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Rule-based Animations ​

The Rules Engine can trigger animations across any number of cards simultaneously when conditions are met. This is more powerful than per-card on_entity_change animations when you need to coordinate multiple cards or use complex multi-entity conditions.

Basic Structure ​

Add an animations array to a rule's apply block:

yaml
rules:
  - id: high_temp_alert
    when:
      entity: sensor.cpu_temp
      above: 75
    apply:
      animations:
        - tag: temperature_widgets
          preset: pulse
          loop: true
          duration: 1000

When sensor.cpu_temp exceeds 75, all cards tagged temperature_widgets start pulsing. When it drops back below 75, the rule unmatches and the animations stop automatically, no cleanup needed.

Targeting ​

Each item in apply.animations is an object whose first property identifies the target. Exactly one of the following properties must be present (evaluated in order, mutually exclusive):

PropertyValueTargets
overlayoverlay ID stringA single overlay by its id: value
tagtag name stringAll overlays that carry this tag
typecard type stringAll overlays of this type (e.g. lcards-button)
patternregex stringAll overlays whose ID matches the regex
yaml
apply:
  animations:
    - overlay: my-status-button   # targets one specific overlay
      preset: glow

    - tag: alert-indicators        # targets all overlays tagged 'alert-indicators'
      preset: blink
      loop: true

    - type: lcards-button          # targets all button cards
      preset: pulse
      loop: true

    - pattern: "^temp_.*"          # targets all overlays with IDs starting with 'temp_'
      preset: shimmer
      loop: true

Different from style patch selectors

Style patches (apply.overlays) use colon-prefixed map keys, e.g. tag:alert-buttons:. Animation commands use property names on array items, e.g. - tag: alert-buttons. The two systems look similar but have different YAML structures.

Animation Parameters ​

All the same options available in per-card animations work in apply.animations:

yaml
apply:
  animations:
    - tag: alert-buttons
      preset: glow
      loop: true
      duration: 800
      delay: 0
      ease: inOutQuad
      params:
        color: "#ff4400"
        blur_max: 12

map_range descriptors work here too; map a live sensor value to an animation parameter:

yaml
apply:
  animations:
    - tag: wind-indicators
      preset: rotate
      loop: true
      params:
        speed:
          map_range:
            entity: sensor.wind_speed
            input: [0, 50]
            output: [3000, 300]
            clamp: true

Lifecycle: Automatic Stop on Unmatch ​

Looping animations started by a rule are tracked by the Rules Engine. When the rule transitions from matched to unmatched, all looping animations it started are stopped automatically.

yaml
# Rule matches  → animations start on all tagged cards
# Rule unmatches → looping animations stop on all those cards
rules:
  - id: door_alert
    when:
      entity: binary_sensor.front_door
      state: "on"
    apply:
      animations:
        - tag: door-widgets
          preset: strobe
          loop: true

Non-looping animations (loop: false) run to completion regardless of whether the rule unmatches during playback.

Multi-Card Coordination Example ​

Red alert: pulse action buttons, strobe the alert overlay, shimmer all elbows, all from one rule.

yaml
rules:
  - id: red_alert_active
    when:
      entity: input_select.lcars_alert_mode
      state: red_alert
    apply:
      style:
        primary_color: "var(--lcars-alert-red)"
      animations:
        - tag: action-buttons
          preset: pulse
          loop: true
          params:
            max_scale: 1.08
        - overlay: main-alert-overlay
          preset: strobe
          loop: true
        - type: lcards-elbow
          preset: shimmer
          loop: true
          params:
            color_to: "var(--lcars-alert-red)"

Combining with Style Patches ​

The apply block can mix style, animations, and other directives. All take effect simultaneously when the rule matches:

yaml
apply:
  style:
    primary_color: "var(--lcars-alert-yellow)"
    label: "WARNING"
  animations:
    - overlay: alert-badge
      preset: blink
      loop: true

See Also ​