Scenes

🎬 Scenes

Overview

A Scene is a saved HomeKit preset that sets multiple devices to specific states in a single tap. Scenes are created and managed in the Apple Home app — Vanlife Assistant reads them from HomeKit and surfaces them in the Smart Van dashboard’s scenes carousel for instant execution. Scenes can also be assigned to Van Modes so that switching a mode automatically triggers the corresponding scene.

The Scenes Carousel

Beneath the CCTV section on the Smart Van dashboard, a horizontal row of capsule-shaped buttons shows all your configured HomeKit scenes. Tap any button to execute the scene immediately.

Each scene button shows:

An icon based on the scene type — Sleep scenes use a moon, wake-up scenes use a sun, arrival scenes use an arriving figure, departure scenes use a departing figure, user-defined scenes use a star
The scene’s name

Tapping a scene button triggers haptic feedback and a brief bounce animation on the icon to confirm execution. All actions defined in the scene run simultaneously against your HomeKit Home.

Reordering Scenes

The scenes carousel preserves the order you specify. To reorder:

Tap the status indicator pill in the top-right of the dashboard (e.g. “Live ⋯”)
Tap Reorder Scenes
The Reorder Scenes sheet opens in edit mode — drag the three-line handles to rearrange scenes
Tap Save

The order is saved persistently and persists across restarts.

Assigning a Scene to a Van Mode

When you switch to a Van Mode, Smart Van can automatically trigger a HomeKit scene for you. This is the “one-tap sets the whole van” power move: switch to Sleep Mode and everything dims and locks simultaneously.

How Assignments Work

Each system mode has a fallback heuristic that looks for a scene with a matching name if no explicit assignment exists:

Driving → looks for a scene named “Driving” or “Drive”; falls back to scenes named “Away” or “Secure”
Camped → looks for scenes with the HomeKit “Arrival” type, or scenes named “Arrive”
Sentry → looks for scenes named “Sentry”, “Secure”, or “Lock”; falls back to the Departure heuristic
Sleep → looks for scenes named “Sleep” or “Good Night”
Stealth → looks for scenes named “Stealth” or “Dark”
Custom modes → no heuristic fallback; they rely entirely on explicit assignments or Van Brain rules

For reliable results, create an explicit assignment.

Setting an Explicit Assignment

During the setup wizard’s Step 4, you can assign a scene to Camped Mode. For all other modes, assign scenes from the Mode Configuration sheet:

On the Smart Van dashboard, long-press any mode in the carousel to open its Mode Configuration sheet
In the Van Brain Rules section, you can see if a Van Brain automation is already handling scene triggering
To assign a scene directly (the simpler approach), create a Van Brain rule with trigger “Mode changes to [this mode]” and action “Execute Scene → [your scene]”. See The Van Brain for how to build this

Alternatively, the explicit scene-to-mode mapping is stored silently when you make a selection in the setup wizard. You can change this by repeating the assignment flow in Settings or via the Van Brain.

Scenes vs Van Brain Rules

The scenes carousel and mode scene assignments handle static “always do this” scene executions. The Van Brain goes further — it lets you add conditions so that a scene only runs in specific circumstances:

Execute the “Evening Lights” scene when switching to Camped Mode, but only if it’s after Sunset
Execute the “Bright Kitchen” scene when the sliding door opens, but only if Camp Mode is active

If you find yourself wishing a scene would only run sometimes, that’s your cue to use a Van Brain rule instead of (or in addition to) a direct mode-scene assignment.