Build Home Assistant automations and a daily house status email with Claude

WorkedEvidence: Described by posterPosted Oct 31, 2026Last checked Nov 7, 2026

Ken Woodrow's Claude project writes Home Assistant automations with approval and sends a daily house status email.

Source checked Nov 7, 2026
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How to use this

Tap Copy prompt.
Open Claude.
Paste it into the message box.
Send it, then read the answer before acting on it.

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Prompt

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You're connected to my Home Assistant setup. Check the live devices and existing automations, then write an automation that warns me before the garage door auto-closes. Follow my naming and house-mode rules, give me complete copy-paste YAML, explain what changes and why, and don't modify any existing automation without my approval.

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Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Reliable smart home automations and a daily check that tells me if anything is wrong.

Questions to ask me first:
- Which hub and integrations do you use?
- What should the daily report cover?
- What naming and safety rules should automations follow?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Platform: [E.G. HOME ASSISTANT + MCP CONNECTOR]
- Setup notes: [HARDWARE, INTEGRATIONS, PAST LESSONS]
- Report contents: [SYSTEMS DOWN, ENERGY, WATER, BACKUPS]
- Rules: [NAMING, HOUSE MODES, PRIORITIES]

Rules:
- Read live device names instead of guessing them.
- Safety first, then manual override, presence and schedule.
- Never change or delete existing automations without my approval.
- Say plainly when a product or hack is unreliable.

Checkpoint: Show the YAML and an explanation before anything is applied.

If you get stuck: If current firmware or integration status matters, check it rather than relying on memory.

Verify before you finish: The new automation passes a manual test.

Output: Copy-paste YAML, a change note and a daily status email.

Done when: My automations run unattended and I hear about problems each morning.

AI tool

Claude

Outcome

Ken Woodrow runs a Home Assistant smart home with Claude connected through MCP. A dedicated Claude project holds a system prompt with naming, house-mode and priority rules, plus a living setup document, so each session starts where the last ended. Claude reads live device states and existing automations instead of guessing device names; Woodrow describes what's wanted in plain English, such as 'warn before the garage auto-closes', and Claude checks the system, writes the automation and explains the change, while Home Assistant's security policies require Woodrow's approval before anything existing is changed or deleted. A scheduled Claude task emails a daily status report on systems down, automations, energy and water use and backup health, with a phone alert if anything is red. Woodrow says an audit cut the automations down to ones that run unattended, hardware troubleshooting is faster, and Woodrow no longer buys gadgets that depend on someone else's cloud.

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Source

Posted: Oct 31, 2026 by Ken Woodrow (The Rundown community)
Last checked: Nov 7, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://app.therundown.ai/community/posts/99eaf6ea-cfbc-46d4-a616-530b561607fc

Context: Posted to The Rundown community (date from the post's UTC timestamp). The post quotes the project's full system prompt. The setup uses a custom MCP connector through a Home Assistant Cloud webhook, which takes some technical skill.