Motion detected

The Motion detected trigger fires when one or more motion sensors start detecting motion.

Use it to automate actions, such as turning devices on or off, or sending notifications, based on motion detection in an area of the house. Use a single motion sensor to detect motion in specific spots and a group of sensors for larger areas.

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 this trigger 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. From the search box, search for and select Motion detected.
5. Select Add target (see Targets) and pick the motion sensor that you want to watch. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
6. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), pick Each, First, or All to control how the trigger behaves when multiple sensors are targeted.
7. Under For at least, you can set how long the sensor must remain detecting motion 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. 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, refer to this trigger as motion.detected. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: motion.detected
target:
  entity_id: binary_sensor.movement_backyard
options:
  for:
    hours: 1
    minutes: 5
    seconds: 2

This fires 1 hour, 5 minutes and 2 seconds after the sensor entity binary_sensor.movement_backyard starts detecting motion.

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 motion sensor behind that target.

• Entity: one specific motion sensor, such as binary_sensor.hallway_motion.
• Device: every motion sensor that belongs to a device.
• Area: every motion sensor in a room or area.
• Floor: every motion sensor on a floor.
• Label: every motion sensor 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

• Use single sensors for motion detection in areas of passage, such as hallways or entrances, or very specific spots like an office desk.
• Add the For at least option to your automation to avoid turning off devices too quickly if someone is still in the room.
• For reliable motion detection in larger areas, you can use grouped motion sensors and input boolean helpers.
• When you automate lights turning on, combine motion with ambient light sensors, or time conditions, and only turn on lights if the room is dark enough. This avoids unnecessary activations.

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: turn on light when motion is detected and it is dark

When motion is detected at the entrance of the hallway and if it is dark, this automation turns on the light there.

• Trigger: Motion detected
  • Target: Entrance binary sensor
• Condition: Time (after 21:30:00 and before 07:00:00)
• Action: Turn on light (in hallway)

alias: "Turn on light in hallway if dark and motion is detected"
triggers:
  - trigger: motion.detected
    target:
      entity_id: binary_sensor.movement_hallway
conditions:
  - condition: time
    after: "21:30:00"
    before: "07:00:00"
actions:
  - action: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: light.hallway_entrance_light

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:

• Motion cleared: Triggers when one or more motion sensors stop detecting motion.