Browse media

Use this action to browse the media tree provided by a media player, similar to browsing media in the media player UI. It is handy in automations or scripts that need to find media by a specific category before playing it.

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.

To browse media 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 media player you want to browse.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Browse media.
7. Set the content options if you want to browse a specific part of the tree.
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 media_player.browse_media. Store the result in a response variable so you can use it in later steps:

action: media_player.browse_media
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room
response_variable: top_level

This returns the top level of the browse tree for media_player.living_room.

Options in YAML

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.

Response data

The action returns a media tree object that you can store in a response variable. The response includes the following fields:

• title: Display name of the current level.
• media_class: Type of the current item, such as directory, music, or video.
• media_content_type: Content type identifier.
• media_content_id: Content ID, specific to the media player.
• children_media_class: Types of the items in the children array.
• children: List of child items, each with similar properties.

The structure and content types vary between media players. Content IDs are often URL-encoded.

The following example browses a specific artist on a Sonos device. The format of media_content_id (A:ALBUMARTIST/artist_name) is specific to Sonos:

action: media_player.browse_media
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room
data:
  media_content_id: A:ALBUMARTIST/Beatles
  media_content_type: album
response_variable: albums

A shortened example of the response looks like this:

media_player.living_room:
  title: Beatles
  media_class: album
  media_content_type: album
  media_content_id: A:ALBUMARTIST/Beatles
  children_media_class: directory
  children:
    - title: A Hard Day's Night
      media_class: album
      media_content_type: album
      media_content_id: A:ALBUMARTIST/Beatles/A%20Hard%20Day's%20Night
    - title: Abbey Road
      media_class: album
      media_content_type: album
      media_content_id: A:ALBUMARTIST/Beatles/Abbey%20Road

Good to know

• This action only works with media players that support browsing media. The structure of the response depends on the media player.

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:

• Search media: Searches the media available on a media player.

• Play media: Plays specific media on a media player.