Humidifier mode changed

The Humidifier mode changed trigger fires after the operating mode of a humidifier 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] changes. Modes are device-specific and typically include options like Normal, Eco, Sleep, Auto, or Baby, though the exact modes available depend on your device. Use Humidifier mode changed to react when the mode changes, for example to automatically lower the target humidity on all your humidifiers when one of them switches to Eco mode, keeping your whole home in sync with a single mode change.

You choose one or more modes, and the trigger reacts when the humidifier switches to one of them.

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 Humidifier mode changed in an automation, follow these steps:

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 humidifier is in (like your bedroom or living room). You can also select a device, a specific entity, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Humidifier mode changed.
6. Under Mode, select one or more modes you want to monitor.
7. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), pick Each, First, or All to control how the trigger behaves when multiple humidifiers are targeted.
8. Under For at least, set how long the humidifier must remain in the new mode before the trigger fires. Leave it at zero to fire immediately.
9. 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. For how an automation is built in YAML, refer to Automations in YAML.

In YAML, put the settings that are specific to this trigger under options. Keep target, if the trigger uses one, and general settings such as id, alias, enabled, and variables at the top level, next to trigger.

When this trigger starts an automation, it passes data about what happened to the automation. You can use this trigger data in the templates of your conditions and actions. To see which data is available, refer to Trigger data in templates.

In YAML, Humidifier mode changed is referred to as humidifier.mode_changed. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: humidifier.mode_changed
target:
  entity_id: humidifier.bedroom
options:
  mode: "sleep"

This reacts when the bedroom humidifier switches to the Sleep mode.

Options in YAML

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 humidifier entity behind that target.

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

To learn which entities Home Assistant includes for a device, area, floor, or label, and how it handles several entities, refer to Automation targets.

Trigger variables

When the trigger reacts, the trigger variable identifies the entity that made it react. This is useful when a target contains multiple entities, such as a device, area, floor, or label.

The following trigger-specific variables are available:

• trigger.entity_id: Entity ID of the entity that made the trigger react.
• trigger.from_state: Previous state object of that entity.
• trigger.to_state: New state object of that entity.
• trigger.for: Timedelta object of how long the trigger criteria were met, if applicable.

For example, use {{ trigger.to_state.name }} in an action to include the name of the entity that made the trigger react in a notification.

The trigger variable describes the entity that made the trigger react. It doesn’t contain all the entities of the target.

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 (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: the trigger fires only on the first transition in the targeted group, then waits until none of the targeted entities is in that state anymore 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: 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

• The target humidifier entity must support the mode you want to use.
• The available modes depend entirely on the device. Check your humidifier’s documentation or the Home Assistant entity’s attributes to see which modes are supported.
• The trigger only reacts when the humidifier changes to one of the selected modes, not when it changes from a selected mode to a mode that isn’t selected. It also doesn’t react when the humidifier switches between two selected modes.
• To check whether the humidifier is currently in a specific mode during a condition step, use the Humidifier is in mode condition.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, create a new automation, and add this trigger. Save the automation, and then make the trigger react. For example, change the state of the targeted 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], turn on a light that the trigger monitors, or change its brightness. To check whether the automation ran, open its traces.

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup. In the visual editor, select the UI options listed in the example when they are available, or paste the YAML code.

Automation: set the scene when the humidifier enters sleep mode

When the bedroom humidifier switches to sleep mode, dim the lights and activate the night scene so the room feels ready for rest.

• Trigger: Humidifier mode changed
  • Target: Bedroom humidifier
  • Mode: sleep
  • Trigger when: Each
• Action: Activate scene
  • Target: Bedroom night scene

alias: "Activate night scene on sleep mode"
triggers:
  - trigger: humidifier.mode_changed
    target:
      entity_id: humidifier.bedroom
    options:
      mode: "sleep"
      behavior: each
actions:
  - action: scene.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: scene.bedroom_night

Automation: notify when any humidifier switches to Eco mode

When a humidifier in the house switches to Eco mode, send a notification confirming that energy-saving operation has started.

• Trigger: Humidifier mode changed
  • Target: All humidifiers (by label)
  • Mode: Eco
  • Trigger when: Each
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Notify on Eco mode"
triggers:
  - trigger: humidifier.mode_changed
    target:
      label_id: all_humidifiers
    options:
      mode: "eco"
      behavior: each
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      message: "A humidifier switched to eco mode."

Still stuck?

To find out why the trigger didn’t react, make the change that it should react to, and then open the traces of the automation. If the automation didn’t run, there’s usually no trace, but some triggers record a Did not trigger trace. For details, refer to Testing automations. For common problems and their solutions, refer to Troubleshooting automations.

If that doesn’t help, the Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the trigger you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related triggers

Explore related triggers:

• Humidifier turned on: Triggers when one or more humidifiers turn on.

• Humidifier turned off: Triggers when one or more humidifiers turn off.