2026.6.3
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Standby

The Standby action puts every device on the HDMI-CEC bus that supports it into standby. It sends a single command that your TV, AV receiver, and other connected devices act on together.

This is the natural counterpart to Power on. Use it to switch off your screen and sound system in one step when you leave the room or head to bed.

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 put your HDMI-CEC devices into standby 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 HDMI-CEC: Standby.
  6. 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

This action has no additional 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 hdmi_cec.standby. A basic example looks like this:

ActionActions are used in several places in Home Assistant. As part of a script or automation, actions define what is going to happen once a trigger is activated. In scripts, an action is called *sequence*. [Learn more] 
action: hdmi_cec.standby

This puts all CEC devices that support the command into standby.

Options in YAML

This action has no additional options in YAML.

Good to know

  • Only devices that support the CEC standby command respond. Some devices ignore it or stay on when they are still the active source.

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.

Tip

You don’t need to edit YAML to use these examples. Copy a YAML snippet from this page, open the automation editor in Home Assistant, and press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac). Home Assistant automatically converts the pasted YAML into the visual editor format, whether it’s a full automation, a single trigger, a condition, or an action.

Automation: standby when everyone leaves home

When the last person leaves home, put all connected CEC devices into standby.

  • Trigger: A presence helper switches to away
  • Action: HDMI-CEC: Standby
YAML example for standby when leaving home
AutomationAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] 
alias: "Standby when away"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: group.family
    to: "not_home"
actions:
  - action: hdmi_cec.standby

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.

Tip

AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain actions or suggest the right one when you describe what you want in plain language.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

  • Power on: Powers on all devices on the HDMI-CEC bus that support this function.

  • Select device: Makes an HDMI-CEC device the active source.

  • Update: Updates the state of HDMI-CEC devices from the bus.

  • Send command: Sends a raw CEC command to the HDMI-CEC bus.

  • Volume: Changes the volume or mute state of the HDMI-CEC audio system.