: for actions
Include a meaningful id: (snake_case, unique), alias:, and description:
Follow this structure:

- id: "unique_snake_case_id"
  alias: Human Readable Name
  description: "What this automation does"
  trigger:
    - ...
  condition:
    - ...
  action:
    - ...
  mode: single

Do NOT add automations to automations.yaml — that file uses !include_dir_merge_list automations/ to auto-include all files in the directory.

Step 4: Validate configuration

Run the config check:

timeout 30 docker exec home-assistant python -m homeassistant --script check_config -c /config 2>&1

Report any errors. If the config is valid, proceed to Step 5.

Step 5: Remind how to reload

Tell the user:

To activate the new automation without a full restart, go to: Developer Tools → YAML → Reload Automations

A full restart is not needed for automation changes.

{ "prompt": "Help the user create a new Home Assistant automation.\n\n## Step 1: Gather requirements\n\nAsk the user to describe the automation. You need:\n\n- **Trigger:** What event starts this automation? (e.g., time, state change, sun event, device action)\n- **Condition (optional):** Any conditions that must be true for the automation to run?\n- **Action:** What should happen? (e.g., turn on a light, send a notification, run a script)\n- **Name:** A short descriptive name for the automation\n\nIf any of these are unclear, ask before proceeding.\n\n## Step 2: Read existing automations for style reference\n\nRead one or two existing files from `home-assistant/config/automations/` to match the project's YAML style and structure.\n\n## Step 3: Create the automation file\n\n- Create a new `.yaml` file in `home-assistant/config/automations/`\n- Name the file after the automation (e.g., `kitchen_lights_at_sunset.yaml`)\n- Use **HA 2024.8+ syntax**: use `action:` not `service:` for actions\n- Include a meaningful `id:` (snake_case, unique), `alias:`, and `description:`\n- Follow this structure:\n\n```yaml\n- id: \"unique_snake_case_id\"\n alias: Human Readable Name\n description: \"What this automation does\"\n trigger:\n - ...\n condition:\n - ...\n action:\n - ...\n mode: single\n```\n\n**Do NOT add automations to `automations.yaml`** — that file uses `!include_dir_merge_list automations/` to auto-include all files in the directory.\n\n## Step 4: Validate configuration\n\nRun the config check:\n\n```\ntimeout 30 docker exec home-assistant python -m homeassistant --script check_config -c /config 2>&1\n```\n\nReport any errors. If the config is valid, proceed to Step 5.\n\n## Step 5: Remind how to reload\n\nTell the user:\n\n> To activate the new automation **without a full restart**, go to:\n> **Developer Tools → YAML → Reload Automations**\n>\n> A full restart is not needed for automation changes.", "variables": [], "notes": "Scaffold a new Home Assistant automation in automations/ directory Mode: agent. Tools: read_file, create_file, run_in_terminal.", "metadata": { "source": { "provider": "github-prompts", "repository": "https://github.com/jshessen/home-assistant", "path": ".github/prompts/create-automation.prompt.md", "ref": "51aa7e9892f291a67b5f6b490342ae93b9866952", "url": "https://github.com/jshessen/home-assistant/blob/51aa7e9892f291a67b5f6b490342ae93b9866952/.github/prompts/create-automation.prompt.md", "key": "jshessen/home-assistant/.github/prompts/create-automation.prompt.md" } } }

create-automation

About

Step 1: Gather requirements

Step 2: Read existing automations for style reference

Step 3: Create the automation file

Step 4: Validate configuration

Step 5: Remind how to reload

Use it

Manifest

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