Voice Control

"Show the calendar." "Tell everyone dinner is ready." "Alice finished the dishes." If you run Home Assistant, you can control your displays and ask about your family's day entirely by voice.

Everything on this page is two YAML files you copy into your Home Assistant configuration, no add-on to install, nothing extra running on the Pi, and nothing leaves your house. It works with any Assist voice device: a Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition speaker, the Assist button in the Home Assistant phone app, or just the Assist text box in a browser. The displays never listen to anything; your voice device talks to Home Assistant, and Home Assistant talks to the Home Screens hub over your network.

What you need

• A Home Screens hub reachable from Home Assistant (you'll need its address, e.g. 192.168.1.100:3000)
• Home Assistant with the ability to edit configuration.yaml (this guide was written and tested against Home Assistant 2026.7)
• Something to talk to: a Voice PE speaker, the phone app's Assist button, or the Assist text box, the text box is enough to set everything up before a speaker ever arrives
• If you've set a Home Screens password: your display token, from Settings > Security in the editor
• For the house modes section only: the Home Screens Home Assistant plugin installed on your displays

Two ways to drive a display

The package below gives you both, and they're good at different things:

• Commands are for doing things: wake up, next screen, show the calendar, set brightness, announce a message. They're one-shot, Home Assistant pushes a command to the hub, and each display picks it up within a few seconds.
• Modes are for changing what the displays show: cooking mode, movie mode, bedtime. A mode is ordinary Home Assistant state, so it survives restarts on both ends, if a display reboots mid-evening, it comes back still in movie mode. Modes are the recommended way to change content by voice; save commands for actions.

Install

1. Make sure your Home Assistant configuration loads packages. If it doesn't already, add this to configuration.yaml:

   homeassistant:
     packages: !include_dir_named packages
   

2. Copy the package file below to <config>/packages/homescreens.yaml.

3. Copy the sentences file below to <config>/custom_sentences/en/homescreens.yaml.

4. In the package file, type your hub's address into the homescreens_host box at the top, it's the only place the address lives; every command and sensor builds its URL from it.

5. Add your display token to secrets.yaml, including the word Bearer:

   homescreens_auth: "Bearer your-display-token-here"
   

   The token is in the Home Screens editor under Settings > Security. If you haven't set a Home Screens password, put any placeholder text there, the hub ignores the header until a password exists, and your setup keeps working the day you add one.

6. Reload: Developer Tools > YAML > All. (Later edits to the sentences file are picked up by running the conversation.reload action, no restart needed.)

7. In the sentences file, fill in the display: list at the bottom, one row per display, mapping what you say ("kitchen") to the display ID from the editor. Single-display installs can skip this: sentences that don't name a display reach your display automatically.

Try it before the speaker arrives

Open Developer Tools > Assist and type sentences instead of saying them. It runs the exact same pipeline a voice speaker uses, so you can test every command and question, and read the responses, before any hardware is involved. Start with:

• wake up the displays
• what's for dinner tonight
• tell everyone this is a test

If a sentence isn't recognized after you've edited the sentences file, run the conversation.reload action (Developer Tools > Actions) and try again.

What you can say

Square brackets are optional words; where a display isn't named, the command goes to every display (except "show the … screen", which targets your one display, or the display you name).

Display commands

House modes

What each mode actually changes on screen is up to you, see house modes below.

Family questions

The chore-list, chores-tomorrow, honest yes/no, and grocery answers need a hub with /api/chores/today and /api/meals/grocery/list (newer than 1.8.0). On an older hub those sentences answer "I can't check … right now", the chore yes/no falls back to a completion count, and everything else works unchanged.

Checking things off

Saying any of these twice is safe: repeats can never un-check a chore or a grocery item, the second time you just get told it's already done.

The package file

Download homescreens-package.yaml and save it as <config>/packages/homescreens.yaml. Put your hub's address in the homescreens_host box at the top before the first reload. The first part of the file looks like this:

# Home Screens, Home Assistant package
# Voice + automation control of Home Screens displays through HA's Assist
# pipeline. Pairs with custom_sentences/en/homescreens.yaml.
# Setup guide: https://homescreens.dev/docs/voice-control
#
# Set your hub's address in the homescreens_host box below, and add to
# secrets.yaml:
#   homescreens_auth: "Bearer <display token>"
#
# Targets: every command takes an optional `display` (a display ID from the
# editor, e.g. `kitchen`). Omitted → `all` (every display). Single-display
# installs without a displays registry need no changes: `all` broadcasts
# also reach the legacy default queue that an ID-less display polls.

