2026.10.4
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Find closest entity: closest

The closest template function finds the entityAn 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] that is geographically closest to a given location. By default, it compares against your home location, but you can also specify coordinates or another entity as the reference point.

This is useful for location-based automationsAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more]. For example, you could find out which family member is closest to home, which store is nearest to your current position, or which of your device trackers is closest to a specific zoneZones allow you to specify certain regions on a map. They enable zone presence-detection and can be used in automations. For example, to start the vacuum after you left home or start the heating at home when you leave the office. [Learn more]. The function returns a full state object, so you can access the entity’s name, state, attributes, and ID.

Usage

Here’s how to use this template function. Copy any example and adjust it to your setup.

As a function 
{{ closest(states.device_tracker).name }}
Result (stringA piece of text, like a name, message, or entity ID. In templates, wrap strings in quotes, like "living_room" or "lights are on".) 
Phone

Function signature

The signature is a technical summary of this template function. It shows the name of the function, the values (called parameters) it accepts, and what type of data each parameter expects (for example, a piece of text or a number).

Function parameters that have a = with a value after them are optional. If you leave them out, the default value shown is used automatically.

Function parameters without a = are usually required. A few optional parameters have no default value, so the signature shows them without a = as well. To check whether a parameter is required, look at the parameter list below the signature. Each parameter is marked as Required or Optional.

The most common optional parameter without a default value is default. The default parameter sets the value a function returns when the function can’t produce a result, for example, when float gets text that isn’t a number. If you leave out default, there is no fallback value, so most functions raise an error and the template fails. The parameter list of each function says what happens. If you set default, the function returns your value instead.

How to read a signature

Here is the signature of the round filter as an example:

round(
    value: Any,
    precision: int = 0,
    method: str = "common",
    default: Any,
) -> float | int | Any
  • round is the name of the function.
  • Between the parentheses are the parameters. Each parameter has a name, followed by a colon and the type of value the parameter expects. The type only tells you what kind of value to pass. For default: Any, you pass a value of any type, such as 0 or "unknown", not the word Any.
  • = 0 and = "common" are default values. You can leave out precision and method, and round uses these default values.
  • default has no =, but the parameter list marks default as optional. If you leave out default and round gets a value that isn’t a number, round raises an error.
  • -> shows the type of value the function returns.
  • Inside a signature, | means “or”. This function returns a decimal number, a whole number, or the value you passed as default.

round is a filter, so the first parameter, value, is the value before the |. For example, {{ 3.14159 | round(2) }} returns 3.14.

The types you’ll see most often:

  • str: text, such as "hello"
  • int: a whole number, such as 5
  • float: a decimal number, such as 3.14
  • bool: true or false
  • list: a list of values, such as [1, 2, 3]. list[str] is a list of texts.
  • dict: a set of keys and values, such as {"name": "Kitchen"}
  • datetime and timedelta: a date and time, and a duration. For details, refer to Dates and times.
  • None: no value
  • Any: any type of value

Some signatures use special forms:

  • *args means you can pass any number of values, separated by commas. For example, average(1, 2, 3).
  • value | name(...) means the function is a filter. The value before the | is passed to the filter as its first parameter. Some filter signatures, like the round example, show this value as the first parameter between the parentheses instead.
closest(
    *args: str | State | list,
) -> State | None

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

args any Required

Can be called in several ways. With just entities or groups, it finds the closest to home. With coordinates or a zone followed by entities, it finds the closest to that point. Returns a state object, or None if no entity has location data.

Different ways to call closest

Find closest to home:

TemplateA template is an automation definition that can include variables for the action or data from the trigger values. This allows automations to generate dynamic actions. [Learn more]: Closest device tracker to home 
{{ closest(states.device_tracker).name }}
Result (stringA piece of text, like a name, message, or entity ID. In templates, wrap strings in quotes, like "living_room" or "lights are on".) 
Phone

Find closest to a specific zone:

TemplateA template is an automation definition that can include variables for the action or data from the trigger values. This allows automations to generate dynamic actions. [Learn more]: Closest device tracker to work 
{{ closest("zone.work", states.device_tracker).name }}
Result (stringA piece of text, like a name, message, or entity ID. In templates, wrap strings in quotes, like "living_room" or "lights are on".) 
Tablet

Find closest to specific coordinates:

TemplateA template is an automation definition that can include variables for the action or data from the trigger values. This allows automations to generate dynamic actions. [Learn more]: Closest to coordinates 
{{ closest(52.5, 13.4, states.device_tracker).name }}
Result (stringA piece of text, like a name, message, or entity ID. In templates, wrap strings in quotes, like "living_room" or "lights are on".) 
Phone

Good to know

  • Returns None when no entity has usable GPS coordinates, so check before accessing .name or other attributes.
  • Only entities with latitude and longitude attributes are considered. Entities without coordinates are silently skipped.
  • Returns a full state object, not just an entity ID or name.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > Tools > Template, paste the example into the Template editor, and watch the result update on the right. Edit the values to see how the function adapts to your own 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].

More examples

Real scenarios where this function comes up in automations and templates. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Show who is closest to home and their distance

Combine closest with distance to show both who is nearest and how far away they are.

TemplateA template is an automation definition that can include variables for the action or data from the trigger values. This allows automations to generate dynamic actions. [Learn more] 
{% set nearest = closest(states.person) %}
{{ nearest.name }} is closest at
{{ distance(nearest) | round(1) }} km away
Result (stringA piece of text, like a name, message, or entity ID. In templates, wrap strings in quotes, like "living_room" or "lights are on".) 
Paulus is closest at 2.3 km away

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with your template and expected result, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Tip

AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain or fix templates when you describe what you want in plain language.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one: