Set up zones
Quick Run
Open Quick Run on Irrigation or Zones to water once without changing your schedule. Select one zone, several, or Select all. Choose a minutes preset, adjust individual times if needed, then review the total and tap Start Quick Run.
Zones run one at a time. You can close the app and return to View Quick Run to see progress or Stop Quick Run, which cancels the remaining zones too. Quick Run bypasses rain delays and weather skips; your run-time and daily watering limits still apply. The app will ask you to stop existing watering first.
If LocalSky restarts or a controller fails, remaining zones are cancelled. History shows controller-reported watering separately from the requested run.
A zone is one planted area controlled by one valve. Its plants, soil, sprinkler rate, and controller binding tell LocalSky how to plan and deliver water.
Open Zones > Edit zone to edit in place. The same editor is available in Settings. Cancel sits beside Save zone changes; a failed save preserves your draft.
Start with the physical setup
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Name | A recognizable name, such as Back yard shrubs. |
| Controller and station | The device and output that operate this valve. |
| Plant or grass species | The closest match for the planted area. |
| Soil texture | The actual soil class, not a value chosen to force a longer run. |
| Area | The area this zone covers, in the unit shown. |
| Sprinkler type | Rotor, spray, drip, or the appropriate delivery type. |
| Measured precipitation rate | A measured application rate when available; otherwise the type’s default is used. |
Check the binding before enabling automatic watering. Some controllers provide a station picker; others need a station or entity ID. MQTT uses its configured command-topic map.
An Unbound zone cannot run. Changing the display name will not fix a binding.
Watering settings
The installation has a scheduling model, and a zone can override it. The soil model schedules from estimated root-zone depletion. The weekly model allocates a target after rain and earlier irrigation are accounted for.
Max run time limits a session. Raising it does not disable cycle and soak or other protections. If demand repeatedly exceeds capacity, check the application rate, plant and soil inputs, permitted watering time, and system design before raising limits.
Weekly target and sessions govern weekly scheduling. Under the soil model, an explicitly configured weekly target can serve as a rolling delivery ceiling; it is not a replacement for the depletion trigger.
Optional soil probe
Bind a probe if it represents this zone. Set its calibration and thresholds from the probe and soil, then verify readings. A bound probe that is unavailable or untrusted can hold watering. Leaving the binding blank uses the weather/model path without a measured-soil gate.
Names and history
The internal zone slug is created once and stays stable. History, overrides, sensor bindings, HA entities, and links refer to it. Rename the Name when needed; do not rename the key in raw configuration.
Photos and verification
Upload a JPG, PNG, GIF, or WebP up to 10 MB, or enter an image URL. Uploaded photos live outside the backup bundle; copy them separately when moving an instance.
Use the short Test run only while you can verify the intended valve opens and closes. A saved binding and a successful API response are not physical confirmation.