# ── Hub address ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Every command and sensor below builds its URL from this helper, so the
# address lives in exactly one place. Type yours here before the first
# reload (address and port, no http://, no trailing slash).
#
# `initial` only takes effect when the helper is first created. To change
# the address later, edit the helper's value in the HA UI instead
# (Settings > Devices & services > Helpers > "Home Screens hub address").
input_text:
  homescreens_host:
    name: Home Screens hub address
    icon: mdi:server-network
    initial: "192.168.1.100:3000"

# ── House modes ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# The recommended way to change what the displays SHOW by voice. The mode
# lives in HA as normal state (declarative, survives reboots on both ends);
# the Home Screens HA plugin publishes it to the shared state bus, and
# modules in the editor use visibility conditions keyed on
#   plugin:home-assistant:input_select.display_mode
# e.g. a meal-planner overlay with "state equals cooking", or hiding busy
# modules with "state not equals movie". Rename/add options freely, the
# option strings are the exact values conditions compare against, so keep
# them lowercase (bus keys and enum matching are case-sensitive).
#
# The HomeScreensSetMode / HomeScreensGuestMode sentences below make both
# … the file continues; download it above for the whole package.

The sentences file

Download homescreens-sentences.yaml and save it as <config>/custom_sentences/en/homescreens.yaml. After edits, run the conversation.reload action to pick them up. The first part of the file:

# Home Screens, Assist custom sentences (English)
# Pairs with packages/homescreens.yaml (the matching intent_script handlers).
# Setup guide: https://homescreens.dev/docs/voice-control
#
# The `display` list at the bottom is yours to maintain: one row per
# display, where `in` is what you say and `out` is the display ID from the
# Home Screens editor. Sentences without a display name target every display.

language: "en"

intents:
  HomeScreensWake:
    data:
      - sentences:
          - "wake [up] the display[s]"
          - "wake [up] the {display} display"
          - "turn on the displays"
          - "turn on the {display} display"

  HomeScreensSleep:
    data:
      - sentences:
          - "put the display[s] to sleep"
          - "put the {display} display to sleep"
          - "turn off the displays"
          - "turn off the {display} display"

  HomeScreensNextScreen:
    data:
      - sentences:
          - "next screen"
          - "next screen on the {display} display"
          - "[go to the] next screen on the {display}"

  HomeScreensPrevScreen:
    data:
      - sentences:
          - "previous screen"
          - "previous screen on the {display} display"
          - "go back a screen [on the {display}]"
# … the file continues; download it above for all of the sentences.

House modes: change what the displays show

Commands are fine for "wake up" and "next screen", but for "cooking mode" you don't want a one-shot command, you want the house to be in cooking mode until you say otherwise. That's what the display_mode dropdown in the package is for, and it's the recommended way to change content by voice: modes survive restarts and screen rotation because they're state, not commands.

It takes the Home Assistant plugin running on your displays, plus a little setup in the editor:

1. Install the Home Screens Home Assistant plugin and connect it to your Home Assistant (if you haven't already).
2. In the editor, select a module and open Visibility > Conditions.
3. Add a condition on the key plugin:home-assistant:input_select.display_mode and pick what each mode should show or hide.

You don't need to configure the plugin to publish the mode, the moment a condition anywhere references that key, the plugin starts sending it along, and the editor's Live values panel shows what it currently is.

Some starting recipes:

The third column is the condition's Before data arrives setting, and it's worth getting right: for modules you add in a mode, choose "Hide the module" so they only appear on a definite match; for modules you remove in a mode, choose "Show the module" so your normal dashboard stays intact even if Home Assistant is briefly unreachable. Overlays for different modes can share the same spot on the canvas, only one mode is active at a time.

Then "cooking mode on the displays", "switch the house to bedtime", and "turn on movie mode" just work, and because the mode is a normal Home Assistant dropdown, your automations and dashboards can set it too, no voice required.

