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KNOOP edited this page Jun 22, 2026 · 3 revisions

Notification Scenes

Notification Scenes are Ava's signature feature. When a smart home event occurs, Ava displays a beautiful full-screen animated notification overlay with themed colors, icons, and live sensor data, all rendered on top of whatever is currently on screen.

Overview

When someone rings your doorbell, Ava doesn't just play a sound. It displays a full-screen animated notification with a bell icon, amber-themed gradient background, pulsing light beam, and your custom text. When a water leak is detected, the screen fills with a cyan-themed water drop animation. When you get home, a green welcome scene greets you.

What a scene displays:

  • Full-screen gradient background with aurora-like light beam animation
  • Animated FontAwesome icon with glow effect
  • Title, description, and sub-description text
  • Live Home Assistant sensor values (via template placeholders)
  • Themed divider line with glow
  • Pulsing dot indicator
  • Optional notification sound (per-scene or global)

How scenes are triggered:

  • From Home Assistant via a select entity dropdown
  • From HA automations using select.select_option service
  • Programmatically via ESPHome text commands

Enable Notification Scenes

  1. Go to Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes
  2. Toggle Notification Scene to On
  3. Restart the Voice Satellite service for the entity to appear in Home Assistant
  4. A select entity named notification_scene will appear under your Ava device in HA

Important: Changes to notification scene settings require a voice service restart to take effect. After enabling or disabling scenes, go to Settings -> Voice and tap Restart Service.

How to Trigger a Scene

From Home Assistant UI

  1. Go to Settings -> Devices & Services -> ESPHome -> your Ava device
  2. Find the Notification Scene dropdown (select.your_device_notification_scene)
  3. Select a scene title from the dropdown
  4. The scene appears immediately on the Ava device's screen

From an Automation (YAML)

service: select.select_option
target:
  entity_id: select.your_device_name_notification_scene
data:
  option: "Someone rings the doorbell"

Quick Local Test from HA Developer Tools

You can test any scene immediately without writing an automation:

  1. Open Home Assistant in your browser
  2. Go to Developer Tools -> Services
  3. Search for select.select_option
  4. Set entity_id to your Ava's notification scene select entity
  5. Set option to a scene title (e.g., "Good morning, new day")
  6. Click Call Service
  7. The scene appears on the Ava device within 1 second

This is the fastest way to preview scenes and test custom scenes before building automations.

Finding Your Entity ID

Your notification scene entity ID follows this pattern:

select.<device_name>_notification_scene

Find it in HA: Settings -> Devices & Services -> ESPHome -> click your Ava device -> look for "Notification Scene" in the entities list.

Built-in Scenes

Ava includes 90 built-in scenes covering common smart home events. Scenes are loaded automatically based on your language (Chinese or English) and cached locally for offline use.

Scene Categories

Security & Safety

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
doorbell Someone rings the doorbell fa-bell Doorbell binary sensor ON
door_open Doors and windows are open fa-door-open Door/window sensor ON
smoke Smoke alarm fa-fire Smoke sensor ON
gas_leak Gas leak alarm fa-biohazard Gas sensor ON
water_leak Water leak alarm fa-droplet Water leak sensor ON
security Security is armed fa-shield-halved Alarm panel armed
door_lock The door is locked fa-lock Door lock locked
door_unlock Door lock is unlocked fa-lock-open Door lock unlocked
motion Movement detected fa-person-walking Motion sensor ON
offline Device is offline fa-plug-circle-xmark Device availability

Climate & Environment

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
temp_high Temperature too high fa-temperature-high Temperature > threshold
weather Severe weather warning fa-cloud-bolt Weather alert
typhoon Typhoon warning fa-hurricane Weather alert
earthquake Earthquake early warning fa-house-crack Earthquake sensor
air_quality_warning Air quality warning fa-smog AQI sensor > threshold
air_purifier Air purification in progress fa-wind Air purifier ON
humidifier Humidifier is running fa-smog Humidifier ON
fresh_air Fresh air system running fa-leaf Fresh air system ON
floor_heating Floor heating is on fa-temperature-arrow-up Floor heating ON

