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Parse a version string: version

The version template function converts a string into a version object that can be compared with other version objects. Instead of comparing version strings as plain text (where 9.0 would incorrectly sort after 10.0), version objects understand semantic versioning and compare correctly.

This is useful when you have devicesA device is a model representing a physical or logical unit that contains entities. or software that report their firmware or software version as a sensorSensors return information about a thing, for instance the level of water in a tank. [Learn more] value. For example, you might want to check if a device’s firmware is outdated, trigger an automationAutomations in Home Assistant allow you to automatically respond to things that happen in and around your home. [Learn more] when a new version is detected, or filter a list of devices by their version number. The version object handles common version formats like 1.2.3, 2024.1.0, and 1.0.0-beta.

Usage

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

As a function

As a filter

Template

{{ version("2.1.0") > version("2.0.0") }}

Result (boolean)

true

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 = are usually required. A few optional parameters have no default value, so the signature shows them without a = as well. To check whether a parameter is required, look at the parameter list below the signature. Each parameter is marked as Required or Optional.

The most common optional parameter without a default value is default. The default parameter sets the value a function returns when the function can’t produce a result, for example, when float gets text that isn’t a number. If you leave out default, there is no fallback value, so most functions raise an error and the template fails. The parameter list of each function says what happens. If you set default, the function returns your value instead.

How to read a signature

Here is the signature of the round filter as an example:

round(
    value: Any,
    precision: int = 0,
    method: str = "common",
    default: Any,
) -> float | int | Any

round is the name of the function.
Between the parentheses are the parameters. Each parameter has a name, followed by a colon and the type of value the parameter expects. The type only tells you what kind of value to pass. For default: Any, you pass a value of any type, such as 0 or "unknown", not the word Any.
= 0 and = "common" are default values. You can leave out precision and method, and round uses these default values.
default has no =, but the parameter list marks default as optional. If you leave out default and round gets a value that isn’t a number, round raises an error.
-> shows the type of value the function returns.
Inside a signature, | means “or”. This function returns a decimal number, a whole number, or the value you passed as default.

round is a filter, so the first parameter, value, is the value before the |. For example, {{ 3.14159 | round(2) }} returns 3.14.

The types you’ll see most often:

str: text, such as "hello"
int: a whole number, such as 5
float: a decimal number, such as 3.14
bool: true or false
list: a list of values, such as [1, 2, 3]. list[str] is a list of texts.
dict: a set of keys and values, such as {"name": "Kitchen"}
datetime and timedelta: a date and time, and a duration. For details, refer to Dates and times.
None: no value
Any: any type of value

Some signatures use special forms:

*args means you can pass any number of values, separated by commas. For example, average(1, 2, 3).
value | name(...) means the function is a filter. The value before the | is passed to the filter as its first parameter. Some filter signatures, like the round example, show this value as the first parameter between the parentheses instead.

version(
    value: str,
) -> AwesomeVersion

Function parameters

The following parameters can be provided to this function.

value string Required

The version string to parse. Supports common formats like 1.2.3, 2024.1.0, or 1.0-beta.

Comparing versions

Version objects support all comparison operators. This is much safer than comparing version strings directly, because string comparison would consider 9.0 greater than 10.0.

Template: Correct version comparison

{{ version("10.0") > version("9.0") }}

Result (boolean)

true

Template: Incorrect string comparison

{{ "10.0" > "9.0" }}

Result (boolean)

false

Good to know

You can compare a version object with a plain string, in either order. For example, version("2099.9.9") < "2099.9.10" is true.
Version parsing is lenient and never fails, even for text like unknown. Unusual formats may parse in ways you do not expect, so test your comparisons against real values.
The comparisons <, >, <=, and >= raise an error if either side isn’t a valid version. This happens when a sensor state is unavailable or unknown. To avoid this, check the state first, for example with has_value. The == comparison never raises an error.
When you output a version object, it shows the version text.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > 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 if firmware is up to date

Compare a device’s current firmware version against the minimum required version.

Template

{% set current = states("sensor.device_firmware") | version %}
{% set required = version("3.2.0") %}
{% if current >= required %}
  Firmware is up to date
{% else %}
  Firmware update required
{% endif %}

Result (string)

Firmware is up to date

Notify on version change

Detect whether a software version has increased, which could indicate an update was installed.

Template: Check for newer version

{{ version("2024.4.0") > version("2024.3.1") }}

Result (boolean)

true

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.

Tip

AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain or fix templates when you describe what you want in plain language.

Related template functions

These functions work well alongside this one:

Get entity state: states - Returns the state value of an entity, or lets you iterate over all entity states.

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