Make it yours

Everything in both files is meant to be edited:

• Display names: fill in the display: list in the sentences file, one row per display. The in side accepts alternatives: "(living room|livingroom)".
• Screen names: "show the calendar" matches your screen's name in the editor, ignoring upper/lower case. Give screens short, speakable names. A screen that isn't in the display's current rotation (for example, one excluded by the active profile) is deliberately ignored.
• Chore and kid names: spoken names are matched against the chore chart, so keep them speakable and unique. Two chores with the same name resolve to whichever the chart lists first.
• Modes: rename or add options in the input_select, and mirror them in the sentences file's mode: list. Keep them lowercase.
• Meal words: the meal_slot: list already treats "supper" as dinner; add your own household vocabulary the same way.
• Responses: everything Assist says lives in the speech: templates in the package. Rewrite them to taste.
• More sensors: the display-status block in the package is per display; copy it for each display you want to ask about, keeping the Home Screens display <id> naming pattern.

After editing the sentences file, run conversation.reload; after editing the package, reload YAML (Developer Tools > YAML > All).

Going further

The package's rest_commands work from any automation or script, not just voice. A few combinations that earn their keep:

A chore reminder that reaches everyone. At 7pm, if anyone has nothing checked off, put it on every display (and let your voice speaker say it too, if you like):

automation:
  - alias: "Evening chore reminder"
    triggers:
      - trigger: time
        at: "19:00:00"
    actions:
      - action: homeassistant.update_entity
        target:
          entity_id: sensor.home_screens_chore_completions
      - variables:
          idle: >-
            {% set people = state_attr('sensor.home_screens_chore_roster', 'members') or [] %}
            {% set comps = state_attr('sensor.home_screens_chore_completions', 'completions') or [] %}
            {% set today = now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d') %}
            {% set done_ids = comps | selectattr('date', 'eq', today) | map(attribute='memberId') | list %}
            {{ people | rejectattr('id', 'in', done_ids) | map(attribute='name') | list }}
      - condition: template
        value_template: "{{ idle | count > 0 }}"
      - action: rest_command.homescreens_alert
        data:
          message: "{{ idle | join(', ') }}, chore time before bed!"
          type: warning
          duration: 60

A bedtime scene. One script that flips the displays to bedtime mode and turns them down, ready for "run bedtime" or a good-night automation, add your lights to the same sequence:

script:
  bedtime_displays:
    alias: "Bedtime displays"
    sequence:
      - action: input_select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: input_select.display_mode
        data:
          option: bedtime
      - action: rest_command.homescreens_brightness
        data:
          value: 10

Doorbell on every screen. Any automation can push a banner, it rides the same package:

- action: rest_command.homescreens_alert
  data:
    message: "Someone's at the front door"
    type: urgent

Troubleshooting

"Sorry, I couldn't understand that." The sentence has to match one of the patterns in the sentences file. Test the exact wording in Developer Tools > Assist, and after editing the file, run the conversation.reload action. If you named a display, check it has a row in the display: list.

Assist answers, but nothing happens on the display. Check the hub address in the homescreens_host helper, remember that after the first reload, changing it in the file does nothing; set it from the HA UI instead (Settings > Devices & services > Helpers). Then watch the Home Assistant logs for the rest_command result. A 401 means the hub has a password and the homescreens_auth secret is missing or doesn't start with Bearer . Displays pick commands up on a short poll, so an effect can lag a couple of seconds, that's normal.

"Show the calendar" does nothing. The spoken name must match a screen name on the target display (upper/lower case doesn't matter). Screens hidden by the active profile are ignored on purpose. On a multi-display install, name the display in the sentence or set a default display in the HomeScreensGotoScreen handler, this is the one command that never broadcasts to all displays.

Answers feel out of date. The meal and chore sensors poll every few minutes, and the chore intents refresh before answering; the worst case after checking something off elsewhere is a brief window where the spoken count lags. The check-off command itself always verifies against the hub live, so repeating yourself can't un-do a chore.

A mode condition never triggers. Almost always a case mismatch, see the callout in house modes.

For the underlying endpoints (and what each one needs once a password is set), see Display Control in the API reference.