Read file

Use this action to read a JSON or YAML file and return its parsed contents in a response variable, for example to load data saved by another automation or an external program.

This action returns its result in a response variable, which you can use in later steps of the same automation or script.

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.

Prerequisites

• You need administrator rights to run this action.
• The file path must be added to allowlist_external_dirs in configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more].

To read a file 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. Search for and select File: Read file.
6. Enter the File name and select the File encoding that matches your file.
7. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you are not prompted to choose an area, device, entity, or label.

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 file.read_file. Store the result in a response variable so you can use it in later steps:

action: file.read_file
data:
  file_name: "/config/www/myfile.json"
  file_encoding: JSON
response_variable: file_content

This reads myfile.json and stores the response in the file_content variable. The parsed file contents are in file_content.data.

Options in YAML

Response data

The action returns a data field that holds the parsed contents of the file. For example, reading a file with this JSON content:

{
  "latitude": 32.87336,
  "longitude": -117.22743,
  "gps_accuracy": 1.2
}

returns the following response:

data:
  latitude: 32.87336
  longitude: -117.22743
  gps_accuracy: 1.2

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.

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.