Battery started charging

The Battery started charging trigger fires when a battery-powered device transitions from not charging to actively charging. A device starts charging when it is connected to a power source, such as a charger, dock, or USB cable. Use this trigger to confirm when a device is plugged in, kick off automations that should run while a device charges, or log charging sessions over time.

Using this trigger from the user interface

If you prefer building automations visually, Home Assistant walks you through this trigger step by step. You pick what to watch, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use Battery started charging in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the When section, select Add trigger.
4. Select what you want to monitor. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area your device is in (like your bedroom or office). You can also select a device, a specific entity, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Battery started charging.
6. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), pick Each, First, or All to control how the trigger behaves when multiple devices are targeted.
7. Under For at least, set how long the device must be actively charging before the trigger fires. Leave it at zero to fire immediately.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this trigger in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, Battery started charging is referred to as battery.started_charging. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: battery.started_charging
target:
  entity_id: sensor.phone_battery

This fires every time sensor.phone_battery starts charging.

Options in YAML

YAML sometimes provides additional options for more complex use cases that are not available through the UI.

Targets of the trigger

This trigger requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will watch. You can select a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label as a target, and Home Assistant will watch every matching battery entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific battery entity, such as battery.living_room.
• Device: every battery entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every battery entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every battery entity on a floor.
• Label: every battery entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one trigger. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same trigger to monitor both of them at once.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Trigger when option controls how the trigger responds:

• Each (any in YAML, default): the trigger fires every time any one of the targeted entities transitions. For example, if you monitor three motion sensors in the living room and someone walks past sensor 1, the automation fires. When they walk past sensor 2 a moment later, it fires again. Every individual event counts.
• First (first in YAML): the trigger fires only on the first transition in the targeted group, then waits until all targeted entities have reset before it fires again. For example, if you monitor the same three motion sensors, the automation fires when the first one picks up movement (someone entered the room). The other two firing afterward are ignored, so you get one notification per “someone walked in” event instead of three.
• All (last in YAML): the trigger fires only after the last targeted entity in the group has fired, meaning all of them are now in the expected state. For example, if you monitor the lights in the living room, bedroom, and hallway, the automation fires only once all three have turned off. This is useful for scenarios like “start the robot vacuum only after every light on the floor is off,” so you know the room is truly empty.

Good to know

• Battery started charging fires only when a device transitions from not charging to actively charging. If a device is already charging when Home Assistant starts, the trigger does not fire.
• To react when a device stops charging, use Battery stopped charging.
• To fire when the battery level crosses a specific percentage, use Battery level crossed threshold instead.
• The trigger works with sensors that report a charging state, such as devices that expose a battery charging attribute.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, create a new automation, and add this trigger. Save the automation, then change the state of the targeted entity to watch the trigger fire on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more].

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: notify when a phone starts charging

When you plug in your phone at night, this automation confirms it is connected before you fall asleep.

• Trigger: Battery started charging
  • Target: Phone battery entity
  • Trigger when: Each
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Notify when phone starts charging"
triggers:
  - trigger: battery.started_charging
    target:
      entity_id: sensor.phone_battery
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      message: "Your phone is now charging."