Make Start Date and Control Flag inputs optional in Periodic Notification

- Start Date: when empty, day interval is ignored and notifications fire daily
- Control Flag: when empty, notifications always fire (no toggle control)
- Update documentation to reflect optional inputs
- Fix markdown linting issues

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Common/Periodic Notification/README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Periodic Notification
 
-Sends notifications at specified times on a repeating day schedule, controlled by a toggle entity.
+Sends notifications at specified times on an optional repeating day schedule with optional toggle control.
 
 ## Features
 
@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@ Sends notifications at specified times on a repeating day schedule, controlled b
 - Customizable multiline message
 - Flexible time schedule (multiple times per day)
 - Configurable day interval (every N days)
-- On/off control via input_boolean or switch entity
+- Optional on/off control via input_boolean or switch entity
 
 ## How It Works
 
 1. The automation triggers at each configured notification time (checked every minute)
-2. It verifies the control flag entity is ON
-3. It calculates whether today falls on the correct day in the interval cycle, counting from the configured start date
+2. It verifies the control flag entity is ON (if configured)
+3. It calculates whether today falls on the correct day in the interval cycle (if start date is configured)
 4. If all conditions pass, the message is sent to all notification targets
 
 ### Day Interval Calculation
@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@ Setting the day interval to **1** sends notifications every day.
 ## Configuration
 
 | Input | Description |
-|---|---|
+| --- | --- |
 | **Notification Targets** | One or more `notify` entities (e.g., `notify.mobile_app_phone`) |
 | **Message** | The notification text to send (supports multiline) |
 | **Notification Times** | Comma-separated times in 24-hour `HH:MM` format (e.g., `08:00, 14:30, 20:00`) |
 | **Day Interval** | Number of days between notification cycles (1 = daily) |
 | **Start Date** | Reference date for the interval calculation (optional — leave empty to send every day) |
-| **Control Flag** | `input_boolean` or `switch` entity to enable/disable notifications |
+| **Control Flag** | `input_boolean` or `switch` entity to enable/disable notifications (optional — leave empty to always send) |
 
 ### Time Format
 
@@ -50,4 +50,4 @@ Set the `is_debug` variable to `true` in the automation YAML to enable persisten
 
 ## Author
 
-Alexei Dolgolyov (dolgolyov.alexei@gmail.com)
+Alexei Dolgolyov (<dolgolyov.alexei@gmail.com>)

Common/Periodic Notification/blueprint.yaml

@@ -83,10 +83,12 @@ blueprint:
       collapsed: false
       input:
         control_flag:
-          name: Control Flag
+          name: Control Flag (optional)
           description: >
             Toggle entity to enable or disable notifications.
             Notifications are only sent when this entity is ON.
+            Leave empty to always send notifications.
+          default: ""
           selector:
             entity:
               domain:
@@ -120,6 +122,7 @@ variables:
   message_text: !input message
   interval: !input day_interval
   start_date: !input start_date
+  control_flag: !input control_flag
 
   # Debug flag - set to true to enable persistent notifications for troubleshooting
   is_debug: false
@@ -128,10 +131,14 @@ variables:
 # Conditions
 # =============================================================================
 condition:
-  # Control flag must be ON
-  - condition: state
-    entity_id: !input control_flag
-    state: "on"
+  # Control flag must be ON (skipped if no control flag)
+  - condition: template
+    value_template: >
+      {%- if control_flag | length == 0 -%}
+        true
+      {%- else -%}
+        {{ is_state(control_flag, 'on') }}
+      {%- endif -%}
 
   # Today must fall on the correct day in the interval cycle (skipped if no start date)
   - condition: template