Get entity state: states

The states template function returns the current state of 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] as a text value. For example, a light might return on or off, a temperature sensorSensors return information about a thing, for instance the level of water in a tank. [Learn more] might return 21.5, and a person might return home or away.

This is the most fundamental template function in Home Assistant. Every time you want to read what a sensor is showing, check if a deviceA device is a model representing a physical or logical unit that contains entities. is on, or use a value in a notificationYou can use notifications to send messages, pictures, and more, to devices. [Learn more] or calculation, you’ll use states(). It’s also a safe way to read a state. If the entity doesn’t exist, it returns unknown instead of causing an error.

Usage

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

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

21.5

{{ "sensor.living_room_temperature" | states }}

21.5

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.

round(
    value: Any,
    precision: int = 0,
    method: str = "common",
    default: Any,
) -> float | int | Any

states(
    entity_id: str,
    rounded: bool = False,
    with_unit: bool = False,
) -> str

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

Iterating over states

You can also use states without an argument to loop through all entities, or use states.domain to loop through entities of a specific domain.

{% for state in states.sensor %}
  {{ state.entity_id }}: {{ state.state }}
{% endfor %}

Important: states are always strings

The value returned by states() is always a text string, even for numeric sensors. If you need to do math with it, convert it using | float or | int first.

{{ states("sensor.living_room_temperature") | float(0) + 1 }}

22.5

Good to know

• Returns the text unknown when the entity does not exist, not None and not an error.
• The result is always a string, even for numeric sensors. Convert with float or int before doing math.
• Using states.sensor.name.state (dotted notation) for a missing entity gives an empty value and logs a warning. Errors can happen in the next step, for example when you convert the empty value with | float. With states("sensor.name"), you get unknown instead.
• During startup, or when an entity is unavailable, the state is unknown or unavailable. Converting that text with | float without a default causes an error. Add a default, such as | float(0), or check the entity first with has_value.
• When you loop over states, the entities come in no particular order. They are not sorted.
• In a template entity without a trigger, a loop over states updates less often. A loop over all states (states) updates at most once per minute. A loop over one domain, such as states.light, updates at most once per second. A change to an entity that the template names directly still updates it right away. For details, refer to Rate limiting updates.

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.

Use a sensor value in a notification

Include the current temperature reading in a notification message. Use with_unit=true to automatically append the entity’s unit of measurement, so the output uses whatever unit the sensor reports (°C, °F, K) without hardcoding it.

action:
  - action: notify.mobile
    data:
      message: >
        The temperature is {{ states("sensor.outside_temperature", with_unit=true) }}

Check a value before acting

Read a sensor value, convert it to a number, and use it in a conditionConditions check whether something is true at that moment, for example, whether a door is closed. You can use them in automations and scripts. If a condition is not met, the actions that come after it in the same sequence do not run. At the top level of an automation or script, this stops the automation or script. [Learn more].

{{ states("sensor.humidity") | float(0) > 70 }}

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.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one:

• Test entity state: is_state - Tests if an entity is in a specific state.

• Get state attribute: state_attr - Returns the value of a specific attribute from an entity’s state.

• Check if entity has a value: has_value - Tests if an entity exists and has a valid state (not unavailable or unknown).

• Expand groups into entities: expand - Expands groups and zones into a list of individual entity state objects.