Set TXT

The Set TXT action sets the TXT record of your Duck DNS subdomain.

This is mostly useful for automating an ACME DNS-01 challenge, where a certificate authority asks you to publish a specific value in your domain’s TXT record to prove that you control the domain.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you are not prompted to choose an area, device, entity, or label. Select the Duck DNS integration to update in Integration ID. Leaving Integration ID empty is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

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 set the TXT record from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select Duck DNS: Set TXT.
6. Choose the Integration ID, then enter the TXT value.
7. 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 duckdns.set_txt. A basic example looks like this:

action: duckdns.set_txt
data:
  config_entry_id: YOUR_CONFIG_ENTRY_ID
  txt: LoqXcYV8...jxAjEuX0.9jg46WB3...fm21mqTI

This sets the TXT record of your Duck DNS subdomain to the given value.

Options in YAML

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.

Script: clear the TXT record after a challenge

Clear the TXT record once an ACME DNS-01 challenge is complete, so the validation value is no longer published.

• Action: Duck DNS: Set TXT
  • Integration ID: Your Duck DNS integration
  • TXT: Leave empty to clear the record

clear_duckdns_txt:
  alias: "Clear the Duck DNS TXT record"
  sequence:
    - action: duckdns.set_txt
      data:
        config_entry_id: YOUR_CONFIG_ENTRY_ID

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.