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Scenes

A sceneScenes capture the states you want certain entities to be. For example, a scene can specify that light A should be turned on and light B should be bright red. [Learn more] stores the states you want for several devices, and sets them again in one step when you activate it. For example, a “Movie night” scene can dim the living room lights, close the blinds, and turn on the TV.

When to use a scene

Use a scene when several devices should go into a specific state together, and you want to use that state more than once. For example, you can activate the same scene from a button on a dashboard, with Assist, and from an automation in the evening.

If the states are only needed in one automation, you don’t need a saved scene. The Apply scene action sets the states directly. For help choosing between a scene, a script, and an automation, refer to Which tool to use.

How a scene works

A scene sets states. It doesn’t run steps, and it doesn’t remember what came before. Activating a scene means that Home Assistant applies its states once. The scene doesn’t stay active afterwards, so there is nothing to deactivate.

This is why:

  • A scene sets all its states, without wait times or a set order. If you need wait times or a set order, use a script.
  • A scene always sets the same states. It doesn’t check anything first. If the states should depend on something, for example, whether someone is home, use an automation.
  • A scene doesn’t have an on or off state. To go back to how things were, activate another scene. Or save the current states first, with the Create scene action, and activate that scene later.

Live Edit and Review Mode in the scene editor

You create and edit scenes in the scene editor, in Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes. The editor has two modes:

  • Live Edit
    • All changes are applied to your devices right away, so you see what the scene looks like. When you leave the editor, or switch to Review Mode, your devices go back to the states they had before.
  • Review Mode
    • You see the scene without applying it. You can change its details, and remove devices or entities. To add devices, or change their states, switch to Live Edit, which applies the scene.

A new scene opens in Live Edit. A scene that you already saved opens in Review Mode.

Creating a scene

You usually create a scene in the scene editor. You can also start from a copy of a scene you already have, write a scene in YAML, use scenes from another integration, or create a temporary scene from an automation.

Creating a scene in the scene editor

In the scene editor, you add the devices that belong in the scene, and set them to the states you want. The editor applies your changes to the devices right away, so you see the result while you work.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes, and select Create scene.
    • The editor opens in Live Edit.
  2. Under Devices, select Add a device, and select a device.
    • To add a single entity instead, under Entities, select Add an entity.
  3. Set each device to the state you want for the scene, for example, turn on a light and set its brightness.
    • To change an entity, select it in the list, and change it in the dialog that opens. You can also change it in any other way, for example, on a dashboard or on the device itself.
  4. Select Save.
  5. Enter a Name for the scene.
    • Optional: Select an Icon and an Area, or select Add category or Add labels.
  6. Select Save.
    • Result: The scene stores the current states of its devices and entities. The editor switches to Review Mode, and your devices go back to the states they had before.

Duplicating a scene

To create a scene that is similar to one you already have, duplicate it, and change the copy.

The copy takes the devices and entities of the original, but not its states. When you save the copy, it stores the states that your devices have at that moment. That’s why you apply the original scene first.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes.
  2. In the row of the original scene, select Menu > Apply.
    • Your devices change to the states of the original scene.
  3. Open the original scene, and select Menu > Duplicate scene.
    • A copy opens as a new scene in Live Edit, named after the original with “(Duplicate)” at the end.
  4. Change the devices, entities, or states.
  5. Select Save.
  6. Change the Name, and select Save.

Creating a scene in YAML

You can also write a scene in YAML, for example, in your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file. For the options and an example, refer to Defining scenes in YAML.

Creating a scene from another integration

Some integrations, such as Philips Hue, provide their own scenes. Where you set up these scenes depends on the integration, for example, the Hue app or the KNX panel. They show up in Home Assistant as scene entities. For details, refer to Scenes from other integrations.

Creating a temporary scene from an automation

An automation or a script can save the current states of some devices in a temporary scene, change the devices, and restore the saved states later. The scene is removed again when you reload the scenes or restart Home Assistant.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, and open the automation or script.

  2. In the Then do section, select Add action, and search for and select Create scene.

  3. Enter a Scene entity ID for the temporary scene, for example, before.

  4. Under Entities snapshot, select the entities whose current states you want to save.

  5. Add the actions that change your devices.

  6. To restore the saved states, add the Activate scene action for the temporary scene.

    • The temporary scene only exists after Create scene has run, so you usually can’t select it in the list. Instead, select Menu > Edit in YAML on the action, and enter the entity ID of the scene:

      action: scene.turn_on
target:
  entity_id: scene.before

  7. Select Save.

For all options of the Create scene action, refer to Create scene.

Ways to activate a scene

When you activate a scene, Home Assistant sets each of its devices and entities to the state stored in the scene. You can activate a scene in several ways:

  • From the list of scenes:
  • From the scene editor:
    • Open the scene, and select Menu > Apply.
    • Apply isn’t available in Live Edit, or before you save the scene. In Live Edit, the scene is already applied.
  • From a dashboard:
    • Add the scene to a card, for example, an Entities card, and select Activate.
  • With Assist:
  • From an automation or a script:

To start an automation when a scene is activated, use the Scene activated trigger.

Editing a scene

You edit a scene in the scene editor. The scene editor can edit scenes that are stored in your scenes.yaml file and have an id. This includes all scenes that you create in the scene editor.

Editing a scene in the visual editor

To add devices, or to change the states that a scene stores, edit the scene in Live Edit. While you edit, the scene is applied to your devices. To only remove devices or entities, you don’t need Live Edit: you can remove them in Review Mode, and select Save.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes, and open the scene.
    • The editor opens in Review Mode.
  2. Select Live Edit.
    • The scene is applied to your devices. If you have unsaved changes, select Save and Live Edit.
  3. Add devices and entities, or change their states.
  4. Select Save.

Editing a scene in the YAML editor

In the YAML editor, you see and change the YAML of the scene directly, for example, to change a value, or to paste entities from another scene. The YAML editor doesn’t apply the scene to your devices.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes, and open the scene.
  2. Select Menu > Edit in YAML.
    • If the editor was in Live Edit, your devices go back to the states they had before.
  3. Change the YAML, and select Save.
  4. To go back to the visual editor, select Menu > Edit in visual editor.
    • The editor switches to Review Mode.

Renaming a scene

You can change the name of a scene, and its icon, area, category, and labels, without changing its devices and their states.

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes, and open the scene.
  2. Select Menu > Rename.
  3. Change the Name, and the other details that you want to change.
  4. Select Rename.
  5. To keep the changes, select Save.
    • Rename only changes the scene in the editor. If you leave the editor without saving, it asks whether you want to leave, and the changes are lost.

Renaming a scene doesn’t change its entity ID, for example, scene.movie_night. To change the entity ID, refer to Changing the attributes of an entity.

Deleting a scene

If you don’t need a scene anymore, you can delete it. Automations, scripts, and dashboards that use the scene can’t activate it after that.

To delete a scene from the list of scenes:

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes > Scenes.
  2. In the row of the scene, select Menu > Delete.
  3. To confirm, select Delete.

Scenes you can’t delete in the scene editor

The scene editor can’t edit scenes that aren’t in scenes.yaml, or that don’t have an id. Depending on where such a scene comes from, change it as follows:

  • Scenes in another YAML file: Move the scene to scenes.yaml, and give it an id. For the steps, refer to Editing a YAML scene in the scene editor.
  • Scenes from another integration: Change the scene where that integration manages its scenes. For details, refer to Scenes from other integrations.
  • Temporary scenes from the Create scene action: These can’t be edited. To change one, run Create scene again with the same Scene entity ID.

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