Panic

The Panic action triggers a panic alarm on your Ness alarm panel, using a user code.

This is handy when you want a fast way to raise the alarm, for example from a dashboard button or a wall-mounted tablet during an emergency.

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 trigger a panic alarm 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 Ness Alarm: Panic.
  6. Enter the user Code to trigger the panic alarm.
  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

Code (Required)

The user code to trigger the panic alarm.

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 ness_alarm.panic. 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: ness_alarm.panic
data:
  code: "1234"

This triggers a panic alarm on the panel.

Options in YAML

code string Required

The user code to trigger the panic alarm.

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: trigger panic from a button

When a dashboard button is pressed, trigger a panic alarm on the panel.

  • Trigger: A button helper is pressed
  • Action: Ness Alarm: Panic
YAML example for triggering panic from a button
AutomationAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more]
alias: "Panic button"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_button.panic
actions:
  - action: ness_alarm.panic
    data:
      code: "1234"

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:

  • Aux: Changes the state of an aux output on the Ness alarm panel.