Daily Life & Routine

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
morning Good morning, new day fa-sun Morning time trigger
goodnight Good night and sweet dreams fa-moon Bedtime trigger
alarm The alarm clock rang fa-clock Alarm trigger
coffee Coffee is ready fa-mug-hot Coffee maker done
rice_cooker Rice is cooked fa-fire-burner Rice cooker done
microwave Microwave oven completed fa-radiation Microwave done
dishwasher Dishwasher finished fa-sink Dishwasher done
laundry_done Washing machine is finished fa-shirt Washer done
cooking_time Cooking fa-utensils Cooking timer
water_heater Hot water is ready fa-hot-tub-person Water heater done

Appliances & Devices

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
ac_on The air conditioner is on fa-snowflake AC turned ON
tv TV is on fa-tv TV power ON
speaker Speaker playing fa-volume-high Media player playing
projector Projector is on fa-film Projector ON
printer Printing completed fa-print Print job done
nas NAS backup completed fa-hard-drive Backup task done
router Network is connected fa-tower-broadcast Network status
ev_charging Electric car charging fa-charging-station EV charger ON
ev_charged EV charging completed fa-bolt EV charger done

Reminders & Health

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
battery_low Low battery fa-battery-quarter Battery < threshold
medicine_reminder Medication reminder fa-pills Time trigger
hydration_reminder Drink water reminder fa-glass-water Time trigger
sleep_reminder Time to sleep fa-bed Bedtime trigger
sleep_report Sleep report fa-bed Morning trigger
workout Time to exercise fa-person-running Schedule trigger
stand_reminder Get up and walk fa-person Sedentary reminder
eye_protection Look at poetry and the distance fa-eye Screen time reminder
posture_reminder Sit up straight fa-person-arrow-up-from-line Posture sensor
weight_scale Weight has been recorded fa-weight-scale Scale reading

Social & Emotional

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
welcome_home Master, thank you for your hard work fa-house-user Presence detected
love_reminder Baby, I miss you fa-heart Schedule trigger
anniversary Wedding anniversary fa-ring Date trigger
birthday Happy birthday fa-cake-candles Date trigger
new_year Happy new year fa-champagne-glasses Date trigger
go_out_reminder You're going out, be safe fa-door-open Presence away
food_delivery The takeaway is here fa-motorcycle Delivery trigger
package Express arrives fa-box Delivery sensor
visitor Visitors arrive fa-user Doorbell/Pir

Modes

Scene ID Title Icon Trigger Example
eco_mode Energy saving mode fa-seedling Mode switch
party_mode Party mode fa-champagne-glasses Mode switch
cinema_mode Cinema mode fa-clapperboard Mode switch
reading_mode Reading mode fa-book-open Mode switch
gaming_mode Game mode fa-gamepad Mode switch
karaoke_mode Karaoke mode fa-microphone Mode switch
focus_time Focus time fa-bullseye Mode switch

Scene Settings

Go to Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes

Setting Description Default
Notification Scene Enable/disable the feature Off
Display Duration How long the scene stays on screen (5-999999 seconds) 10s
Notification Sound Play sound when scene appears On
Custom Scene URL URL to load custom scenes from Empty
Change Alarm Sound Select timer alarm sound Default

Remember: After changing any setting, restart the voice service for changes to take effect.

Sensor Placeholders

You can embed live Home Assistant sensor values directly into scene text. Values update in real time while the scene is on screen. Unknown or unsubscribed entities show "--".

