Move queue item

Use this action to reorder a HEOS media player’s play queue. You provide the queue IDs of the items to move and the position to move them to. Look up the queue IDs with the Get queue action.

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 move items within the queue 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. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the HEOS media player you want to control.
  6. From the actions shown for that target, select Move queue item.
  7. Enter the Queue IDs to move and the Destination position.
  8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Queue IDs

The IDs (positions) of the items in the queue to move. You can find these with the Get queue action.

Destination position

The position in the queue to move the items to, starting at 1.

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 heos.move_queue_item. 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: heos.move_queue_item
target:
  entity_id: media_player.family_room
data:
  queue_ids:
    - 2
  destination_position: 1

This moves the second item in the queue to the top for media_player.family_room.

Options in YAML

queue_ids list Required

The IDs (positions) of the items in the queue to move. You can find these with the Get queue action.

destination_position integer Required

The position in the queue to move the items to, starting at 1.

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action at a single entityAn 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], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will run the action on every matching media_player entity behind that target.

  • Entity: one specific media_player entity, such as media_player.living_room.
  • Device: every media_player entity that belongs to a device.
  • Area: every media_player entity in a room or area.
  • Floor: every media_player entity on a floor.
  • Label: every media_player entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on both of them at once.

Good to know

  • Queue IDs start at 1. Use Get queue first to look up the current positions, since they shift as items are moved.

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.

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:

  • Get queue: Retrieves the play queue of a HEOS media player.

  • Remove from queue: Removes one or more items from a HEOS media player’s play queue.