Set cover position and tilt

The Set cover position and tilt action moves a Shelly cover to a target position and tilt in a single command. Because both values are sent together, the cover moves to the final position and tilt in one go, instead of handling the two adjustments one after the other.

This is useful for venetian blinds and other covers with slats, where you usually want to set how far the cover is open and the angle of the slats at the same time.

This action is available only for Shelly generation 2 and later covers that support both position and tilt, such as the Shelly 2PM Gen3 with Slat control turned on. To set up tilt on your device, see Cover entities. If your cover does not support tilt, the action returns an error.

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 use this action in an automation or 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 creating an automation, add a trigger in the When section.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), pick the cover you want to control. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Set cover position and tilt.
7. Under Position and Tilt position, set the values you want.
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. For how an automation or a script is built in YAML, refer to Automations in YAML and Scripts.

In YAML, refer to this action as shelly.set_cover_position_and_tilt. A basic example looks like this:

action: shelly.set_cover_position_and_tilt
target:
  entity_id: cover.living_room_blind
data:
  position: 50
  tilt_position: 20

This moves cover.living_room_blind to 50% open with the slats tilted to 20% in a single command.

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 cover entity behind that target.

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

To learn which entities Home Assistant includes for a device, area, floor, or label, and how it handles several entities, refer to Automation targets.

To leave out some of these entities, refer to Excluding targets. For example, you can leave out one cover entity in an area.

Good to know

• This action works only on Shelly generation 2 and later devices. Generation 1 covers are not supported.
• Both Position and Tilt position are required. To change only one of them, use the standard Set cover position or Set cover tilt position actions instead.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > 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. In the visual editor, select the UI options listed in the example or paste the YAML code.

Automation: tilt the blinds against the afternoon sun

When the afternoon sun starts shining in, you can lower the blinds part way and tilt the slats to block the glare while keeping some light, all in one move.

• Trigger: Numeric state crossed threshold
  • Entity: Sun
  • Attribute: Elevation
  • Below: 25
• Action: Set cover position and tilt
  • Target: Living room blind
  • Position: 60
  • Tilt position: 30

alias: "Tilt the living room blinds in the afternoon"
triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    attribute: elevation
    below: 25
actions:
  - action: shelly.set_cover_position_and_tilt
    target:
      entity_id: cover.living_room_blind
    data:
      position: 60
      tilt_position: 30

Automation: close the blinds for privacy at sunset

When the sun sets, you can lower the blinds all the way and close the slats, so no one can see in once the lights are on.

• Trigger: Sun: sunset
• Action: Set cover position and tilt
  • Target: Bedroom blind
  • Position: 0
  • Tilt position: 0

alias: "Close the bedroom blinds at sunset"
triggers:
  - trigger: sun
    event: sunset
actions:
  - action: shelly.set_cover_position_and_tilt
    target:
      entity_id: cover.bedroom_blind
    data:
      position: 0
      tilt_position: 0

Still stuck?

To test the action on its own, run it in the automation editor with Run action, and check the message that it shows. To see what the action did when the automation ran, open the trace of that run. For details, refer to Testing automations. For common problems and their solutions, refer to Troubleshooting automations.

If that doesn’t help, 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.