Home Assistant Helpers: Ultimate 2026 Guide with Examples

Last updated on January 31, 2026

Home Assistant Helpers are one of the most powerful—and most underrated—tools in the entire platform. If you’re just starting out, they might look like simple variables. But as a senior IoT Engineer, let me tell you: they are the bedrock on which you’ll build your most complex and personalized automations. In this definitive 2026 guide, we’ll break down what they are, every type available, and most importantly, practical examples to unlock their true potential.

In essence, a helper is an entity you create and control directly from the Home Assistant UI, rather than one that comes from a physical device. They act as state variables, counters, timers, or virtual switches, allowing you to store information, manage workflows, and create the advanced logic that makes your smart home truly smart.

How to Create a Helper in Home Assistant (2026 Guide)

Thankfully, the process to create a helper in Home Assistant has been massively streamlined in recent versions. The navigation path has changed from older builds, and in 2026, the process is far more intuitive.

Just follow these steps:

Navigate to Settings > Devices & Services.
Inside this section, you’ll see several tabs. Select the Helpers tab.
Click the blue “+ CREATE HELPER” button in the bottom-right corner.
A list will pop up with all available helper types. Simply choose the one you need and fill out the configuration options.

The updated 2026 path to access Helper creation is through ‘Devices & Services’.

Home Assistant Helper Types: A Comparison Chart

For a quick overview, I’ve put together a chart summarizing the most common Home Assistant Helper types, their core function, and a go-to use case. We’ll dive deeper into each one below.

Helper Type	Core Function	Common Use Case
Toggle (Input Boolean)	Stores a binary state (on/off).	Enabling a “Night Mode” or “Guest Mode”.
Button (Input Button)	A stateless button to trigger actions.	Running a script to reboot a finicky device.
Number (Input Number)	Stores a numeric value (integer or float).	Setting the target temperature for a thermostat.
Text (Input Text)	Stores a string of text.	Saving a custom message for a notification.
Date and/or Time	Stores a specific date, time, or both.	Configuring a dynamic morning wake-up alarm.
Dropdown (Input Select)	Lets you choose one option from a predefined list.	Selecting the house status (Home, Away, Vacation).
Counter	Increments, decrements, and resets a count.	Tracking how many times a door was opened today.
Timer	Manages a countdown.	Turning off the TV after 30 minutes.
Schedule	Defines complex weekly schedules.	Managing the heating schedule based on the day.
Group	Combines multiple entities into a single one.	Creating an “All Lights” entity for master control.
Integration (Riemann Sum)	Calculates energy (kWh) from power (W).	Measuring the energy consumption of a smart plug.
Threshold	Creates a binary sensor based on a limit.	Triggering an alert if basement humidity exceeds 70%.

Practical Home Assistant Helper Examples: From Basic to Advanced

Now, let’s get into the details. Here are the most important helpers, with real-world Home Assistant Helper examples that I use every day, so you can see how genuinely useful they are.

Input Helpers

These are the foundational helpers. They let you “input” data into Home Assistant through the dashboard, which your automations can then use as triggers or conditions.

Toggle (Input Boolean)

This is the quintessential helper. It’s a virtual switch that can only be in two states: on or off. It forms the basis for countless automations using helpers.

Real-World Example: Create an input_boolean.night_mode. When you flip this switch on, an automation can dim all lights to 10%, lower the blinds, arm the security system in “home” mode, and double-check that the garage door is closed. This single virtual switch coordinates multiple complex actions.

Button (Input Button)

Unlike a toggle, a button is stateless. It’s just a trigger. You press it, something happens, and it’s done. It doesn’t stay “on” or “off”.

Real-World Example: Set up a button called “Force Weather Data Refresh.” If you notice the weather info seems stale, you can press this button to have an automation call the homeassistant.update_entity service on your weather sensors.

Number (Input Number)

This helper lets you store a numerical value, displayed either as a slider or an input box. You can define the minimum, maximum, and step size (e.g., in increments of 0.5).

Real-World Example: An input_number.living_room_comfort_temp to set your desired temperature. Your climate control automation reads the value from this helper to decide when to turn the AC or heat on and off.

