Step-by-Step Guide to Grouping Lights in Home Assistant for Enhanced Control

Controlling multiple smart lights individually can quickly become a hassle. Home Assistant makes it easier by letting you group lights together, so you can manage them as one. Whether you’re setting up automations or just want a cleaner dashboard, grouping lights is a great solution.

Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to help you create a light group in Home Assistant.

1. Identify Your Light Entities

Before you create a group, you’ll need to know the entity IDs of the lights you want to include.

• Go to Developer Tools > States in the Home Assistant interface.
• Use the search bar to filter for light. and note the entity IDs you want to group (e.g. light.gym_spot_1, light.kitchen_ceiling).

Tip: Keep a list handy—you’ll need these in the next step.

2. Edit the Configuration File

To define a group, you’ll need to modify the configuration.yaml file. If you haven’t already, install the File Editor add-on:

• Go to Supervisor > Add-on Store.
• Find and install File Editor.

Once installed:

• Open the File Editor.
• Locate and open configuration.yaml.
• Add the following snippet, adjusting the name and entities to match your setup:

light:
  - platform: group
    name: Sport Lights
    entities:
      - light.gym_spot_1
      - light.gym_spot_2
      - light.gym_spot_3
      - light.gym_spot_4
      - light.gym_spot_5
      - light.gym_spot_6

Note:

• Make sure indentation is correct—YAML is space-sensitive.
• If you already have a light: section, just add the new group under it.

Save your changes before moving on.

3. Validate and Restart Home Assistant

After editing the configuration, it’s important to check for errors:

• Head to Settings > System > Server Controls.
• Click Check Configuration.
• If everything’s valid, click Restart to apply the changes.

This helps avoid crashes or misconfigurations.

4. Find and Use Your Light Group

Once Home Assistant restarts:

• Go to Developer Tools > States.
• Search for the group name you created (e.g. light.sport_lights).

Your new group is now available to use like any other light entity.

You can:

• Add it to your dashboard for quick control.
• Use it in automations (e.g. turn off all gym lights at midnight).
• Include it in scripts or scenes.

Final Tips

• You can create multiple groups for different rooms or zones.
• Groups can include any combination of light entities.
• Consider naming your groups clearly (e.g. Living Room Lights, Kitchen Spots) for easier automation setup.

For more tutorials and visual examples, check out the full guide at The Home Automation Blog.