Halloween automation with Home Assistant

Lisa Ernst · 25.10.2025 · Tech · 5 min

For a cohesive Halloween light show that runs reliably, is locally controllable, and can be expanded without tinkering, WLED and Home Assistant offer a powerful combination. WLED provides the effects, Home Assistant the automations, and Matter/Thread connect energy-saving devices. This article covers the integration, the possibilities, and provides a guide to implementation.

Quelle: Custom Display

Basics & Setup

WLED is a free firmware for ESP8266/ESP32 that is used to control addressable LEDs (e.g., WS2812B/WS2811/SK6812). Configurations can be saved as Presets and Playlists. . Home Assistant is a local smart-home platform, which WLED-Integration provides, among other things, preset- and playlist-entities that can be used in automations. The WLED JSON-API enables setting effects, colors, and brightness via HTTP/JSON, which is useful for deep automation or webhook scenarios.

Matter is a cross-vendor standard, where the Home-Assistant-Integration als Matter-Controller functions. Thread is a low-power mesh network; the Thread-Integration shows networks and border routers and manages credentials.

The setup begins with installing WLED and connecting to Wi-Fi, as described in the official guide.. . A backup of the presets.json via the browser editor ( /edit) ) is advisable to be able to revert to a previous state at any time. Afterwards, a Halloween preset can be created in WLED by choosing an effect such as Halloween Eyes and setting colors like orange/purple. This preset is then saved.

The WLED-Integration in Home Assistant is added, and the generated entities (Preset/Playlist/Light) are checked. For outdoor use it is important to ensure proper performance, fuses and Power-Injection to avoid voltage drops and outages ( Wiring guidelines).

Automation

Home Assistant orchestrates the WLED effects based on time, sensors, or manual triggers. An Sunset-Automation automation can turn on WLED at sunset and select the Halloween preset. Presets and playlists appear in Home Assistant as Select-Entitäten and can be toggled via automations ( WLED-Integration). For time-based shows, the Sun trigger and schedules are suitable, optionally with Webhook-Auslösern for manual starts ( Trigger-Dokumentation).

Playlists in WLED automatically play a sequence of presets, which is great for changing Halloween scenes ( Adafruit-Anleitung). These can run in a defined order or randomly.

An optional webhook button allows triggering a “Jumpscare” scene via URL call from a smartphone, kiosk, or website ( Webhooks). The automation in Home Assistant is created with a webhook trigger, and the action then sets the desired preset or effect. The webhook is triggered by a POST to /api/webhook/YOUR_ID.

Quelle: maison-et-domotique.com

Transform your home into a haunted house with Home Assistant and impressive light and sound effects.

Advanced Topics

The combination of WLED and Home Assistant reduces manual toggling and makes the show reproducible ( Automatisierung in Home Assistant). Webhooks enable lean triggers from any surface without complex authentication flows. For more demanding scenarios, the integration stands ready. Home-Assistant-REST-API is ready.

Matter/Thread complements battery-friendly sensors and lamps. For a smoother Matter experience, the Home Assistant OS empfohlen. The Home Assistant integration acts as a Matter controller, and Thread networks as well as border routers are managed via the Thread integration ( Matter-Integration, Thread-Integration).

One important note: It is documented that WLED presets are stored in /presets.json and a backup/restore via the browser editor is supported ( End-user-guide). The Home Assistant integration provides select entities for Preset/Playlist ( WLED, Select). Halloween Eyes is an integrated effect ( Effekte). Webhooks are official automation triggers and can be called via POST ( Trigger, Webhooks). Home Assistant acts as a Matter controller, and Thread networks are visible/manageable via the integration ( Matter, Thread).

It remains unclear how quickly Home Assistant detects new WLED presets without a reload; reloading the integration currently provides a workaround ( Issue auf GitHub). This HTTP-API) is recommended.

In the community it is reported that Preset/Playlist selects stay empty if no presets are created in WLED, which is expected behavior ( Community-Thread). Users describe hurdles with border routers and credential handling with Thread/Matter; pragmatic workarounds can be found in Community-Threads to find. For a frictionless Matter experience, Home Assistant recommends Home Assistant OS and starting with WLAN Matter or bridge solutions ( Blogbeitrag).

Practical Examples

A) Activate preset at sunset (Automation in YAML, Select entity):

trigger:
  - platform: sun
event: sunset
action:
  - service: select.select_option
target:
entity_id: select.wled_terrasse_preset
data:
option: "Halloween"

This approach uses the Select Services according to the documentation ( Sun-Integration, Select-Integration, WLED-Integration).

B) Set effect directly (without preset), including color/brightness:

action:
  - service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.wled_terrasse
data:
effect: "Halloween Eyes"
brightness: 180

The effect property belongs to the Light-Modell; WLED that represents the Effekte bereit.

C) Manual start via webhook (button in app/kiosk/website):

Create an automation in Home Assistant with a webhook trigger; the action sets the preset or effect as above. The webhook is triggered by a POST to /api/webhook/DEINE_ID ( Trigger-Dokumentation).

D) Playlist for changing scenes:

Save multiple presets in WLED and configure as a playlist (e.g., 30–60 seconds per scene). Playlists run in a defined order or randomly ( Adafruit-Anleitung, WLED-Presets).

Quelle: reddit.com

Complex Halloween automations can be realized with Home Assistant, ESPs, and motor drivers.

Practically this means: Back up your setup before importing. presets.json, to revert at any time. Plan the show with Sunset-Trigger and optional Webhooks, so that the outdoor lighting starts on time and you can still intervene manually. For outdoor runs, proper fuses, conductor cross-sections, and Power-Injection are crucial to avoid voltage drops and outages ( Verkabelung). If you prefer effects without presets, use light.turn_on with effect names; this is supported in the Home Assistant light model and works with WLED-Effekten.

With WLED effects, clean presets/playlists, and clear Home Assistant triggers, you get a reproducible Halloween show without frustration. Back up your presets.json, use Sunset and Webhooks for reliable control and consider outdoor power and weather protection ( Verkabelung). Those who additionally integrate Matter/Thread create a solid foundation for battery-friendly sensors and luminaires ( Matter-Integration). This keeps the show expandable, locally controlled, and practical for everyday use ( Automatisierung).