Label management - Spook 👻 a scary powerful toolbox for Home Assistant.

Labels in Home Assistant can be freely created / be made up by you and used to create your own organizational structure by tagging devices, entities, or areas with one or more labels. Labels can be used to filter items shows in tables in the user interface, or to target actions in for example automations, or scripts.

Spook provides that allows you to manage and automate the areas in Home Assistant programatically. Great for creating “dynamic” labels, or for creating labels on the fly.

Actions¶

Spook adds the following new actions to your Home Assistant instance:

Create a label¶

Adds a new label to your Home Assistant instance.

Screenshot of the create label action on the Tools page.

Open your Home Assistant instance and show the Actions tool with a specific action selected.

Action properties
Action	Create a label 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.create_label`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`name`	string	Yes	`Battery powered`
`description`	string	No	`Label to tag all battery powered devices`
`icon`	string	No	`mdi:battery`
`color`	string	No	`indigo`

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
5
6
action: homeassistant.create_label
data:
  name: "Battery powered"
  description: "Label to tag all battery powered devices"
  icon: "mdi:battery"
  color: "indigo"

Update a label¶

Updates an existing label in your Home Assistant instance. Anything you leave out keeps the value it already has. Setting description, icon or color to null clears it.

Note that leaving a field out is not the same as giving it an empty string: a description: "" sets the description to nothing at all, which is a change like any other.

Action properties
Action	Update a label 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.update_label`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string	Yes	`battery_powered`
`name`	string	No	`Battery powered`
`description`	string or `null`	No	`Label to tag all battery powered devices`
`icon`	string or `null`	No	`mdi:battery`
`color`	string or `null`	No	`indigo`

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.update_label
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"
  description: "Label to tag all battery powered devices"

Delete a label¶

Deletes a label from your Home Assistant instance.

Screenshot of the delete label action on the Tools page.

Action properties
Action	Delete a label 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.delete_label`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string	Yes	`battery_powered`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Battery powered”.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
action: homeassistant.delete_label
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"

Same example, but using the label’s name instead of the label ID:

1
2
3
action: homeassistant.delete_label
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

Add a label to an area¶

Adds one or more labels(s) to an area.

Action properties
Action	Add a label to an area 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.add_label_to_area`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`living_space`
`area_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`living_room`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Living space') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Living space”.

Getting an area ID from an area name

Not sure what the area_id of an area is? The area_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the area’s name instead:

area_id: "{{ area_id('Living room') }}"

That template will find the area ID of the area with the name “Living room”.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_area
data:
  label_id: "living_space"
  area_id: "living_room"

Same example, but using the area’s and label’s name instead of their IDs:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_area
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Living space') }}"
  area_id: "{{ area_id('Living room') }}"

You can use multiple labels and areas at once. This will cause each label to be added to each area:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_area
data:
  label_id:
    - "living_space"
    - "chill_zone"
  area_id:
    - "living_room"
    - "games_room"

Remove a label from an area¶

Removes one or more label(s) from an area.

Action properties
Action	Remove a label from an area 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.remove_label_from_area`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`living_space`
`area_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`living_room`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Living space') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Living space”.

Getting an area ID from an area name

Not sure what the area_id of an area is? The area_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the area’s name instead:

area_id: "{{ area_id('Living room') }}"

That template will find the area ID of the area with the name “Living room”.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_area
data:
  label_id: "living_space"
  area_id: "living_room"

Same example, but using the area’s and label’s name instead of their IDs:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_area
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Living space') }}"
  area_id: "{{ area_id('Living room') }}"

You can use multiple labels and areas at once. This will cause each label to be removed from each area:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_area
data:
  label_id:
    - "living_space"
    - "chill_zone"
  area_id:
    - "living_room"
    - "games_room"

Add a label to a device¶

Adds one or more labels(s) to a device.

Action properties
Action	Add a label to a device 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.add_label_to_device`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`battery_powered`
`device_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Battery powered”.

