# Entity

> One thing Home Assistant can show, measure, or control, like a light, a temperature sensor, or a switch. Every entity has a state.

Source: https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/entity/

- In code: `Entity`, `entity_id`
- Also: entities

Entities are what users see and use: on dashboards, in automations, and by voice. An integration creates them, usually several per [device](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/device/).

Each entity has a type, like `light` or `sensor`, which decides what it can do and how it looks. Its [state](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/state/) is its current value, like `on` or `21.5`.

## Related terms

- [Entity ID](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/entity-id/): The ID of an entity: its domain and an object ID, like `light.kitchen`.
- [State](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/state/): The current value of an entity, like `on`, `21.5`, or `playing`, together with its attributes.
- [Device](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/device/): A physical device, or a service, that one or more entities belong to, like a thermostat with a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor.
- [Platform](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/platform/): How an integration provides one type of entity, like the `light` platform of the Hue integration. Also used for integration platforms, files that plug into another integration.
- [Unique ID](https://contributors.home-assistant.io/glossary/unique-id/): An ID that an integration gives an entity or config entry, which never changes, so Home Assistant recognizes it after a restart.