Syntax

Syntax Result Example
{{sensor.living_room_temp}} Entity current state 23.5
{{sensor.living_room_temp|unit}} unit_of_measurement (shortcut) °C
{{sensor.living_room_temp|state}} Explicit state (same as no pipe) 23.5
{{sensor.living_room_temp|battery}} Any attribute name 87

Placeholder Rules

  • Spaces around the pipe are allowed: {{ sensor.foo | unit }}
  • Entity ID must match HA naming: domain.entity_id (lowercase, dots, underscores)
  • Non-matching placeholders are left as-is (not replaced)
  • Values refresh automatically when the entity state changes in HA

Example Scene with Placeholders

{
  "id": "temp_alert",
  "icon": "fa-temperature-high",
  "iconColor": "text-red-400",
  "title": "Temperature Alert",
  "desc": "Living room: {{sensor.living_room_temperature}}{{sensor.living_room_temperature|unit}}",
  "subDesc": "Threshold exceeded, current: {{sensor.living_room_humidity}}{{sensor.living_room_humidity|unit}}",
  "themeColors": ["#ef4444", "#dc2626", "#991b1b", "#7f1d1d"],
  "beamColor": "rgba(239, 68, 68, 0.8)",
  "dividerColor": "rgba(239, 68, 68, 0.8)",
  "dotColor": "bg-red-400",
  "animation": "pulse 1.5s infinite"
}

This renders as:

  • Title: Temperature Alert
  • Desc: Living room: 28.3 °C
  • SubDesc: Threshold exceeded, current: 65 %

Custom Scenes

You can create your own scenes by hosting a JSON file. Custom scenes are loaded in addition to built-in scenes.

JSON Format

Custom scenes must be a JSON array (or an object containing a scenes, data, items, or list array):

[
  {
    "id": "my_custom_scene",
    "icon": "fa-heart",
    "iconColor": "text-rose-400",
    "title": "I love you",
    "desc": "Sent from Home Assistant",
    "subDesc": "Have a wonderful day",
    "themeColors": ["#f43f5e", "#e11d48", "#9f1239", "#881337"],
    "beamColor": "rgba(244, 63, 94, 0.8)",
    "dividerColor": "rgba(244, 63, 94, 0.8)",
    "dotColor": "bg-rose-400",
    "animation": "pulse 1s infinite",
    "soundUri": "content://media/external/audio/media/42",
    "soundEnabled": true
  }
]

All Fields

Field Required Type Description Default
id Yes string Unique scene identifier (none)
icon Yes string FontAwesome icon name (e.g., fa-bell) (none)
title Yes string Scene title text (none)
iconColor No string Icon color (hex, rgba, or Tailwind name) text-amber-200
desc No string Description text Empty
subDesc No string Sub-description text Empty
themeColors No array 4 gradient colors (hex strings) Amber gradient
beamColor No string Light beam color (hex or rgba) rgba(251, 191, 36, 0.8)
dividerColor No string Divider line color (hex or rgba) rgba(251, 191, 36, 0.8)
dotColor No string Dot indicator color bg-amber-300
animation No string CSS-like animation name and timing Empty (no animation)
soundUri No string Scene-specific notification sound URI Global setting
soundEnabled No boolean Enable/disable sound for this scene Global setting

Required Fields

Only three fields are required. Everything else has defaults:

  • id — must be unique
  • icon — a FontAwesome icon name
  • title — the main text

Animation Values

Animations use CSS-like syntax. Available animation names:

Animation Example Effect
pulse pulse 1.5s infinite Scale pulsing
bell-ring bell-ring 1s ease-in-out infinite Bell shake
sun-rise sun-rise 3s ease-in-out infinite Rising motion
spin-slow spin-slow 8s linear infinite Slow rotation
(empty) "" No icon animation

Color Formats

Ava supports three color formats:

Format Example Use For
Hex #f59e0b themeColors, dotColor
RGBA rgba(251, 191, 36, 0.8) beamColor, dividerColor
Tailwind text-amber-200, bg-cyan-400 iconColor, dotColor

Supported Tailwind color families: amber, yellow, orange, red, rose, pink, fuchsia, purple, violet, indigo, blue, sky, cyan, teal, emerald, green, lime, stone, neutral, gray, slate

Levels: 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700

Sound Configuration

Each scene can have its own sound, or fall back to the global notification sound:

Field Behavior
soundEnabled: false Scene is silent, no sound played
soundEnabled: true + soundUri Play the specified sound URI
soundEnabled: true + no soundUri Fall back to global notification sound
soundEnabled not set Fall back to global notification sound setting

Sound URIs are Android content URIs (e.g., content://media/external/audio/media/42) or file paths.

