Create and manage Routines in Google Home

You can start a Routine when you set a "starter." For example:

• Voice command: Start a Routine when you say a custom voice command.
• Time: Start a Routine automatically at the time and on the days you choose.
• Sunrise or sunset: Start a Routine automatically around sunrise or sunset for the days you choose.
• When an alarm is dismissed: Start a Personal Routine when you dismiss an alarm on your speaker, Smart Display, or in the Clock app.
• When a device does something: Start a Household Routine when a device does something, like when a light turns on or a motion sensor detects motion.

• Presence sensing: Start a Home & Away Routine when everyone's away, when someone comes home, or manually manage your personal home and away status. Learn more about presence sensing.
• Google Home app or Google Home for web: Start a Routine when you tap Play next to the name of the Routine in the Google Home app.

A starter might not be available if:

• You haven’t set an address for your home. To use starters based on time, sunrise and sunset, and when someone arrives or leaves a home, you must set an address for your home.
• You already selected a non-voice starter. You can only select one non-voice starter for each Routine.
• You haven’t connected a device that supports the starter. For example, to start a personal Routine when you dismiss an alarm, you must have a speaker, Smart Display, or Smart Clock that you can set an alarm on.
• You haven’t set up Home & Away Routines. To start a Routine when everyone’s away or when someone comes home, first set up Home & Away Routines.

• It affects your safety or security. For example, you can’t use “unlock” to start a Routine, but you can use “lock.”

Tip: Not all devices can be used as starters. Make sure you add the device to the home you want to create a Routine for. 

• Adjust Home Devices: Turn on, turn off, or adjust smart home devices like lights, plugs, switches, or thermostats.
• Play and control media: Play media like music, news, radio, and podcasts.
• Get info and reminders: Get info like the weather, your commute, your calendar events and reminders.
• Communicate and announce: Broadcast messages and send and read texts.
• Adjust Assistant Volume: Change the volume on your Google Assistant-enabled device.
• Adjust Phone Settings: For Android devices, adjust the phone volume, get a battery level notification, and turn Do Not Disturb on or off.
• Custom actions: Enter a command that works with Google Assistant. Find examples of commands:
  • What you can ask Google Assistant
  • Control smart lights and other devices
  • Add items to a shopping list
  • Listen to news or podcasts

Some actions might not be available if:

• The action is only available for personal Routines.
  • Actions that include personal results, like events from your calendar or your commute time.
  • Actions that might reveal personal information, like a broadcast to your home devices or reading a text message.
  • Actions that adjust phone settings, like phone volume and battery level notifications.
• You already added a media action. You can only add one media action for each Routine.

• The action affects your safety or security. For example, “unlock” isn’t an available starter, but you can set “lock” as an action.

Tip: Some actions aren’t available because two-factor authentication is required.