This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/NihilisticRoomba on 2026-08-01 12:37:03+00:00.

I had vaguely known about Actionable Notifications in HA, but not until I added the HA MCP have I been able to implement them. And now I rely on them constantly in my day-to-day life. Here are some of my favorites. (I have an iPhone 17 Pro running the most recent production version of iOS 26.)

And before we get started, the reason for all this tapping: iOS does not let any push notification open an app, run a Shortcut, or do anything else without a tap first.

• Problem: I have ADHD, and I'm actually pretty good about taking my meds. Chaining that routine along with letting my dog out in the morning has really been effective. But I'm very bad at noting down that I took my meds. Solution: I bought the Sonoff Orb 4-in-1 button. Now as soon as I take the pills, I press its assigned button. It's magnetized and sticks to my fridge door, so it's close at hand. The button triggers a script that logs the exact time in HA and sends me an alert. I tap the alert, and it takes me to the Log Medication section of the Apple Health app, so it's logged there too. And even if I don't log them in Health right then, as long as I leave the alert alone, that timestamp is still there.
• I use the excellent Oura smart ring integration by Louis Pires to pull my ring's data into HA and do some sweet charts and analysis that Oura doesn't do. I also have Claude Cowork write a sleep report based on the previous night's data. Problem: Oura doesn't write the sleep data to its cloud until I've opened the app for the first time that day, and often I was forgetting (yes, you have correctly identified a theme) to open it, so the sleep report never got written. Solution: I already had an automation that flips the in_bed mode from On to Off when a motion sensor detects I've gotten out of bed. I added a new step that sends an alert. The noise prompts me to check my phone, I tap the alert, and it opens the Oura app so it knows I'm officially awake and can send sleep data.
• Problem: I have a Chevy Bolt EUV. That's not the problem, and it's a great car, but Chevy doesn't provide any APIs for their EVs that I know of. In the winter I wanted to start the car before I left if the weather was especially cold. In my HA calendar, I have my wake-up block scheduled that drives the Sonos alarm and ends about when I should be leaving. So I made a simple automation that checks the temperature about 13 minutes before I need to leave, and a script runs that announces over Sonos, "It's time to start the car." Then I needed to find and open the app myself to actually start it. Solution: I've since amended that automation to also check heat and humidity, keep the announcement, and send a tappable alert too. Even while I'm doing my makeup, I can quickly tap it, and then tap the button to start the car. A small efficiency, but it saves me a couple of steps every time.

I can share links to my GitHub repo of my entire HA setup if anyone's interested. If you're looking to automate medication compliance or other necessary parts of your morning routine, I hope this is useful!