Loading Custom Scenes

Method 1: Home Assistant local file (recommended for testing)

  1. Create your JSON file (e.g., my_scenes.json)
  2. Copy it to your Home Assistant www folder: /config/www/my_scenes.json
  3. In Ava, go to Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes
  4. Enter URL: http://your-ha-ip:8123/local/my_scenes.json
  5. Restart the voice service
  6. Custom scenes appear with custom_ prefix in their IDs
  7. In HA, the dropdown will show custom scenes as "Custom: Your Scene Title"

This method is fast and fully local. No external server needed.

Method 2: External URL (GitHub, web server)

  1. Host your JSON file on any web server (GitHub raw, Gist, your server)
  2. Enter the full URL in Custom Scene URL setting
  3. Restart the voice service
  4. Custom scenes load and merge with built-in scenes

Method 3: GitHub raw URL with proxy

If GitHub is slow in your region, use a proxy:

https://ghfast.top/https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourname/yourrepo/main/my_scenes.json

Custom Scene JSON Validation

When loading custom scenes, Ava validates:

  • JSON must be an array, or an object with scenes/data/items/list key
  • Each scene must have non-empty id, icon, and title fields
  • Invalid scenes are silently skipped (check Ava logs for warnings)
  • Custom scene IDs are automatically prefixed with custom_ to avoid conflicts with built-in scenes

Complete Custom Scene Example

Here is a complete custom scenes file with 3 scenes demonstrating different color themes, animations, and placeholder usage:

[
  {
    "id": "doorbell_custom",
    "icon": "fa-bell",
    "iconColor": "text-amber-300",
    "title": "Doorbell",
    "desc": "Someone is at the door",
    "subDesc": "Front door camera: {{camera.front_door|state}}",
    "themeColors": ["#fbbf24", "#f59e0b", "#b45309", "#78350f"],
    "beamColor": "rgba(251, 191, 36, 0.8)",
    "dividerColor": "rgba(251, 191, 36, 0.8)",
    "dotColor": "bg-amber-400",
    "animation": "bell-ring 1s ease-in-out infinite",
    "soundEnabled": true
  },
  {
    "id": "temp_warning",
    "icon": "fa-temperature-high",
    "iconColor": "text-red-400",
    "title": "High Temperature Warning",
    "desc": "Server room: {{sensor.server_room_temp}}{{sensor.server_room_temp|unit}}",
    "subDesc": "Threshold: 35 °C, Humidity: {{sensor.server_room_humidity}}{{sensor.server_room_humidity|unit}}",
    "themeColors": ["#ef4444", "#dc2626", "#991b1b", "#7f1d1d"],
    "beamColor": "rgba(239, 68, 68, 0.8)",
    "dividerColor": "rgba(239, 68, 68, 0.8)",
    "dotColor": "bg-red-400",
    "animation": "pulse 0.8s infinite",
    "soundEnabled": true
  },
  {
    "id": "good_night_custom",
    "icon": "fa-moon",
    "iconColor": "text-indigo-300",
    "title": "Good Night",
    "desc": "All doors locked, lights dimmed",
    "subDesc": "Tomorrow: {{sensor.weather_forecast|state}}",
    "themeColors": ["#818cf8", "#6366f1", "#4f46e5", "#3730a3"],
    "beamColor": "rgba(129, 140, 248, 0.8)",
    "dividerColor": "rgba(129, 140, 248, 0.8)",
    "dotColor": "bg-indigo-400",
    "animation": "pulse 3s infinite",
    "soundEnabled": false
  }
]

Timer and Alarm

Ava includes a timer feature with alarm sound and scene integration.

