Notify

Category: Action

Sends a notification to your devices when an automation runs. Notifications are delivered via multiple channels depending on your settings.

Delivery channels

Channel	Where	Who receives
Push	Web Push to registered browsers (via FCM) and native macOS/iOS alerts (via APNs)	You + home members with push enabled
Email	Sent to your account email	You + home members with email enabled
Relay alert	macOS notification banner on the relay Mac	Relay owner (instant, no internet required)

The relay Mac always shows a notification banner instantly — this happens automatically and can't be disabled. The cloud server then delivers push and email notifications to all registered devices for you and your home members.

Cloud only: Push and email delivery require Homecast Cloud (Standard or Cloud plan). Community Edition shows relay alerts only.

When to use

• Alert when a door is opened while you're away
• Notify when temperature exceeds a safe range
• Confirm that an automation completed successfully
• Send a summary of daily device activity

Configuration

• Message — The notification body text. Supports template expressions:
  • {{ trigger.to_value }} — include the value that triggered the automation
  • {{ nodes.http1.data.body.weather }} — include data from upstream nodes
• Title (optional) — The notification title/heading
• Action Buttons (optional) — Up to 3 buttons displayed on the notification. Each button has:
  • Label — Text shown on the button (e.g., "Arm Alarm")
  • Action ID — Identifier sent back to the automation engine when tapped (e.g., arm_alarm)

Action button taps are forwarded back to the automation engine as notification_action events, which can be consumed by Wait for Trigger nodes to create interactive automation flows.

Output data

• {{ nodes['<id>'].data.message }} — The resolved message that was sent
• {{ nodes['<id>'].data.title }} — The resolved title
• {{ nodes['<id>'].data.success }} — true if the notification was sent

Notification preferences

Notifications respect a 3-level preference hierarchy. The most specific setting wins:

1. Per-automation — Set via the bell icon in the automation editor toolbar
2. Per-home — Set in Settings > Homes > [home] > Notifications
3. Global — Set in Settings > Notifications

Each level lets you toggle push and email independently. If no override exists at a given level, the parent level's setting is used. Defaults: push on, email off. Relay alerts are always on.

Rate limits

To prevent noisy automations from flooding your devices:

Scope	Push	Email
Per automation	30/hour	5/hour
Per user	200/day	50/day

Rate-limited notifications are logged in the notification history (Settings > Notifications) and visible in the automation's execution trace.

Examples

Temperature alert with value:

1. Device Changed → thermostat, temperature above 30
2. Notify → title "Temperature Alert", message "Living room is {{ trigger.to_value }}°C"

Door opened with action buttons:

1. Device Changed → front door sensor, contact_state to 1
2. Notify → title "Security", message "Front door opened", buttons: "Arm Alarm" (arm_alarm), "Dismiss" (dismiss)
3. Wait for Trigger → event notification_action, timeout 60s
4. IF → {{ trigger.action }} equals arm_alarm
5. Set Device → alarm panel → armed

Door opened notification:

1. Device Changed → front door sensor, contact_state to 1
2. Notify → "Front door was opened at {{ now().hour }}:{{ now().minute }}"

Tips

• Template expressions in the message are resolved at send time — use them to include dynamic values
• Enable push notifications in Settings > Notifications before using the Notify node
• For critical alerts, consider also setting a device (e.g. flashing a light) as a backup
• Email notifications are off by default — enable them in notification preferences if you want email delivery
• The relay Mac always shows a notification banner instantly — this is automatic and can't be disabled