---
title: Scenes
description: Instructions on how to setup scenes within Home Assistant.
ha_category:
- Organization
ha_release: 0.15
ha_quality_scale: internal
ha_codeowners:
- '@home-assistant/core'
ha_domain: scene
ha_integration_type: entity
---
A scene entity is an entity that can restore the state of a group of entities.
Scenes can be user-defined or can be provided through an integration.
{% include integrations/building_block_integration.md %}
## The state of a scene
The scene entity is stateless, as in, it cannot have a state like the `on` or
`off` state that, for example, a normal switch entity has.
Every scene entity does keep track of the timestamp of when the last time
the scene entity was called via the Home Assistant UI or called via
an action.
Screenshot showing the state of a scene entity in the developer tools.
In addition, the entity can have the following states:
- **Unavailable**: The entity is currently unavailable.
- **Unknown**: The state is not yet known.
## Scenes created by integrations
Some integrations like [Philips Hue](/integrations/hue), [MQTT](/integrations/mqtt), and [KNX](/integrations/knx) provide scenes. You can activate them from the Home Assistant UI or via as an action. In this case, the integration provides the preferred states to restore.
## Creating a scene
You can create scenes that capture the states you want certain entities to be. For example, a scene can specify that light A should be turned on and light B should be bright red.
Scenes can be created and managed via the user interface using the [Scene Editor](/docs/scene/editor/). They can also be manually configured via {% term "`configuration.yaml`" %}. Note that entity data is not an action parameter; it's a representation of the wanted state:
```yaml
# Example configuration.yaml entry
scene:
- name: Romantic
icon: "mdi:flower-tulip"
entities:
light.tv_back_light: "on"
light.ceiling:
state: "on"
brightness: 200
color_mode: "xy"
xy_color: [0.33, 0.66]
- name: Movies
entities:
light.tv_back_light:
state: "on"
brightness: 125
light.ceiling: "off"
media_player.sony_bravia_tv:
state: "on"
source: HDMI 1
- name: Standard
entities:
light.tv_back_light:
state: "off"
light.ceiling:
state: "on"
brightness: 125
color_mode: "white"
```
{% configuration %}
name:
description: Friendly name of scene.
required: true
type: string
icon:
description: Icon for the scene.
required: false
type: string
entities:
description: Entities to control and their desired state.
required: true
type: list
{% endconfiguration %}
As you can see, there are two ways to define the states of each `entity_id`:
- Define the `state` directly with the entity. Be aware, that `state` needs to be defined.
- Define a complex state with its attributes. You can see all attributes available for a particular entity under `developer-tools -> state`.
Scenes can be activated using the `scene.turn_on` action (there is no `scene.turn_off` action).
```yaml
# Example automation
automation:
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: device_tracker.sweetheart
from: "not_home"
to: "home"
actions:
- action: scene.turn_on
target:
entity_id: scene.romantic
```
## Applying a scene without defining it
With the `scene.apply` action you are able to apply a scene without first defining it via configuration. Instead, you pass the states as part of the action data. The format of the data is the same as the `entities` field in a configuration.
```yaml
# Example automation
automation:
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: device_tracker.sweetheart
from: "not_home"
to: "home"
actions:
- action: scene.apply
data:
entities:
light.tv_back_light:
state: "on"
brightness: 100
light.ceiling: off
media_player.sony_bravia_tv:
state: "on"
source: HDMI 1
```
## Using scene transitions
Both the `scene.apply` and `scene.turn_on` actions support setting a transition,
which enables you to smoothen the transition to the scene.
This is an example of an automation that sets a romantic scene, in which the
light will transition to the scene in 2.5 seconds.
```yaml
# Example automation
automation:
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: device_tracker.sweetheart
from: "not_home"
to: "home"
actions:
- action: scene.turn_on
target:
entity_id: scene.romantic
data:
transition: 2.5
```
Transitions are currently only support by lights, which in their turn, have
to support it as well. However, the scene itself does not have to consist of
only lights to have a transition set.
## Reloading scenes
Whenever you make a change to your scene configuration, you can call the `scene.reload` action to reload the scenes.
## Creating scenes on the fly
Create a new scene without having to configure it by calling the `scene.create` action. This scene will be discarded after reloading the configuration.
You need to pass a `scene_id` in lowercase and with underscores instead of spaces. You also may want to specify the entities in the same format as when configuring the scene. You can also take a snapshot of the current state by using the `snapshot_entities` parameter. In this case, you have to specify the `entity_id` of all entities you want to take a snapshot of. `entities` and `snapshot_entities` can be combined but you have to use at least one of them.
If the scene was previously created by `scene.create`, it will be overwritten. If the scene was created by YAML, nothing happens but a warning in your log files.
### Video tutorial
This video tutorial explains how scenes work and how you can utilize scenes on the fly.
```yaml
# Example automation using entities
automation:
triggers:
- trigger: homeassistant
event: start
actions:
- action: scene.create
data:
scene_id: my_scene
entities:
light.tv_back_light:
state: "on"
brightness: 100
light.ceiling: off
media_player.sony_bravia_tv:
state: "on"
source: HDMI 1
```
## Deleting dynamically created scenes
Any scene that you have created with the `scene.create` action can also be deleted on demand with the `scene.delete` action.
You will need to pass in the `entity_id` of such a scene. As opposed to the `scene_id` used for creation, the `entity_id` must also include the `scene` domain.
If the scene was not previously created by `scene.create`, the action will fail and an error will appear in the logs.
```yaml
# Example automation
automation:
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: sun.sun
to: "below_horizon"
actions:
- action: scene.delete
data:
entity_id: scene.my_scene
```
The following example turns off some entities as soon as a window opens. The states of the entities are restored after the window is closed again.
```yaml
# Example automation using snapshot
- alias: "Window opened"
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.window
from: "off"
to: "on"
conditions: []
actions:
- action: scene.create
data:
scene_id: before
snapshot_entities:
- climate.ecobee
- light.ceiling_lights
- action: light.turn_off
target:
entity_id: light.ceiling_lights
- action: climate.set_hvac_mode
target:
entity_id: climate.ecobee
data:
hvac_mode: "off"
- alias: "Window closed"
triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.window
from: "on"
to: "off"
conditions: []
actions:
- action: scene.turn_on
target:
entity_id: scene.before
```