Text (Input Text)

As the name implies, this stores a string of text. It’s perfect for dynamic messages.

Real-World Example: An input_text.welcome_message. You can have an automation that, upon detecting your arrival, reads the content of this helper and broadcasts it to your smart speakers: “Welcome home. Today’s message is: [content of input_text].” This allows you to change the message from your dashboard without ever editing the automation itself.

Date and/or Time (Input Datetime)

Perfect for storing a specific point in time. It can hold a date, a time, or both.

Real-World Example: Create an input_datetime.weekday_alarm_time. An automation will trigger at the time you set in this helper, slowly raising the blinds, starting the coffee maker, and turning on your favorite morning news station.

Dropdown (Input Select)

This creates a dropdown menu with a list of options you define. It’s extremely useful for managing system “modes” or “scenes”.

Real-World Example: An input_select.movie_lighting_mode with options like “Action Movie,” “Documentary,” and “Comedy.” An automation can listen for changes to this helper and activate a different light scene for each option, adjusting colors and intensities to create the perfect ambiance.

Logic and Counting Helpers

This group of helpers allows you to manage time and count events—two critical elements for advanced home automation.

Counter

A simple but effective helper for counting things. You can increment, decrement, or reset it via services in your automations.

Real-World Example: Using a Zigbee door sensor, you can create a counter that increments every time the pantry door is opened. A separate automation could reset the counter to zero at midnight, giving you a daily log of snack raids.

Timer

This creates a countdown that you can start, pause, resume, and cancel. When it finishes, it fires an event that can trigger an automation.

Real-World Example: A timer for the garden sprinklers. When you start it, an automation opens the water valve. When the timer finishes, the timer.finished event triggers another automation that closes the valve.

Schedule

One of the most powerful time-management helpers. It lets you create complex schedules for the entire week, with different time slots for each day.

Real-World Example: Configure a schedule helper for your HVAC system. You can set it so that from Monday to Friday, the heat is set to 70°F (21°C) from 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM and again from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. On weekends, it could maintain 72°F (22°C) from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Data Aggregation & Processing Helpers

These helpers don’t take direct user input. Instead, they process data from your existing sensors to create new, useful information.

Group

Lets you combine several entities into one. While you can create groups in different ways, the helper is the most straightforward UI-based method.

Real-World Example: Group all the lights in your living room into light.living_room_lights. This gives you a single switch to turn them all on or off at once and a single brightness slider if they are dimmable.

Min/Max

Creates a sensor that shows the minimum, maximum, mean, or median value from a set of other sensors.

Real-World Example: If you have temperature sensors in several rooms, you can use a Min/Max helper to create sensor.average_house_temperature, giving you a single, averaged reading of your home’s overall climate.

Integration (Riemann Sum)

This is a fundamental math helper for energy management. It calculates the integral of a sensor over time. It sounds complex, but its main use is very specific and incredibly useful.

Real-World Example: You have a smart plug reporting power consumption in Watts (instantaneous power). To know how much energy you’ve used in a day (in kWh), you need this Integration helper. It converts power (W) into energy (kWh), which is what your utility company bills you for.

Utility Meter

This works hand-in-hand with the Integration helper. It takes a sensor that measures a running total (like the kWh sensor we just created) and splits its readings into cycles (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

Real-World Example: Using your total energy kWh sensor as a source, you can create a Utility Meter helper to get sensor.daily_energy_consumption and sensor.monthly_energy_consumption. These automatically reset at the end of their respective cycles.

Conclusion: Helpers are the Brains of Your Smart Home

As you’ve seen in 2026, Home Assistant Helpers have evolved from simple variables into sophisticated and indispensable tools. They are the glue that binds your physical devices to the logic in your automations, allowing you to create a home that is truly intelligent and perfectly tailored to your life.

My expert advice is this: don’t overlook them. The next time you’re designing an automation, ask yourself, “Could a helper make this simpler or more flexible?” The answer, almost every time, will be a resounding yes. Experiment with them, combine them, and watch the potential of your Home Assistant setup grow exponentially.