Take full control of Home Assistant without ever talking to Alexa or Google Home. In this video, I show you how to set up a USB keypad on a Proxmox server, detect key events, and build powerful automations using the Keyboard Remote integration.
Perfect for anyone who prefers physical buttons, wants silent control, or needs an accessible alternative to voice commands.
What you’ll learn:
• How to install a USB keypad into a Proxmox Home Assistant VM
• How to add the USB device correctly in Proxmox
• How to find your keypad event number in Home Assistant
• How to configure keyboard_remote in configuration.yaml
• How to detect key presses using event listeners
• How to build automations triggered by keypad keys
• How to control lights, curtains, TVs and more
• Tips for mapping key codes and avoiding common mistakes
This method is useful for Home Assistant beginners, Proxmox users, silent smart-home setups, accessibility-focused builds, and anyone wanting physical controls for lights, TVs, curtains and more.
Codes:
keyboard_remote:
device_descriptor: ‘/dev/input/eventx’
type: “key_down”
emulate_key_hold: true
emulate_key_hold_delay: 0.25
emulate_key_hold_repeat: 2.0
keyboard_remote_command_received
device_descriptor: /dev/input/event3
key_code: 83
type: key_down
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Credits
00:51 Setup the Keyboard
01:35 Add it to Proxmox
02:34 Finding the USB Key in Home Assistant and adding it
04:33 Testing it works
06:15 Making an Automation
13:03 What can it do