Motion lighting with manual override

Intermediate 25 min

A basic motion light is easy until somebody wants the lamp to stay on while cleaning, remain off during a film, or be controlled manually for an evening. If the automation tries to guess that using an ordinary wall switch means “manual mode”, its behavior quickly becomes unpredictable.

This design gives the automation its own explicit switch: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys. When the helper is on, the automation may control the lamp. When it is off, the automation leaves the lamp alone. You choose the lamp’s desired state.

Decide the behavior before building

Situation	Result
Helper on, motion detected, and dark	Lamp turns on
Sensor has been `off` for two minutes, helper on	Lamp turns off
Helper off	Current run stops; lamp does not change
Helper turned on again	The automation’s rules take control again
Sun sets while the sensor is already `on`	Lamp turns on
Home Assistant starts	State is evaluated again after a short delay

The override is deliberately explicit. Operating the lamp’s regular switch does not automatically change the helper. Turn the helper off before you control the lamp manually, then turn it on when motion control should resume.

1. Create the automatic-mode switch

Go to Settings → Devices & services → Helpers.
Select Create helper → Toggle.
Name it Hallway – automatic light.
Change its entity ID in the helper settings to input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys, or replace that ID throughout the YAML.
Put the helper on a dashboard where it is easy to find.

A toggle helper has a real on/off state that triggers and conditions can use. Without a fixed initial value, Home Assistant normally restores the last saved value; if none is available, it starts as off. This is documented in the official Input boolean documentation.

2. Create the automation

Create an empty automation, open the three-dot menu, and select Edit in YAML. Paste the complete example. Replace the sensor and light entity IDs if yours are different. This is one automation for the editor, without a leading list dash or an automation: wrapper.

alias: "Hallway light with manual override"
description: "Motion light that only controls the lamp when automatic mode is on"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
    to: "on"
    id: motion_on

  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
    to: "off"
    for: "00:02:00"
    id: motion_clear

  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
    to: "on"
    id: auto_enabled

  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
    to: "off"
    id: auto_disabled

  - trigger: state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    to: "below_horizon"
    id: darkness_started

  - trigger: homeassistant
    event: start
    id: ha_started

conditions: []

actions:
  # Allow sensors, the sun entity, and radio integrations time to return.
  - if:
      - condition: trigger
        id: ha_started
    then:
      - delay: "00:00:30"

  - choose:
      # Turn on for motion, re-enabling, darkness starting, or HA starting.
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id:
              - motion_on
              - auto_enabled
              - darkness_started
              - ha_started
          - condition: state
            entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
            state: "on"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
            state: "on"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: sun.sun
            state: "below_horizon"
        sequence:
          - action: light.turn_on
            target:
              entity_id: light.gang

      # Turn off only after a natural two-minute off trigger.
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: motion_clear
          - condition: state
            entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
            state: "on"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
            state: "off"
        sequence:
          - action: light.turn_off
            target:
              entity_id: light.gang

      # On start, re-enabling or sunset: require off, wait, and check again.
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id:
              - auto_enabled
              - ha_started
              - darkness_started
          - condition: state
            entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
            state: "on"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
            state: "off"
        sequence:
          - delay: "00:02:00"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: input_boolean.gang_automatisk_lys
            state: "on"
          - condition: state
            entity_id: binary_sensor.gang_bevaegelse
            state: "off"
          - action: light.turn_off
            target:
              entity_id: light.gang

mode: restart

The trigger IDs select the relevant branch. The darkness check exists only in the turn-on branch, so it cannot block a later turn-off. auto_disabled intentionally has no action branch. Because the automation uses mode: restart, that trigger stops any running delay but does not change the lamp. The official overview of automation modes explains that restart stops the previous run before starting the new one.

Restarts and automation reloads

Home Assistant documents that a trigger’s for: period does not survive a restart or automation reload; the wait is reset. This example therefore does not claim to continue a countdown from its previous elapsed time. See the note under automation triggers.

After a full Home Assistant start, ha_started begins a new evaluation after 30 seconds. If the sensor explicitly reports on, the lamp can turn on when it is dark. If it explicitly reports off, a new full two-minute wait begins before turn-off. If the sensor is unknown or unavailable, neither state matches and the automation does not turn the lamp off. Thirty seconds is only a buffer; a slow Zigbee, Z-Wave, or network integration may need longer. The Home Assistant start trigger runs after Home Assistant finishes starting, but does not guarantee that every physical device is already responding.

Reload automations does not produce a Home Assistant start trigger. If the sensor is already off, turn-off therefore waits until a new motion cycle. Alternatively, turn the helper off and on. Re-enabling it starts a fresh evaluation and a new two-minute wait. That is a visible, deliberate action rather than a hidden guess.

If sunset interrupts a pending switch-off after startup or re-enabling, the same off branch starts a fresh full two-minute delay. The lamp may stay on a little longer, but the switch-off is not left without another run.

Test the important boundaries

Test with natural state changes because Run actions does not supply one of the trigger IDs used by the branches. Home Assistant documents the same limitation in its automation testing guide.

Turn the helper on, cause motion after sunset, and verify turn-on.
Let the sensor remain off for two minutes and verify turn-off.
Turn the helper off during the wait. The lamp must not change afterward.
Control the lamp manually with the helper off; wait and cause motion.
Turn the helper on with the sensor first on, then off.
Re-enable with the sensor off near sunset. Check that switch-off occurs two minutes after sunset if it interrupted a pending delay.
Restart Home Assistant at a safe time and inspect the on, off, and unavailable cases in the automation trace.

If another automation, adaptive-lighting setup, or smart wall switch also controls the lamp, the systems may fight over its state. Choose one clear owner for automatic on/off, or give the other flows the same helper as a shared boundary. Use Activity and Traces to identify what last changed the lamp. If automations are new to you, start with your first automation.

The YAML example has been checked statically. Test it on your own installation using the steps above before relying on it for daily lighting control.