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Get all labels: labels

The labels template function returns a list of all labelLabels in Home Assistant allow grouping elements irrespective of their physical location or type. Labels can be assigned to areas, devices, entities, automations, scenes, scripts, and helpers. Labels can be used in automations and scripts as a target for actions. Labels can also be used to filter data. [Learn more] IDs in your Home Assistant instance when called without an argument. When called with an 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] ID, deviceA device is a model representing a physical or logical unit that contains entities. ID, or areaAn area in Home Assistant is a logical grouping of devices and entities that represents a room or space in your home, such as the living room, kitchen, or garage. [Learn more] ID, it returns only the labels assigned to that specific item.

Labels are tags you can assign to entities, devices, and areas for organization. This function is useful when you want to work with your labels programmatically. For example, you could list all labels in your system, check which labels are applied to a particular sensor, or build automationsAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] that act on items based on their label assignments. Since labels can be added or removed at any time, using labels() ensures your templatesA 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] always reflect your current setup.

Usage

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

As a function

As a filter

Template

{{ labels() }}

Result (list)

[
  "outdoor",
  "critical",
  "energy_monitoring",
]

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.

labels() -> list[str]
labels(
    lookup_value: str,
) -> list[str]

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

lookup_value string (Optional)

An entity ID, device ID, or area ID to look up. When provided, only the labels assigned to that item are returned. When omitted, all label IDs are returned.

Good to know

Without an argument, returns all label IDs. With an ID, returns only labels assigned to that specific entity, device, or area.
Labels on a device or area do not roll up into the labels of their entities.
Returns an empty list when the lookup value does not match or has no labels.

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.

Count how many labels you have

A convenient way to see how many labels are defined in your Home Assistant instance.

Template

{{ labels() | count }}

Result (integer)

Get labels for a specific entity

Find out which labels have been assigned to a particular entity.

Template

{{ labels("sensor.living_room_temperature") }}

Result (list)

[
  "critical",
  "energy_monitoring",
]

Get labels for an area

Check which labels are assigned to a specific area by passing its area ID.

Template

{{ labels("living_room") }}

Result (list)

[
  "outdoor",
]

Check if an entity has a specific label

Determine whether a particular label has been applied to an entity.

Template

{{ "critical" in labels("sensor.living_room_temperature") }}

Result (boolean)

true

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:

Get label ID: label_id - Returns the label ID for a given label name.
Get label name: label_name - Returns the friendly name of a label from its ID.
Get label description: label_description - Returns the description of a label from its ID.
Get areas with a label: label_areas - Returns a list of area IDs that have a specific label assigned.
Get devices with a label: label_devices - Returns a list of device IDs that have a specific label assigned.
Get entities with a label: label_entities - Returns a list of entity IDs that have a specific label assigned.

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