Split automations into HA-style `triggers`, ongoing `conditions`, and
`actions`, with compatibility migrations for existing Advanced Camera
Card configs.
## Summary
At a glance (details below):
- **Added** `triggers:` -- a required, HA-shaped block: stock `state` /
`numeric_state` / `template` plus card-specific triggers (`camera`,
`view`, `fullscreen`, ...).
- **Added** the HA-native `if` / `then` / `else` action.
- **Removed** `actions_not` (replaced by `if` / `then` / `else`).
- **Removed** the ambient `advanced_camera_card` template namespace (use
`acc` instead).
- **Changed** the trigger template surface to a top-level `trigger.*`
variable (as in HA); the nested `acc.trigger.*` paths are removed.
- **Changed** `conditions:` to ongoing gates only -- they no longer wake
an automation, and change-only forms (`config`, valueless `camera` /
`view` / `state`) become triggers, not conditions.
- **Changed** action templates to render per step, so a later action
sees state an earlier one changed.
- **Compatibility:** HA-shaped YAML is accepted (singular keys,
single-or-list, `and` / `or` / `not` shorthand, `entity` / `entity_id`).
- **Migration:** existing configs upgrade automatically; anything that
cannot be converted faithfully is recorded under `__UPGRADE_FAILURE__`
for manual fixup.
## Breaking Changes
### 1. Automations now require triggers
Before this PR, `automations[].conditions` served two roles:
- They decided whether the automation should run.
- They also acted as the thing that woke the automation up.
After this PR:
- `triggers` wake the automation.
- `conditions` only gate it at the instant a trigger fires.
Most existing automations are migrated automatically from `conditions:`
to `triggers:`.
### 2. `actions_not` is retired
Legacy `actions_not` is replaced by an HA-style `if` action with `then`
/ `else`.
Faithful conversions are automatic. Cases that cannot be faithfully
converted are recorded under `__UPGRADE_FAILURE__.automations` and must
be migrated manually.
### 3. Template surface aligned with Home Assistant
Two related template changes, both auto-migrated:
- **Top-level `trigger.*`.** Automation actions now receive a top-level
`trigger` template variable, like Home Assistant. Legacy nested paths
such as `acc.trigger.state.to` and
`advanced_camera_card.trigger.camera.to` are migrated automatically when
they appear inside template strings.
- **The ambient `advanced_camera_card` template namespace is removed.**
The long-form ambient namespace (`advanced_camera_card.camera`,
`advanced_camera_card.view`, `advanced_camera_card.config`) is retired
in favour of its shorter `acc` alias -- supported since v7.1.0, and the
only spelling the new trigger surface uses. Existing templates are
migrated automatically by rewriting the `advanced_camera_card.` prefix
to `acc.`.
### 4. Trigger-only condition forms are no longer valid conditions
Some legacy "conditions" were really change detectors. These are now
triggers only:
- `condition: config`
- valueless `camera`
- valueless `view`
- valueless `state` / picture-elements state condition with neither
`state` nor `state_not`
These are automatically promoted in automations and stripped from
overrides/elements where they would no longer be meaningful as ongoing
conditions.
### 5. Template truthiness now follows Home Assistant behavior
Template conditions and template triggers intentionally use different
truthiness rules, matching HA:
- A template condition passes only when the rendered value is `true`
(case-insensitive), matching HA's `condition.py`.
- A template trigger uses HA's broader `result_as_boolean` coercion: a
non-zero number, or `1` / `true` / `yes` / `on` / `enable`
(case-insensitive), counts as true.
### 6. Action templates render when each action executes
Action templates are now rendered per action step, not once for the
whole sequence. This means a later action can see card-local state
changed by an earlier action in the same sequence.
The `trigger` context is fixed for the automation run. HA entity state
updates still depend on the frontend receiving updated HASS state over
the websocket.
## Automatic Migrations
### Automation `conditions:` to `triggers:`
Simple legacy automation:
```yaml
# Before
automations:
- conditions:
- condition: fullscreen
fullscreen: true
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: substream_on
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
automations:
- triggers:
- trigger: fullscreen
fullscreen: true
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: substream_on
```
State conditions become HA-style state triggers:
```yaml
# Before
automations:
- conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.front_door
state: 'on'
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: live
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
automations:
- triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.front_door
to: 'on'
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: live
```
Multiple conditions become both triggers and ongoing conditions:
```yaml
# Before
automations:
- conditions:
- condition: camera
cameras: [front_door]
- condition: fullscreen
fullscreen: true
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: substream_on
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
automations:
- triggers:
- trigger: camera
cameras: [front_door]
- trigger: fullscreen
fullscreen: true
conditions:
- condition: camera
cameras: [front_door]
- condition: fullscreen
fullscreen: true
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: substream_on
```
The flattened trigger list is an implicit OR. The retained `conditions:`
list is an implicit AND checked when any trigger fires.
### Trigger-only legacy conditions
Legacy `config` conditions become `config` triggers:
```yaml
# Before
automations:
- conditions:
- condition: config
paths: [menu.style]
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: status_bar
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
automations:
- triggers:
- trigger: config
paths: [menu.style]
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: status_bar
```
Trigger-only leaves are removed from retained `conditions:` blocks
because they no longer describe an ongoing state.
### `actions_not` to `if` / `then` / `else`
```yaml
# Before
automations:
- conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: input_boolean.camera_alerts
state: 'on'
actions:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: live
actions_not:
- action: none
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
automations:
- triggers:
- trigger: state
entity_id: input_boolean.camera_alerts
actions:
- if:
- condition: state
entity_id: input_boolean.camera_alerts
state: 'on'
then:
- action: custom:advanced-camera-card-action
advanced_camera_card_action: live
else:
- action: none
```
If the legacy automation had no conditions, or only trigger-only
conditions, `actions_not` is dropped because the old `else` branch could
not be reproduced as an ongoing predicate.
### Trigger template paths
```yaml
# Before
message: 'Door is {{ acc.trigger.state.to }} from {{ acc.trigger.state.from }}'
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
message: 'Door is {{ trigger.to_state.state }} from {{ trigger.from_state.state }}'
```
Path rewrites performed automatically:
| Old path | New path |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| `acc.trigger.state.entity` | `trigger.entity_id` |
| `acc.trigger.state.from` | `trigger.from_state.state` |
| `acc.trigger.state.to` | `trigger.to_state.state` |
| `acc.trigger.camera.from` | `trigger.from_acc.camera` |
| `acc.trigger.camera.to` | `trigger.to_acc.camera` |
| `acc.trigger.view.from` | `trigger.from_acc.view` |
| `acc.trigger.view.to` | `trigger.to_acc.view` |
| `acc.trigger.config.from` | `trigger.from_acc.config` |
| `acc.trigger.config.to` | `trigger.to_acc.config` |
The same rewrites are applied for the older
`advanced_camera_card.trigger.*` namespace.
### Ambient template namespace
Any remaining long-form ambient `advanced_camera_card.*` references
(outside the trigger surface) are rewritten to the `acc.*` alias:
```yaml
# Before
title: 'Now viewing {{ advanced_camera_card.camera }}'
```
```yaml
# After, automatic
title: 'Now viewing {{ acc.camera }}'
```
## Manual Migration Cases
### `__UPGRADE_FAILURE__.automations`
If a legacy automation cannot be converted faithfully, the original
automation is recorded under:
```yaml
__UPGRADE_FAILURE__:
automations:
- ...
```
These entries require manual migration.
The main known case is legacy `actions_not` with a condition whose
trigger can only fire on a rising edge, such as:
- `condition: template`
- `condition: screen`
- `condition: numeric_state` without an entity-backed state to watch
Those conditions can start the `then` branch, but cannot reliably start
the `else` branch when they stop matching.
### Unsupported HA conditions and triggers
This PR aligns the card with HA where supported, but it is not a full HA
automation engine.
Unsupported HA condition families include:
- `time`
- `zone`
- `sun`
- `location`
- `device`
- `condition: trigger`
Unsupported HA trigger platforms include:
- `event`
- `time`
- `time_pattern`
- `sun`
- `zone`
- `calendar`
- `webhook`
- `tag`
- `device`
- `mqtt`
The card-specific camera `triggers:` feature (which auto-selects and
wakes the card on camera events such as motion) is a separate feature
from automation `triggers:`, despite the shared word.
### Trigger IDs and variables
HA keys such as `id`, `alias`, and `variables` are accepted so pasted HA
YAML validates, but they are ignored by the card. There is no
`trigger.id` support in this PR.
## New Compatibility Features
This PR also makes card config more forgiving for HA-style YAML:
- `trigger`, `condition`, and `action` singular keys are accepted and
normalized to `triggers`, `conditions`, and `actions`.
- Single trigger, condition, and action objects are accepted where lists
are expected.
- `if`, `then`, and `else` accept a single item or a list.
- Composite condition shorthand is accepted:
- `{ and: [...] }`
- `{ or: [...] }`
- `{ not: [...] }`
- `{ condition: [...] }` as an implicit AND
- State conditions resolve expected state values that name another
entity, matching HA/Lovelace behavior.
- Both `entity` and `entity_id` are accepted on state and numeric
conditions and triggers (a superset of HA's two dialects), so there is
no forced rename.
- `state_not` remains supported as a card/Lovelace-friendly extension.
## Trigger Payloads
Automation action templates receive a top-level `trigger` object.
For stock `state` and `numeric_state` triggers:
```yaml
trigger.platform
trigger.entity_id
trigger.entity
trigger.from_state
trigger.to_state
```
For template triggers:
```yaml
trigger.platform
```
For card-specific triggers:
```yaml
trigger.platform # "acc"
trigger.type
trigger.from_acc
trigger.to_acc
```
The card does not currently expose HA's `id`, `idx`, `for`, `attribute`,
`above`, `below`, or `alias` trigger fields.
BREAKING CHANGE: Automations now follow Home Assistant's `triggers:` /
`conditions:` / `actions:` model. Automations require a `triggers:`
block and `conditions:` no longer wake an automation; `actions_not` is
removed in favour of an `if` / `then` / `else` action; the nested
`acc.trigger.*` template paths and the ambient `advanced_camera_card`
template namespace are removed (use the top-level `trigger.*` surface
and the `acc` alias); trigger-only condition forms (`config`, valueless
`camera` / `view` / `state`) are no longer valid conditions; and
template-condition vs template-trigger truthiness now follow HA.
Existing configs are upgraded automatically where a faithful conversion
exists; anything that cannot be converted is recorded under
`__UPGRADE_FAILURE__` for manual migration.
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Dermot Duffy