Tracked topics
Tracked topics are for watching evidence. They can collect matches, suggestions, and source observations, but they do not call, message, or announce by themselves.
Tracked topics are for watching evidence. They can collect matches, suggestions, and source observations, but they do not call, message, or announce by themselves.
Use tracked topics when you want Homie to keep an eye on something: an inbox pattern, RSS feed, public page, saved search, or project source.
Tracking is best for evidence you may want later, not for immediate action. It is the right choice for 'watch this' and the wrong choice for 'when this happens, call someone.'
Homie can watch Homie Mail, RSS feeds, and simple public web pages. When something matches, it saves the observation for review.
Tracking is passive. It does not take action when something matches.
- No calling
- No messaging
- No announcements
- No household action without a separate commitment or approval
Some sites can be polled directly. App-only, login-gated, or untrackable sources should send saved-search alerts to Homie Mail.
A good tracked topic has a concrete source and words that are likely to appear in the evidence. Vague topics create vague matches.
Private tracked topics belong to the person who created them. Household requests show household topics by default.
Name the trigger and the action separately. A good automation request says when something should happen and what Homie should do next.
- Attach a concrete source URL when possible.
- Use keywords that would actually appear in the incoming evidence.
- Dismiss bad matches so the topic gets cleaner.
Most Homie issues come from setup, identity, or approval state. Work through these checks before assuming Homie ignored the request.
- Check whether the request is a reminder, commitment, tracked topic, routine, or Agent Run.
- Look for an approval card if the action sends, calls, books, shares, or affects the household.
- Remember that recurring household work runs from the trusted home setup, not from a separate background helper.
Good to know: If you want Homie to act when a match appears, create a commitment instead of only a tracked topic.
Tips
- Attach a concrete source URL when possible.
- Use keywords that would actually appear in the incoming evidence.
- Dismiss bad matches so the topic gets cleaner.
- Keep an eye on emails from the school about field trips.
- Track this RSS feed for new listings.
- Pause that tracked topic.