Creating Automations and Scenes

Automations make things happen on their own. Scenes save a set of device states you can recall in one call. On a Selora Hub you have three ways to build them, and picking the right one saves a lot of time.

Option 1: Install a recipe

Recipes are pre-built setups that bundle the automations, scripts, scenes, and helpers for one complete outcome. No model is involved, so the same recipe produces the same result on every home and uses no Selora AI credits.

1. Open the Selora AI panel in the Home Assistant sidebar.
2. Select the Recipes tab and browse by category.
3. Pick a recipe. It lists the integrations it needs and the device roles it fills, such as “indoor siren” or “presence sensor”. Any device that fits the role works.
4. Answer the setup questions and install.

This is the fastest path for common outcomes, and the one to reach for on client sites, because it is repeatable across installs and uninstalls cleanly.

Option 2: Ask Selora AI

For anything site-specific, describe the behaviour in the chat panel. Selora AI can see the devices, areas, states, and existing automations, so it works from the real home rather than generic examples.

Things worth asking:

• “Turn on the hall light when the hall motion sensor detects motion after sunset.”
• “Turn it back off after five minutes with no motion.”
• “Why did the living room lights come on at 2am?”

Selora AI also proposes automations on its own. The Automations tab has a Suggested for you section based on observed patterns in the home. Review each suggestion in the Flow or YAML view before accepting it.

Option 3: Build it in Home Assistant

Worth knowing regardless, because it is how you read and debug whatever ends up on the system.

1. Settings > Automations & Scenes > Create Automation > Create new automation.
2. Trigger: Device > your motion sensor > Detects motion.
3. Condition (optional): Time > after sunset.
4. Action: Device > your light > Turn on.
5. Save and test with Run actions.

The YAML equivalent, visible from the three-dot menu with Edit in YAML:

alias: Hall light on motion at night
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.hall_motion
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: sun
    after: sunset
actions:
  - action: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: light.hall

And the matching auto-off, as a separate automation:

alias: Hall light off after 5 min no motion
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.hall_motion
    to: "off"
    for: "00:05:00"
actions:
  - action: light.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: light.hall

Motion lighting has more failure modes than it looks. Before you ship it, read motion automation race conditions .

Scenes

A scene is a saved set of device states. Create one under Settings > Automations & Scenes > Scenes > Add Scene, put the devices into the states you want, and save.

Call it from an automation, a dashboard button, or voice:

actions:
  - action: scene.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: scene.movie

Scenes are also what recipes use to bundle a look, and Selora AI can create them from a description such as “make a movie scene with the living room at 20% and the TV backlight low”.

Handover tips

• Name things for the homeowner, not for you. “Movie” beats “scene_lr_20pct”.
• Expose scenes to voice. Set Selora AI as the conversation agent under Settings > Voice assistants so the client can ask for them by name. See Chat Panel & Assist .
• Check reliability before blaming the logic. If an automation is flaky, look at device availability and RF or Wi-Fi signal first. It is usually the network, not the YAML.

References