I want to set a start time and end time and have my Hue lights slowly and very gradually over that timeframe shift from like yellow–> red or even white/blue at the start of the day–> red at end and have it automatically carry that out.
Is this possible and what is the easiest way to automate and have this play out lile that?
As others have said, home assistant and the like can achieve this. However, if you prefer not to use any other hardware than what you already have, the Hue app has the “Hue Labs” thingy, where they have sunrise and sunset automations that have the lights do what you describe. Might be worth looking at.