Count words in text: wordcount

The wordcount filter counts the number of words in a string, splitting on whitespace. This is useful when you need to measure the length of text content. For example, you might want to check if a sensor message is too long before sending a notification, or display a word count for text entered through an input helper.

Usage

Here’s how to use this template function. Copy any example and adjust it to your setup.

{{ "The quick brown fox jumps" | wordcount }}

5

Function signature

The signature is a technical summary of this template function. It shows the name of the function, the values (called parameters) it accepts, and what type of data each parameter expects (for example, a piece of text or a number).

Function parameters that have a = with a value after them are optional. If you leave them out, the default value shown is used automatically. Function parameters without a default are required.

wordcount(
    value: str,
) -> int

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

Good to know

• Words are anything separated by whitespace. Punctuation stays attached to its neighboring word and does not add to the count.
• An empty string returns 0.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Template, paste the example into the Template editor, and watch the result update on the right. Edit the values to see how the function adapts to your own 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].

More examples

Real scenarios where this function comes up in automations and templates. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Check message length before sending

Only send a notification if the message is not too long.

{% set msg = states("sensor.latest_message") %}
{% if msg | wordcount <= 50 %}
  {{ msg }}
{% else %}
  Message too long to display
{% endif %}

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Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with your template and expected result, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one:

• Wrap text at a line width: wordwrap - Wraps text at a given line width by inserting line breaks.

• Truncate text to a length: truncate - Truncates a string to a given length, appending an ellipsis if it was shortened.