Get process by ID

The Get process by ID action returns a single running process from a System Bridge server, looked up by its process ID (PID).

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 get a process by its ID from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create to start a new one.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select System Bridge: Get process by ID.
6. Select the Bridge server and enter the process ID.
7. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you select the System Bridge server through the Bridge 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 system_bridge.get_process_by_id. Store the result in a response variable so you can use it in later steps:

action: system_bridge.get_process_by_id
data:
  bridge: 1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d
  id: 17752
response_variable: process

Options in YAML

Response data

The response describes the matching process and includes the following fields:

• id: The process ID (PID).
• name: The name of the process.
• cpu_usage: The percentage of CPU the process is using.
• memory_usage: The percentage of memory the process is using.
• created: The time the process was created, as a Unix timestamp.
• path: The path to the executable on the server.
• status: The current status of the process, such as running.
• username: The user the process is running as.
• working_directory: The working directory of the process, if available.

An example of the response looks like this:

id: 17752
name: steam.exe
cpu_usage: 0.9
created: 1698951361.6117153
memory_usage: 0.23782578821487121
path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe
status: running
username: hostname\user
working_directory:

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.

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:

• Get processes by name: Gets the running processes from a System Bridge server that match a name.