Rule Examples

Worked end-to-end examples covering the most common automation patterns.

1. Door alert during specific hours

Notify when the front door opens between 8 AM and 10 PM.

id       = ""
name     = "Front door — daytime alert"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["door-alerts", "security"]

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "yolink_front_door"
attribute = "open"
to        = true

[[conditions]]
type  = "time_window"
start = "08:00"
end   = "22:00"

[[actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Front door opened at {{time}}"

2. Garage door — alert if left open 10 minutes

Check every minute; alert if the garage has been open for 10+ continuous minutes.

id       = ""
name     = "Garage — left open alert"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["garage", "door-alerts"]
cooldown_secs = 600   # don't spam — alert at most every 10 minutes

[trigger]
type       = "cron"
expression = "0 * * * * *"   # every minute

[[conditions]]
type      = "device_state"
device_id = "yolink_garage_door"
attribute = "open"
op        = "Eq"
value     = true

[[conditions]]
type          = "time_elapsed"
device_id     = "yolink_garage_door"
attribute     = "open"
duration_secs = 600

[[actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Garage door has been open for 10+ minutes!"

3. Sunset — outdoor lights on

Turn on porch and deck lights 15 minutes before sunset.

id       = ""
name     = "Outdoor lights — on at sunset"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["outdoor", "lighting", "solar"]

[trigger]
type           = "sun_event"
event          = "sunset"
offset_minutes = -15

[[actions]]
type = "parallel"

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_porch"
state     = { on = true, brightness = 200 }

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_deck"
state     = { on = true, brightness = 150 }

4. Motion-triggered light with auto-off

Turn on a hallway light when motion is detected, turn it off 5 minutes after no motion. Cancel the off timer if motion is detected again.

Rule A — turn on and schedule off:

id       = ""
name     = "Hallway — motion on"
enabled  = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "motion_hallway"
attribute = "motion"
to        = true

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_hallway"
state     = { on = true }

[[actions]]
type = "comment"
text = "Wait 5 minutes then turn off"

[[actions]]
type          = "delay"
duration_secs = 300
cancelable    = true
cancel_key    = "hallway_off_delay"

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_hallway"
state     = { on = false }

Rule B — cancel the off timer on new motion:

id       = ""
name     = "Hallway — motion cancel off"
enabled  = true
priority = 20   # higher priority — fires before rule A

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "motion_hallway"
attribute = "motion"
to        = true

[[actions]]
type       = "cancel_delays"
cancel_key = "hallway_off_delay"

5. Morning routine — fan-out with CustomEvent

A single motion trigger starts a chain of parallel actions via CustomEvent.

Rule 1 — motion → fire event:

id       = ""
name     = "Morning — motion detected"
enabled  = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "motion_bedroom"
attribute = "motion"
to        = true

[[conditions]]
type  = "time_window"
start = "06:00"
end   = "09:00"

[[actions]]
type       = "fire_event"
event_type = "morning_routine_started"
payload    = {}

Rule 2 — coffee on:

id = ""
name = "Morning — start coffee"
enabled = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type       = "custom_event"
event_type = "morning_routine_started"

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "smart_plug_coffee"
state     = { on = true }

Rule 3 — thermostat:

id = ""
name = "Morning — thermostat"
enabled = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type       = "custom_event"
event_type = "morning_routine_started"

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "thermostat_main"
state     = { target_temp = 70 }

Rule 4 — raise blinds:

id = ""
name = "Morning — open blinds"
enabled = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type       = "custom_event"
event_type = "morning_routine_started"

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "zwave_blinds_bedroom"
state     = { position = 100 }

6. Arrival home — context-aware welcome

When front door opens and away mode is active: turn on lights, turn off away mode, welcome announcement.

id       = ""
name     = "Arrival home"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["presence", "arrival"]

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "yolink_front_door"
attribute = "open"
to        = true

[[conditions]]
type  = "mode_is"
mode  = "mode_away"
value = true

[[actions]]
type = "parallel"

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_entryway"
state     = { on = true, brightness = 200 }

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "thermostat_main"
state     = { mode = "heat", target_temp = 70 }

[[actions]]
type  = "set_mode"
name  = "mode_away"
value = false

[[actions]]
type   = "call_service"
url    = "http://sonos.local:5005/Entryway/say/Welcome+home"
method = "GET"

7. Play a Sonos favorite by name

Start a named Sonos favorite when a virtual switch turns on.

