Send text command

With this action, you can control Alexa using text commands instead of speaking to it. Anything you could ask out loud, like asking for the time, setting the volume, or controlling another device linked to Alexa, you can send as text.

Use it in automations to trigger Alexa routines and features that are not yet available through dedicated Home Assistant entities.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use this action in an automation or script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create to start a new one.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select Alexa Devices: Send text command.
6. Select the device that should run the command.
7. In the Alexa text command field, enter the command you want to send.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as alexa_devices.send_text_command. A basic example looks like this:

action: alexa_devices.send_text_command
data:
  device_id: 037d79c1af96c67ba57ebcae560fb18e
  text_command: "what's the time"

This makes the selected Alexa device respond as if you had asked it for the time.

Options in YAML

Good to know

• The command behaves exactly like a spoken request, so anything Alexa can do by voice should work here.
• Some common uses are setting the volume (volume 7), controlling devices linked to Alexa (turn study lights off), and playing media (play BBC Radio 6).

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual 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] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: announce the time on a button press

Make an Alexa device tell you the time when you press a dashboard button.

• Trigger: A user-created button is pressed
• Action: Alexa Devices: Send text command

alias: "Ask Alexa for the time"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_button.ask_time
actions:
  - action: alexa_devices.send_text_command
    data:
      device_id: 037d79c1af96c67ba57ebcae560fb18e
      text_command: "what's the time"

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Send sound: Plays one of the built-in Alexa sounds on a device.

• Send info skill command: Runs a built-in Alexa info skill, such as the date, weather, or a joke.