Upload image

Use this action to upload an image to an OpenDisplay device. The image is resized and dithered to match the display’s resolution and color palette.

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 upload an image 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 OpenDisplay: Upload image.
6. Select the OpenDisplay device in the Device field, then choose the Image to upload.
7. To control how the image is processed, open Additional options and set the Rotation, Dither mode, Refresh mode, Fit mode, and Tone compression as needed.
8. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you select the OpenDisplay device through the Device field instead of choosing 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 opendisplay.upload_image. A basic example looks like this:

action: opendisplay.upload_image
data:
  device_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6
  image:
    media_content_id: media-source://media_source/local/artwork.png
    media_content_type: image/png
  fit_mode: contain

This uploads the image and scales it to fit within the display.

Options in YAML

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.

Automation: show a daily image every morning

Upload a fresh image to your display every morning, for example a daily artwork or a generated dashboard that you store in your media folder.

• Trigger: Time: 07:00:00
• Action: OpenDisplay: Upload image
  • Device: Your OpenDisplay device
  • Image: The image to show
  • Fit mode: Contain

- alias: "Show the daily image on the display"
  triggers:
    - trigger: time
      at: "07:00:00"
  actions:
    - action: opendisplay.upload_image
      data:
        device_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6
        image:
          media_content_id: media-source://media_source/local/daily.png
          media_content_type: image/png
        fit_mode: contain

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.