---
layout: page
title: "MQTT Birth and Last will"
description: "Instructions on how to setup MQTT birth and last will messages within Home Assistant."
date: 2015-08-07 18:00
sidebar: true
comments: false
sharing: true
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logo: mqtt.png
---

MQTT supports so-called Birth and Last Will and Testament (LWT) messages. The former is used to send a message after the service has started, and the latter is used to notify other clients about an ungracefully disconnected client.

To integrate MQTT Birth and Last Will messages into Home Assistant, add the following section to your `configuration.yaml` file:

```yaml
# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  birth_message:
    topic: 'hass/status'
    payload: 'online'
  will_message:
    topic: 'hass/status'
    payload: 'offline'
```

Configuration variables:

- **birth_message** (*Optional*):
  - **topic** (*Required*): The MQTT topic to publish the message.
  - **payload** (*Required*): The message content.
  - **qos** (*Optional*): The maximum QoS level of the topic. Default is 0.
  - **retain** (*Optional*): If the published message should have the retain flag on or not. Defaults to `True`.
- **will_message** (*Optional*):
  - **topic** (*Required*): The MQTT topic to publish the message.
  - **payload** (*Required*): The message content.
  - **qos** (*Optional*): The maximum QoS level of the topic. Default is 0.
  - **retain** (*Optional*): If the published message should have the retain flag on or not. Defaults to `True`.
