I'm sure you've seen a thread like this before, but I have to share parts of my setup that made HomeKit really useful and functional. First and foremost, any home automation setup depends on a solid network. I've tried several, but Aruba Instant-On APs with an Edgerouter 4 have been my solid savior. Let's move on to the actual topic. Beyond its ability to integrate non-HomeKit devices (LG WebOS TV, Sonoff outlets, Plex webhooks, Onstar, etc.), there is a plugin available that has changed the complete game for automation; Fake switches. Automations work well if you simply want to trigger X when Y fires. Where automations fail is any conditional logic. This is especially true for something that needs to be remembered. In programming terms, a global variable that is semi-persistent would be so useful. That's where a fake switch comes into play. Examples: I have a Twinkly Christmas tree with the Hallmark Star Wars Decorations and Ornaments Set. I have a HomeKit button (Ikea Shortcut) that I wanted to trigger a series of events. It works in these general steps: 1. Each light in the room is checked and a dummy switch is set to match its current state (1 dummy for each light in the room) 2. All lights are turned off 3. Twinkly is set to answer audio, using a Twinkly music in a Sonoff Wi-Fi USB device. 4. A dummy switch is activated with a timer setting of 12 minutes that triggers the IR to start broadcasting via the Broadlink homebridge plugin. 5. Watch the show. After the 12-minute show ends, the dummy switch turns off, which then triggers the lights to reset to on/off depending on the state of the dummy switch. Dummy switches act as persistent storage for item states as well as a timer. Automations fail miserably if the wait is more than a few seconds. Another example: I have a colored light bulb in the hallway by all of our bedrooms. I usually have an automation that sets the bulb to 10% when the overhead lights go out. However, I have created a fake "We have guests" toggle that is checked and will change this percentage to 30% while guests are staying with us. The fake switch plugin allows value storage, clean starting points and long term timers. I have a dummy switch with a 6 hour timer that works every time. Thanks to Apple for allowing automations to be shortcuts. Fake switches make those shortcuts infinitely better.