Manage when-then promises

A promise is a when-then rule. Manage it by checking the trigger, the action, and whether it is paused or active.

Use this when Homie is waiting for mail, presence, weather, a reply, or another event before doing something.

This is a practical page. It focuses on the controls a normal household member needs, not on how Homie is built.

Start from pending items, automation settings, or the promise card. Read the trigger and action before changing the promise.

- Open the promise or ask Homie to show active promises.

- Check the trigger: what has to happen first.

- Check the action: what Homie will do after the trigger.

- Pause the promise when you want to keep it but stop it temporarily.

- Resume it when the trigger should start counting again.

- Edit the trigger or action if the promise is close but not right.

- Cancel it when Homie should stop watching for that outcome.

Use these controls when you want to correct Homie, reduce noise, or make the home match how the household actually works.

- Promise title and description.

- Trigger details.

- Action details.

- Paused, active, or cancelled state.

- Whether the promise can fire once or more than once when supported.

Homie should stay honest about what changed. If an action needs a trusted device, a claimed member, or an approval, it should say so before pretending the work is done.

- It will not send, call, book, or share later without the approval rules that apply to that action.

- It will not treat untrusted mail content as a command.

- It will not fire while paused.

- It will not keep waiting after cancellation.

A member-owned promise should stay visible to that member. A household promise can be visible on shared surfaces.

If the trigger depends on private mail or chat, manage the promise from personal Homie where the member context is clear.

After making an operational change, do one small check. It is the easiest way to catch a wrong member, wrong device, stale link, or missing permission while the context is still fresh.

- Read the trigger and action out loud before approving a risky promise.

- Check the promise state after pausing or resuming.

- Ask Homie why a promise has not fired if the event already happened.

Name the trigger and the action separately. A good automation request says when something should happen and what Homie should do next.

- Use simple trigger words Homie can actually observe.

- Keep the action narrow.

- Pause instead of cancel when you expect to use it again.

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: Most operational changes take effect right away on the home system, but connected accounts and devices may need a refresh or reconnect.

- Use simple trigger words Homie can actually observe.

- Keep the action narrow.

- Pause instead of cancel when you expect to use it again.

- When the school emails about the field trip, tell me.

- Pause the promise about the plumber reply.

- Cancel the when-then rule for rain tomorrow.