Text is equal to

The Text is equal to condition passes when a text 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] holds a specific value. It works with both Text entities and Text helpers. Use it to branch an automation based on a stored note, only continue when a device reports a known status string, or check that a code helper matches an expected value.

Using this condition from the user interface

If you prefer building automations visually, Home Assistant walks you through this condition step by step. You pick what to check, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use Text is equal to in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the And if section, select Add condition.
4. Select what you want to check. Under By target (see Targets), pick the text entity or text helper you want to check. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
5. From the conditions shown for that target, select Text is equal to.
6. Under Value, enter the text the entity must match.
7. Under Condition passes if (see Behavior), pick Any or All.
8. Under For at least, set how long the entity must have held the value.
9. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this condition 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 condition as text.is_equal_to. A basic example looks like this:

condition: text.is_equal_to
target:
  entity_id: input_text.house_mode
options:
  value: "away"

This passes when input_text.house_mode is set to away.

Options in YAML

Targets of the condition

This condition requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will check. You can point the condition 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 evaluate every matching text entity behind that target.

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

You can also select different target types in one condition. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same condition to check both of them at once.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Condition passes if option controls how the results combine:

• Any (default): the condition passes if at least one of the targeted entities matches. For example, if you check three smoke sensors and only one of them detects smoke, the condition still passes. This is useful for questions like “is there smoke anywhere in the house?”
• All: the condition passes only when every targeted entity matches. For example, if you check the same three smoke sensors, the condition passes only once all three report cleared. This is useful for “is the entire house safe now?” checks, so your automation does not send an all-clear while one room still has a reading.

Good to know

• The comparison is exact and case-sensitive: Away and away are not equal.
• A text entity in the unknown or unavailable state never matches a value.
• To react when a text value changes instead of testing the current value, use the Text changed trigger.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, open an automation, and add this condition. Trigger the automation with and without the condition met, and watch whether it continues or stops.

More examples

Real scenarios where this condition gates an automation. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: only run a goodbye routine when the house mode is set to away

When you leave home, this automation checks that the house mode helper is set to away before turning off the lights and locking the door.

• Trigger: State: Person leaves home
• Condition: Text is equal to
  • Target: House mode
  • Value: away
• Action: Turn off light
  • Target: Living room light
• Action: Lock lock
  • Target: Front door

alias: "Goodbye routine when house mode is away"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: person.me
    from: "home"
conditions:
  - condition: text.is_equal_to
    target:
      entity_id: input_text.house_mode
    options:
      value: "away"
actions:
  - action: light.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: light.living_room
  - action: lock.lock
    target:
      entity_id: lock.front_door

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the condition you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.