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Today at a specific time: today_at

The today_at template function returns a datetimeA value representing a specific moment in time, including the date, time, and time zone. For example, 2026-04-05 14:30:00+00:00. Used for timestamps, scheduling, and time-based calculations. object for today’s date at a specific time you provide. Give it a time string like “08:00” or “14:30:00” and it returns a full datetime representing that time today, in your local time zone.

This is especially useful in automationsAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] when you need to check whether the current time is before or after a specific point in the day. For example, you might want to turn on lights only after 18:00, send a morning summary at 07:00, or check if it is still before bedtime. Instead of manually constructing a datetime from the current date and your target time, today_at handles it in a single call.

Usage

Here’s how to use this template function. Copy any example and adjust it to your setup.

As a function

{{ today_at("08:00") }}

Result (datetime)

2024-03-15 08:00:00+01:00

Function signature

The signature is a technical summary of this template function. It shows the name of the function, the values (called parameters) it accepts, and what type of data each parameter expects (for example, a piece of text or a number).

Function parameters that have a = with a value after them are optional. If you leave them out, the default value shown is used automatically.

Function parameters without a = are usually required. A few optional parameters have no default value, so the signature shows them without a = as well. To check whether a parameter is required, look at the parameter list below the signature. Each parameter is marked as Required or Optional.

The most common optional parameter without a default value is default. The default parameter sets the value a function returns when the function can’t produce a result, for example, when float gets text that isn’t a number. If you leave out default, there is no fallback value, so most functions raise an error and the template fails. The parameter list of each function says what happens. If you set default, the function returns your value instead.

How to read a signature

Here is the signature of the round filter as an example:

round(
    value: Any,
    precision: int = 0,
    method: str = "common",
    default: Any,
) -> float | int | Any

round is the name of the function.
Between the parentheses are the parameters. Each parameter has a name, followed by a colon and the type of value the parameter expects. The type only tells you what kind of value to pass. For default: Any, you pass a value of any type, such as 0 or "unknown", not the word Any.
= 0 and = "common" are default values. You can leave out precision and method, and round uses these default values.
default has no =, but the parameter list marks default as optional. If you leave out default and round gets a value that isn’t a number, round raises an error.
-> shows the type of value the function returns.
Inside a signature, | means “or”. This function returns a decimal number, a whole number, or the value you passed as default.

round is a filter, so the first parameter, value, is the value before the |. For example, {{ 3.14159 | round(2) }} returns 3.14.

The types you’ll see most often:

str: text, such as "hello"
int: a whole number, such as 5
float: a decimal number, such as 3.14
bool: true or false
list: a list of values, such as [1, 2, 3]. list[str] is a list of texts.
dict: a set of keys and values, such as {"name": "Kitchen"}
datetime and timedelta: a date and time, and a duration. For details, refer to Dates and times.
None: no value
Any: any type of value

Some signatures use special forms:

*args means you can pass any number of values, separated by commas. For example, average(1, 2, 3).
value | name(...) means the function is a filter. The value before the | is passed to the filter as its first parameter. Some filter signatures, like the round example, show this value as the first parameter between the parentheses instead.

today_at(time_str: str = "00:00") -> datetime

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

time_str string (Optional, default: “00:00”)

A time string in “HH:MM” or “HH:MM:SS” format. If not provided, defaults to midnight (“00:00”).

Comparing with the current time

A common use is to check if the current time is before or after a specific point in the day, using now for comparison.

Template

{{ now() > today_at("18:00") }}

Result (boolean)

false

Good to know

The returned datetime is in your Home Assistant time zone, making it safe to compare directly with now.
“Today” is determined when the template runs, so a template scheduled at 23:59 and compared at 00:01 will use two different dates.
Accepts strings in "HH:MM" or "HH:MM:SS" format. Other formats raise an error.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > Tools > Template, paste the example into the Template editor, and watch the result update on the right. Edit the values to see how the function adapts to your own entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more].

More examples

Real scenarios where this function comes up in automations and templates. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Only run an automation in the evening

Use today_at in a conditionConditions check whether something is true at that moment, for example, whether a door is closed. You can use them in automations and scripts. If a condition is not met, the actions that come after it in the same sequence do not run. At the top level of an automation or script, this stops the automation or script. [Learn more] to limit an automationAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] to run only between 18:00 and 23:00.

Automation

condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: >
      {{ today_at("18:00") <= now() < today_at("23:00") }}

Calculate minutes until a time

Find out how many minutes remain until a specific time today.

Template

{{ ((today_at("17:00") - now()).total_seconds() / 60) | int }}

Result (integer)

Set a time-based brightness

Adjust light brightness based on how close it is to bedtime.

Template

{% set bedtime = today_at("22:00") %}
{% set hours_left = ((bedtime - now()).total_seconds() / 3600)
   | float | round(1) %}
{{ [((hours_left / 4) * 100) | int, 10] | max }}

Result (integer)

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with your template and expected result, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Tip

AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain or fix templates when you describe what you want in plain language.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one:

Current local date and time: now - Returns the current date and time in your local time zone.
Convert to datetime: as_datetime - Converts a string or timestamp to a datetime object.
Convert to UNIX timestamp: as_timestamp - Converts a datetime object or string to a UNIX timestamp.
Create a time duration: timedelta - Creates a timedelta object from numeric time components.

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