This example demonstrates the preferred pattern for media playback in HomeCore:

target the HomeCore canonical device name
send a structured command payload
let the plugin resolve the favorite internally

You do not need to hardcode a Sonos player IP, plugin-local HTTP endpoint, or a raw transport URI.

id       = ""
name     = "Kitchen music — play favorite"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["music", "sonos", "kitchen"]

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device    = "kitchen.music_switch"
attribute = "on"
to        = true

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device    = "kitchen.sonos"
state     = { action = "play_favorite", favorite = "Morning Jazz" }

What the rule does

A virtual switch named switch_kitchen_music turns on
HomeCore resolves kitchen.sonos to the real device ID and publishes a command to homecore/devices/{device_id}/cmd
hc-sonos receives that command
The plugin looks up the Sonos favorite named Morning Jazz
The plugin starts playback on the kitchen speaker

When to use this pattern

Use this form when:

the target is a HomeCore media player device such as sonos_kitchen
the target is a HomeCore media player device such as kitchen.sonos
the content is a named Sonos favorite or playlist
you want the rule to stay stable even if the speaker IP or Sonos URI changes

# Play a playlist by name
[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device    = "kitchen.sonos"
state     = { action = "play_playlist", playlist = "Dinner" }

# Use the generic media command shape
[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "sonos_kitchen"
state     = { action = "play_media", media_type = "favorite", name = "Morning Jazz" }

8. Hysteresis control — humidifier

Turn a humidifier on when humidity drops below 35%, off when it rises above 50%.

# Turn ON
id       = ""
name     = "Humidifier — on"
enabled  = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "yolink_humidity_sensor"
attribute = "humidity"

[[conditions]]
type      = "device_state"
device_id = "yolink_humidity_sensor"
attribute = "humidity"
op        = "Lt"
value     = 35

[[conditions]]
type      = "device_state"
device_id = "smart_plug_humidifier"
attribute = "on"
op        = "Eq"
value     = false

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "smart_plug_humidifier"
state     = { on = true }

# Turn OFF
id       = ""
name     = "Humidifier — off"
enabled  = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "yolink_humidity_sensor"
attribute = "humidity"

[[conditions]]
type      = "device_state"
device_id = "yolink_humidity_sensor"
attribute = "humidity"
op        = "Gt"
value     = 50

[[conditions]]
type      = "device_state"
device_id = "smart_plug_humidifier"
attribute = "on"
op        = "Eq"
value     = true

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "smart_plug_humidifier"
state     = { on = false }

9. Webhook — doorbell integration

Flash a light when a smart doorbell POSTS to a webhook.

id       = ""
name     = "Doorbell — flash light"
enabled  = true
priority = 10
tags     = ["security", "doorbell"]

[trigger]
type = "webhook_received"
path = "doorbell-secret-path-a3f9c2"

[[actions]]
type = "repeat_count"
count    = 3
delay_ms = 500

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_living_room"
state     = { on = true, color = "yellow" }

[[actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_living_room"
state     = { on = false }

[[actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Doorbell rang"

Fire it:

curl -X POST http://homecore.local/api/v1/webhooks/doorbell-secret-path-a3f9c2

10. Security alert — multi-condition with script logic

Alert when motion is detected at night AND the house is not in "expected motion" mode.

id       = ""
name     = "Security — nighttime motion alert"
enabled  = true
priority = 50
tags     = ["security"]
cooldown_secs = 120

[trigger]
type      = "device_state_changed"
device_id = "motion_exterior"
attribute = "motion"
to        = true

[[conditions]]
type  = "mode_is"
mode  = "mode_night"
value = true

[[conditions]]
type   = "script_expression"
script = '''
  !device_state("virtual_switch_expected_motion")["on"]
  && !device_state("mode_away")["on"]
'''

[[actions]]
type = "parallel"

[[actions.actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Motion detected outside at night!"
title   = "Security Alert"

[[actions.actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "pushover"
message = "Exterior motion detected"

[[actions.actions]]
type      = "set_device_state"
device_id = "light_exterior"
state     = { on = true, brightness = 255 }

11. Startup state check

Check critical devices when HomeCore starts, alert if anything is in a wrong state.

id       = ""
name     = "Startup — check critical devices"
enabled  = true
priority = 10

[trigger]
type = "system_started"

[[actions]]
type      = "conditional"
condition = 'device_state("yolink_garage_door")["open"] == true'

[[actions.then_actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Garage door is OPEN (detected at startup)"

[[actions]]
type      = "conditional"
condition = 'device_state("yolink_water_sensor")["wet"] == true'

[[actions.then_actions]]
type    = "notify"
channel = "telegram"
message = "Water sensor is WET (detected at startup)"
title   = "WATER ALERT"

Debugging rules

# Dry-run a rule (no execution)
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/automations/RULE_ID/test \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" | jq

# View last 20 evaluation attempts
curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/automations/RULE_ID/history \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" | jq

# Find rules that never fired
curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/automations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  | jq '[.[] | select(.enabled == true) | {name, trigger: .trigger.type}]'

# Find broken rules
curl -s "http://localhost:8080/api/v1/automations?stale=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  | jq '.[] | {name, error}'

1. Door alert during specific hours​

2. Garage door — alert if left open 10 minutes​

3. Sunset — outdoor lights on​

4. Motion-triggered light with auto-off​

5. Morning routine — fan-out with CustomEvent​

6. Arrival home — context-aware welcome​

7. Play a Sonos favorite by name​

What the rule does​

When to use this pattern​

Related variants​

8. Hysteresis control — humidifier​

9. Webhook — doorbell integration​

10. Security alert — multi-condition with script logic​

11. Startup state check​

Debugging rules​