Recipes that react when people come and go
These recipes react to who is home. They run when the last person leaves or when someone arrives. Presence signals can be wrong, so each recipe explains how to confirm the house is really empty and what happens if someone comes back early.
Browse by category on the automation recipes page. This page collects 8 recipes tagged presence from every category.
Away mode automation for security and energy savings
Set your home to away mode automatically once everyone has left. Lights, climate, and security adjust to save energy and keep the house safe, and everyone is told.
Play music when arriving home
Walk in to your favorite music. Start playback when you arrive home, using a presence signal you have tested, for the same welcome every time.
Prepare the house when someone arrives
Come home to a lit path and normal comfort settings. Switch back to Home mode on arrival without treating phone location as proof of who it is.
Safe thermostat auto-away
Save energy while the house is empty with a modest thermostat setback that still protects pets and pipes and respects manual holds.
Start the vacuum when everyone leaves
Come home to clean floors. Start the robot vacuum only once everyone has left and only during the day, using a presence signal you have tested.
Turn on away lights to look occupied
Make the house look lived in while you are away. Turn on a few well-chosen lights in a natural pattern, not every light at once.
Vacuum while the house is empty
Let the robot vacuum clean only while nobody is home, then send it back to the dock the moment someone walks in. No more vacuum underfoot.
Welcome arrivals with path lighting
Get a lit path from the driveway to the door after dark, while the lock and the lights you control by hand are left alone.