Timer Sound

  1. Go to Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes
  2. Find Change Alarm Sound
  3. Select a default or external audio file

Stop Alarm

When the timer alarm is ringing:

  • Say the stop word "Stop" (or "Ok Stop" with vsWakeWord engine) to dismiss it
  • Tap the time on screen to dismiss
  • If recognition is unreliable while the alarm plays, enable Software echo cancellation in Voice Config settings

Enable Show Stop Alarm Button to also show a Stop Alarm button entity in Home Assistant:

service: button.press
target:
  entity_id: button.your_device_name_stop_alarm

Scene Display Duration

Control how long scenes stay on screen:

  1. Go to Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes
  2. Set Display Duration (5 to 999999 seconds)
  3. Restart the voice service
  4. Scenes auto-hide after the configured duration
  5. Touch the screen to dismiss a scene immediately

You can also change the duration from Home Assistant via the number entity:

service: number.set_value
target:
  entity_id: number.your_device_name_scene_display_duration
data:
  value: 15

Automation Examples

Doorbell Notification

automation:
  - alias: "Doorbell Scene"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.doorbell
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: select.living_tablet_notification_scene
        data:
          option: "Someone rings the doorbell"

Water Leak Alert with Auto-Dismiss

automation:
  - alias: "Water Leak Scene"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.water_leak_kitchen
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: select.kitchen_tablet_notification_scene
        data:
          option: "water leak alarm"

Morning Report with Sensor Values

automation:
  - alias: "Morning Report"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "07:00:00"
    action:
      - service: select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: select.bedroom_tablet_notification_scene
        data:
          option: "Good morning, new day"

Custom Scene Trigger

automation:
  - alias: "Custom Love Reminder"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "12:00:00"
    action:
      - service: select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: select.living_tablet_notification_scene
        data:
          option: "Custom: I love you"

Note: Custom scenes appear in the dropdown with "Custom: " prefix before the title.

FAQ

Scenes not loading?

  1. Check network connection, scenes download from GitHub on first launch
  2. Scenes cache locally after first download, subsequent loads work offline
  3. Try restarting the voice service
  4. Check Ava logs for scene loading errors

Notification scene entity not appearing in HA?

  1. Ensure Notification Scene is enabled in Settings -> Interaction -> Notification Scenes
  2. Restart the voice service after enabling
  3. Check HA Settings -> Devices & Services -> ESPHome -> your device for the select entity
  4. The entity is named notification_scene under your device

Custom scenes not showing?

  1. Check if the URL is accessible from the Ava device
  2. Verify JSON format is correct (must be an array or object with scenes/data/items/list key)
  3. Required fields: id, icon, title (all non-empty)
  4. Custom scene IDs are prefixed with custom_
  5. Custom scene titles appear with "Custom: " prefix in the dropdown
  6. Restart the voice service after changing the Custom Scene URL

Sensor placeholders show "--"?

  1. Check that the entity_id is correct (format: domain.entity_id)
  2. Check that the entity exists in Home Assistant
  3. Ava must be subscribed to the entity (it subscribes automatically when a scene referencing the entity is loaded)
  4. Values update in real time when the entity state changes in HA
  5. Unknown or unsubscribed values render as "--"

Timer alarm doesn't stop?

  1. Say "Stop" (or "Ok Stop" with vs engine) clearly
  2. Tap the time on screen
  3. Enable Software echo cancellation in Voice Config if recognition is unreliable during alarm
  4. Enable Show Stop Alarm Button for a HA button entity

How to hide a scene immediately?

  • Touch the screen to dismiss
  • Scenes auto-hide after the configured display duration
  • There is no explicit "hide" service, selecting a new scene replaces the current one

Changes to settings not taking effect?

You must restart the voice service after changing notification scene settings. Go to Settings -> Voice -> Restart Service. This applies to:

  • Enabling/disabling notification scenes
  • Changing display duration
  • Changing custom scene URL
  • Changing notification sound

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