In some scenarios, devices may execute applications that are configured to monitor a set of conditions (e.g., geographic coordinates detected by global positioning system (GPS) receivers), and to execute actions upon detecting the fulfillment of the conditions. However, in such architectures, each application may be responsible for polling the sensors of the device to detect condition fulfillment, and it may be difficult to specify rules in a hardware-independent manner involving multiple applications and/or devices. Presented herein are techniques for configuring devices to perform actions by receiving a rule set from a rule server; registering a set of condition tests for respective conditions of a rule with the sensors of the device; upon being notified by the sensor that a condition test has been fulfilled, evaluating the conditions of the rule; and upon determining a fulfillment of the conditions, executing one or more actions (optionally involving multiple devices and/or applications).