Send remote command

Use this action to send remote control commands to a Sky+ HD or Sky Q box, such as opening the TV guide, navigating menus, or sending playback controls.

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 send a command 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 Sky remote.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Send remote command.
7. Enter the Command to send.
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 remote.send_command. A basic example looks like this:

action: remote.send_command
target:
  entity_id: remote.192_168_1_250
data:
  command:
    - sky
    - tvguide

This sends the commmands sky and tvguide.

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 remote entity behind that target.

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

Supported commands include:

• Power and navigation: power, up, down, left, right, select, backup
• Menu access: sky, tvguide, boxoffice, services, interactive
• Channel controls: channelup, channeldown
• Information and help: i, text, help
• Color buttons: red, green, yellow, blue
• Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
• Playback controls: play, pause, stop, record, fastforward, rewind
• Sky Q only: sidebar, dismiss, search, home

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: open the TV guide

Send the Sky and TV guide commands when you start your TV activity.

• Trigger: State, TV activity turns on
• Action: Send remote command
  • Target: Sky remote
  • Command: sky, tvguide

alias: "Open the Sky TV guide"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.tv_activity
    to: "on"
actions:
  - action: remote.send_command
    target:
      entity_id: remote.192_168_1_250
    data:
      command:
        - sky
        - tvguide

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.