Upload image

Use this action to upload an image to an OpenDisplay device. Home Assistant resizes and dithers the image to match the display resolution and color palette.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To upload an image from an automation or script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select OpenDisplay: Upload image.
6. Select the OpenDisplay device in the Device field, then select the image to upload in the Image field.
7. To control how the image is processed, open Additional options and set the available options: Rotation, Dither mode, Refresh mode, Fit mode, and Tone compression.
8. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. Select the OpenDisplay device in the Device field instead of choosing an area, device, entity, or label.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as opendisplay.upload_image. A basic example looks like this:

action: opendisplay.upload_image
data:
  device_id: "a1b2c3d4e5f6"
  image:
    media_content_id: "media-source://media_source/local/artwork.png"
    media_content_type: "image/png"

This uploads an image from your media folder to the OpenDisplay device.

Options in YAML

Good to know

• If an image includes EXIF orientation information, Home Assistant uses it to rotate the image to its intended orientation before resizing and dithering it. This helps photos taken in portrait orientation appear correctly on the display.
• Starting a new upload cancels an upload that is already in progress for the same integration entry.
• If authentication fails, Home Assistant starts reauthentication so that you can enter the current encryption key.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > Tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: Show a daily image every morning

Show an image from your media folder on the display each morning.

• Trigger: Time: 07:00:00
• Action: OpenDisplay: Upload image
  • Device: Your OpenDisplay device
  • Image: The image to show

alias: "Show the daily image on the display"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "07:00:00"
actions:
  - action: opendisplay.upload_image
    data:
      device_id: "a1b2c3d4e5f6"
      image:
        media_content_id: "media-source://media_source/local/daily.png"
        media_content_type: "image/png"

Automation: Show an image at sunset

Change the display image when the sun sets.

• Trigger: Sun: sunset
• Action: OpenDisplay: Upload image
  • Device: Your OpenDisplay device
  • Image: The image to show

alias: "Show a sunset image on the display"
triggers:
  - trigger: sun
    event: sunset
actions:
  - action: opendisplay.upload_image
    data:
      device_id: "a1b2c3d4e5f6"
      image:
        media_content_id: "media-source://media_source/local/sunset.png"
        media_content_type: "image/png"

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.