Finding a device ID

Not sure what the device_id of your device is? There are a few ways to find it:

Use this action in the Actions tool, in the UI select the device you want to add and select the Go to YAML mode button. This will show you the device ID in the YAML code.

Alternatively, you can visit the device page in the UI and look at the URL. The device ID is the last part of the URL, and will look something like this: dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_device
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"
  device_id: "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"

Same example, but using the label’s name instead of its ID:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_device
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"
  device_id: "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"

You can use multiple labels and devices at once. This will cause each label to be added to each device:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_device
data:
  label_id:
    - "battery_powered"
    - "cr2023"
  device_id:
    - "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"
    - "df98a97c9341a0f184e642a0ac345d3b"

Remove a label from a device¶

Removes one or more label(s) from a device.

Action properties
Action	Remove a label from a device 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.remove_label_from_device`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`battery_powered`
`device_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Battery powered”.

Finding a device ID

Not sure what the device_id of your device is? There are a few ways to find it:

Use this action in the Actions tool, in the UI select the device you want to remove the label from and select the Go to YAML mode button. This will show you the device ID in the YAML code.

Alternatively, you can visit the device page in the UI and look at the URL. The device ID is the last part of the URL, and will look something like this: dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_device
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"
  device_id: "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"

Same example, but using the label’s name instead of its ID:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_device
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"
  device_id: "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"

You can use multiple labels and devices at once. This will cause each label to be removed from each device:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_device
data:
  label_id:
    - "battery_powered"
    - "cr2023"
  device_id:
    - "dc23e666e6100f184e642a0ac345d3eb"
    - "df98a97c9341a0f184e642a0ac345d3b"

Add a label to an entity¶

Adds one or more labels(s) to an entity.

Action properties
Action	Add a label to an entity 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.add_label_to_entity`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`battery_powered`
`entity_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`sensor.outside_temperature`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Battery powered”.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_entity
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"
  entity_id: sensor.outside_temperature

Same example, but using the label’s name instead of its ID:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_entity
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"
  entity_id: sensor.outside_temperature

You can use multiple labels and entities at once. This will cause each label to be added to each device:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.add_label_to_entity
data:
  label_id:
    - "battery_powered"
    - "cr2023"
  entity_id:
    - sensor.outside_temperature
    - sensor.inside_temperature

Remove a label from an entity¶

Removes one or more label(s) from an entity.

Action properties
Action	Remove a label from an entity 👻
Action name	`homeassistant.remove_label_from_entity`
Action targets	No
Action response	No response
Spook's influence	Newly added action
Tools	Try this action

Action data parameters
Attribute	Type	Required	Default / Example
`label_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`battery_powered`
`entity_id`	string \| list of strings	Yes	`sensor.outside_temperature`

Getting an label ID from a label name

Not sure what the label_id of an label is? The label_id field also accepts templates. You can use this template to use the label’s name instead:

label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"

That template will find the label ID of the label with the name “Battery powered”.

Example action in YAML

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_entity
data:
  label_id: "battery_powered"
  entity_id: sensor.outside_temperature

Same example, but using the label’s name instead of its ID:

1
2
3
4
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_entity
data:
  label_id: "{{ label_id('Battery powered') }}"
  entity_id: sensor.outside_temperature

You can use multiple labels and devices at once. This will cause each label to be removed from each entity:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
action: homeassistant.remove_label_from_entity
data:
  label_id:
    - "battery_powered"
    - "cr2023"
  entity_id:
    - sensor.outside_temperature
    - sensor.inside_temperature

Blueprints & tutorials¶

There are currently no known blueprints or tutorials for the enhancements Spook provides for this integration. If you created one or stumbled upon one, please let us know in our discussion forums.

Feature requests, ideas, and support¶

If you have an idea on how to further enhance this integration, for example, by adding a new action, entity, or repairs detection; feel free to let us know in our discussion forums.

Are you stuck using these new features? Or maybe you’ve run into a bug? Please check the page on where to go for help.