Send keyboard keypress

The Send keyboard keypress action sends a single keyboard keypress to a System Bridge server, as if the key was pressed on the server’s keyboard.

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 send a keypress 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: Send keyboard keypress.
6. Select the Bridge server and select or enter the Key to press.
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.send_keypress. Store the result in a response variable so you can use it in later steps:

action: system_bridge.send_keypress
data:
  bridge: 1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d
  key: "a"
response_variable: result

Options in YAML

Response data

The response confirms the key that was pressed and includes the following fields:

• id: The ID of the request.
• type: The result type, such as KEYBOARD_KEY_PRESSED.
• data: The data that was sent, such as the key that was pressed.
• message: A human-readable result message.

An example of the response looks like this:

id: abc123
type: KEYBOARD_KEY_PRESSED
data:
  key: a
message: Key pressed

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:

• Send keyboard text: Sends text for a System Bridge server to type.