Templates

LCARdS cards support dynamic content through four template syntaxes. You can mix them freely in most string values.

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Syntax Overview

1. Token Templates {...}

Simple substitutions for entity state, attributes, theme values, and DataSource values.

text:
  label:
    content: "{entity.state}"                          # Entity state
  sublabel:
    content: "{entity.attributes.brightness}"          # Attribute
  title:
    content: "{theme:colors.text.onDark}"              # Theme token
  reading:
    content: "{ds:temp:.1f}°C"                         # DataSource with format

Available tokens:

Token	Value
{entity.state}	Current entity state string
{entity.attributes.NAME}	Any entity attribute
{theme:token.path}	Theme token value — see Themes
{ds:source_name}	DataSource current value
{datasource:source:.2f}	DataSource with format specifier
{datasource:source.processor:.0f}	Specific processor buffer with format

Format specifiers follow Python str.format() style:

Specifier	Example	Result
:.1f	{ds:temp:.1f}	21.3 (1 decimal)
:.0f	{ds:temp:.0f}	21 (integer)
:.2f	{ds:temp:.2f}	21.34 (2 decimals)
:%	{ds:progress:%}	0.75% (percentage)

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2. JavaScript Templates [[[...]]]

For any logic or calculation. Return the final value.

text:
  label:
    content: "[[[return entity.state === 'on' ? 'Active' : 'Inactive']]]"

  brightness:
    content: "[[[return Math.round(entity.attributes.brightness / 255 * 100) + '%']]]"

  climate_status:
    content: >
      [[[
        const state = entity.state;
        const temp = entity.attributes.current_temperature;
        return state === 'heating' ? `Heating to ${entity.attributes.temperature}°` : `${temp}°`;
      ]]]

Available context:

Variable	Type	Contents
entity	object	Current entity state — entity.state, entity.attributes.*, entity.entity_id, entity.last_changed
hass	object	Full Home Assistant object — hass.states, hass.services, hass.user, hass.themes
config	object	This card's full config
theme	object	Current theme token tree

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3. Jinja2 Templates {{...}}

Evaluated server-side by Home Assistant. Supports all HA template functions.

text:
  label:
    content: "{{ states('sensor.temperature') }}°C"
  status:
    content: "{% if is_state('light.kitchen', 'on') %}On{% else %}Off{% endif %}"
  diff:
    content: "{{ (states('sensor.temp_inside')|float - states('sensor.temp_outside')|float)|round(1) }}°"

NOTE

Jinja2 templates are evaluated asynchronously by HA. There may be a brief delay before values appear after a page load.

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4. DataSource Templates {ds:...} / {datasource:...}

For values from a named DataSource. Supports format specifiers and processor buffer access.

data_sources:
  temp:
    entity: sensor.temperature
    processing:
      f: { type: convert_unit, from: c, to: f }

text:
  value:
    content: "{ds:temp:.1f}°C"              # Current value, 1 decimal
    # Or from a specific processor buffer:
    # content: "{datasource:temp.f:.0f}°F"

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Where Templates Work

Templates are evaluated in most string-valued config properties:

• text.*.content — label text
• style.*.color.* — colour values when referencing theme tokens
• tap_action.service_data.* — action parameters
• tap_action.navigation_path — dashboard path
• tap_action.url_path — URL
• icon — icon name
• shape_texture.config.fill_pct — numeric parameters

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Template Evaluation Order

When a value could match multiple syntaxes, evaluation proceeds in this order:

1. [[[...]]] — JavaScript (evaluated first)
2. {token} — Token substitution
3. {ds:...} / {datasource:...} — DataSource
4. {{...}} — Jinja2 (HA server-evaluated, async)