Home Assistant Button Cards

Works with Lovelace YAML dashboards and custom button-card integration.

Home Assistant Button Cards

Create interactive buttons for controlling devices, calling services, and navigating between views in Home Assistant dashboards.

Overview

This skill covers:

• Native Button Card: Simple entity controls with actions
• Custom Button Card (HACS): Advanced templating, state-based styling, multiple actions
• Action Types: tap, hold, double-tap behaviors
• Service Calls: Execute Home Assistant services
• Navigation: Move between dashboard views
• State-Based Styling: Dynamic colors and icons

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create interactive buttons for toggling lights, switches, or climate controls
• Add service call buttons to execute automations or scripts
• Configure tap, hold, and double-tap actions for different behaviors
• Build navigation buttons to move between dashboard views
• Implement state-based styling with dynamic colors and icons
• Use custom button-card (HACS) for advanced templating and conditional logic

Do NOT use when:

• You only need to display sensor values without interaction (use entity card instead)
• Building complex multi-entity cards (use entities card or custom layouts)

Quick Start

Basic Toggle Button

type: button
entity: light.living_room
name: Living Room
show_state: true
icon: mdi:lightbulb
tap_action:
  action: toggle
hold_action:
  action: more-info

Service Call Button

type: button
name: Turn Off All Lights
icon: mdi:lightbulb-off
show_state: false
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: light.turn_off
  data:
    entity_id: all

Navigation Button

type: button
name: Bedroom
icon: mdi:bed
tap_action:
  action: navigate
  navigation_path: /​lovelace/​bedroom

Action Types

Home Assistant cards support three action types:

Available Actions

Instructions

Using Native Button Card

The native button card provides basic entity control with action support.

Entity Toggle Button

type: button
entity: light.bedroom
name: Bedroom Light
icon: mdi:ceiling-light
show_name: true
show_icon: true
show_state: true
tap_action:
  action: toggle
hold_action:
  action: more-info
double_tap_action:
  action: none

Climate Control Button

type: button
entity: climate.living_room
name: AC
icon: mdi:air-conditioner
show_state: true
tap_action:
  action: toggle
hold_action:
  action: more-info

Scene Activation Button

type: button
name: Movie Mode
icon: mdi:movie
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: scene.turn_on
  target:
    entity_id: scene.movie_mode

Script Execution Button

type: button
name: Good Night
icon: mdi:sleep
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: script.good_night
hold_action:
  action: none

External URL Button

type: button
name: Router Admin
icon: mdi:router-wireless
tap_action:
  action: url
  url_path: http://192.168.1.1

Assist/​Voice Button

type: button
name: Voice Assistant
icon: mdi:microphone
tap_action:
  action: assist

Service Calls

Turn Off All Lights

type: button
name: All Lights Off
icon: mdi:lightbulb-off
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: light.turn_off
  data:
    entity_id: all

Set Climate Temperature

type: button
name: Set Temp 22°C
icon: mdi:thermostat
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: climate.set_temperature
  target:
    entity_id: climate.living_room
  data:
    temperature: 22

Turn On Light with Brightness

type: button
name: Dim Lights
icon: mdi:lightbulb-on-50
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: light.turn_on
  target:
    entity_id: light.living_room_dimmer
  data:
    brightness: 150

Run Automation

type: button
name: Trigger Automation
icon: mdi:home-automation
tap_action:
  action: perform-action
  perform_action: automation.trigger
  target:
    entity_id: automation.motion_lights

Navigation Patterns

Simple Navigation

type: button
name: Go to Bedroom
icon: mdi:bed
tap_action:
  action: navigate
  navigation_path: /​lovelace/​bedroom

Room Navigation Grid

type: grid
columns: 2
cards:
  - type: button
    name: Living Room
    icon: mdi:sofa
    tap_action:
      action: navigate
      navigation_path: /​lovelace/​living-room

  - type: button
    name: Bedroom
    icon: mdi:bed
    tap_action:
      action: navigate
      navigation_path: /​lovelace/​bedroom

  - type: button
    name: Kitchen
    icon: mdi:fridge
    tap_action:
      action: navigate
      navigation_path: /​lovelace/​kitchen

  - type: button
    name: Outdoors
    icon: mdi:tree
    tap_action:
      action: navigate
      navigation_path: /​lovelace/​outdoors

Back to Home Button

type: button
name: Home
icon: mdi:home
tap_action:
  action: navigate
  navigation_path: /​lovelace/​home

Custom Button Card (HACS)

Installation: HACS → Frontend → Search "button-card"

The custom button-card provides extensive templating, state-based styling, and advanced action configurations. For complete template examples and advanced patterns, see references/​custom-button-card-templates.md.

Basic Custom Button

type: custom:button-card
entity: light.bedroom
name: Bedroom Light
show_state: true
icon: mdi:ceiling-light
tap_action:
  action: toggle
hold_action:
  action: more-info

State-Based Styling

type: custom:button-card
entity: light.bedroom
name: Bedroom Light
show_state: true
icon: mdi:ceiling-light
color: auto
state:
  - value: "on"
    color: rgb(255, 200, 100)  # Warm white when on
    icon: mdi:ceiling-light-on
  - value: "off"
    color: rgb(100, 100, 100)  # Gray when off
    icon: mdi:ceiling-light-off
tap_action:
  action: toggle

See references/​custom-button-card-templates.md for advanced examples including temperature thresholds, multiple service calls, and icon-specific tap actions.

Troubleshooting

Button Not Responding

• Check entity exists in HA (Developer Tools → States)
• Verify service name is correct (perform-action not call-service in newer HA)
• Check browser console for errors (F12)

Service Call Fails

• Test service in Developer Tools → Services first
• Verify entity_id or target format
• Check service data syntax (YAML indentation)

Navigation Not Working

• Ensure view path is defined (e.g., path: bedroom)
• Use full navigation path: /​lovelace/​bedroom
• Check for typos in navigation_path

Custom Button Card Not Loading

• Verify HACS installation (Frontend category)
• Clear browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+R)
• Check Lovelace resources (Settings → Dashboards → Resources)

References

For advanced configurations, see:

• references/​action-reference.md - Complete action type documentation
• references/​service-calls.md - Common service call patterns
• references/​custom-button-card-templates.md - Reusable button templates

Official Documentation

• Button card - Home Assistant
• Actions - Home Assistant
• Custom Button Card GitHub