Send message

Use this action to send a push notification to the other members of a shared Bring! shopping list. The Bring! mobile app has four predefined notification types, like letting everyone know you are going shopping or that an item is urgently needed.

This is handy in automations, for example to remind the household that the shopping is done when you arrive back home.

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 notification 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 a Bring! shopping list.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Bring!: Send message.
7. Select the Notification type to send. When you select Urgent message, also enter the Item to include.
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 bring.send_message. A basic example looks like this:

action: bring.send_message
target:
  entity_id: todo.bring_shopping_list
data:
  message: going_shopping

This sends a going_shopping notification to the members of the selected list.

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 todo entity behind that target.

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

• The item field is required when you send an urgent_message. For the other notification types, it is ignored.
• The notification that list members receive can differ from the labels shown here. It depends on the recipient’s language settings, your profile name, and the Bring! app version.

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.

Send an urgent message

When you need an item urgently, send an urgent message that includes the item name.

action: bring.send_message
target:
  entity_id: todo.bring_shopping_list
data:
  message: urgent_message
  item: Cilantro

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: notify list members when you are heading out to shop

When you leave the home zone, send an urgent message to the shared shopping list so other household members have a last chance to add items before you arrive at the shop.

• Trigger: Zone: person leaves zone.home
• Action: Bring!: Send message
  • Notification type: Urgent message

alias: "Notify list when leaving home to shop"
triggers:
  - trigger: zone
    entity_id: person.your_name
    zone: zone.home
    event: leave
actions:
  - action: bring.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: todo.bring_shoppinglist
    data:
      message: urgent_message
      item: ""

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 reaction: Sends an emoji reaction to a recent activity on a Bring! list.