Core Lovelace does not support templates (except in the markdown card content). You need to use custom cards if you want to use templates.
Also I would be wary of using that Animated Background card.
Sadly the developer passed away recently so it is no longer being supported and may break with an update in future, unless someone else makes a fork of the repository and takes on supporting it.
The only way I found to do this is by using card_mod and using a panel type view where you put the top most element (layout card or a stack or whatever) in a mod_card, remove borders/shadows and then you can use card mod css to do whatever you want with the background.
I have to say I only use this to display current playing media art as background, “below” that I use animated_backgrounds. Because the one displays over the other, I can have the media background as entirely seperate logic compared to the time-of-day/weather backgrounds.
o thats interesting, was looking for that just today!
could you help me out here please, how to go about adding the mod card on this panel?
title: Plattegrond
path: plattegrond
icon: mdi:floor-plan
# background: center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond.png') fixed
# type: custom:vertical-layout
panel: true
cards:
- type: vertical-stack
cards:
-
-
etc
I have darker and lighter themes, so would like to switch to a
background: center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond_inversed.png') fixed
theme in my darker themes
on regular cards I use config-template-card for that with a
- title: Map
icon: mdi:map
type: panel
cards:
- type: custom:config-template-card
entities:
- input_select.theme
variables:
theme: states['input_select.theme'].state
card:
type: custom:auto-entities
filter:
include:
- domain: person
card:
type: map
hours_to_show: 48
dark_mode: ${(/ight|Dark|Matrix/).test(theme)}
on the card config… with a view, I wouldn’t n=know how to proceed.
or, are you saying, in panel mode, we only need to set the background on the vertical-stack?
update
Bingo! You’ve made my day, thank you so very much!
title: Plattegrond
path: plattegrond
icon: mdi:floor-plan
# background: center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond.png') fixed
# type: custom:vertical-layout
panel: true
cards:
- type: custom:mod-card
style: |
ha-card {
background:
{{ "center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond_inversed.png') fixed"
if states('input_select.theme') is search('ight|Dark|Matrix', ignorecase=True)
else
"center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond.png') fixed" }};
}
card:
type: vertical-stack
cards:
works beautifully indeed!
Of course, its still not the same as setting a regular views background, but this comes close, and since I would be using it on only a couple of views, that indeed benefit from panel mode, I am not complaining 
btw, this is a neater template for that:
{% set dark = states('input_select.theme') is search('ight|Dark|Matrix', ignorecase=True)%}
{% set extension = '_inversed' if dark else '' %}
{{"center / cover no-repeat url('/local/images/areas/plattegrond"~extension~".png') fixed" }}
I’ve been googling and asking in the forums to do the same.
Another option is I guess to have a py script running that either updates your mushroom,yaml file OR you can instead rename the file that the theme points too on a regular basis. Not sure how to run py scripts like that though, I guess has to be done at the OS level as a chron or something.
This is the only solution till now… Which is an outdated addon
Maybe you can try this fork
thank you! i’ll take a look
I’ve been working on this for a while, read lots of posts and tried ChatGPT, I’m trying to make a background change based on a variable. I found this thread while trying to figure out what I have done wrong.
I have the .png files in the local folder and I have gotten an entity to change following the variable. I’m just not understanding how to do this as a dashboard background.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is what I have so far.
views:
- title: Test View
background: |
{% if state_attr('sensor.cubbies', 'opponent_abbr') == 'BOS' %}
/center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_BOS.png")
{% elif state_attr('sensor.cubbies', 'opponent_abbr') == 'STL' %}
/center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_STL.png")
{% else %}
/center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_CHC.png")
{% endif %}
as mentioned earlier in this thread
Please review this thread
You can also execute card background changes via Themes and card_mod, but he is looking for lovelace backgrounds. That mod is out dated as you mentioned.
card-mod-card: |
ha-card {
background:
{% if state_attr('sensor.cubbies', 'opponent_abbr') == 'BOS' %}
center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_BOS.png")
{% elif state_attr('sensor.cubbies', 'opponent_abbr') == 'STL' %}
center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_STL.png")
{% else %}
center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_CHC.png")
{% endif %};
As image background, yes, but not as video background.
Sorry, I always had video background, in my head 
edit: I am still using that mod… It is working, but yes, outdated…
edit2: I tried a similar solution for changing background of a dashboard, dynamically , but it is not updating if you don’t refresh the page, thats why javascript will be the king for this. I tried to examine that addon, but it is over my programming skills of javascript, in order to create a personal addon
you can set a theme to your view:
title: Buienradar
path: buienradar
theme: weather-background
type: custom:horizontal-layout
and using card-mod, theme that:
weather-background:
card-mod-theme: weather-background
card-mod-view: &cam_background
|
horizontal-layout {
{% if is_state('input_boolean.weer_view_background','on') %}
background: repeat url({{state_attr('camera.buienradar','entity_picture')}});
{% endif %}
}
nevermind the yaml anchor (it’s used in another view below that)
you can use this on other layouts too:
card-mod-view: |
vertical-layout {
{% set seizoen = states('sensor.season_astronomical') %}
background: repeat url('/local/season/{{seizoen}}_2.png');
or
vertical-layout {
background:
{% set dark =
states('input_select.theme') is search('ight|Dark|Matrix',ignorecase=True)%}
{% set extension = '_dark' if dark else '' %}
{{"center/cover no-repeat url('/local/wallpapers/map"~extension~".png') fixed"}};
}
you name it 
Thanks for all the inputs! I am still working on it, Marius, I am going to check out the card-mod-theme and view today.
PickOne
Your original post is how I found this thread, did you ever get yours to work the way you wanted?
I should have been more clear with my post. Marius 's explanation was spot on and will generate what you need. I was curious if you created Themes before?
They can be as simple as creating a file in the themes folder.
Example:
modes:
dark:
sidebar-background-color: '#090e3b'
light:
sidebar-background-color: '#99eeff'
card-mod-view: |
horizontal-layout {
{% set state = state_attr('sensor.cubbies', 'opponent_abbr') %}
{% if state == 'BOS' %} background: center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_BOS.png")
{% elif state == 'STL' %} background: center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_STL.png")
{% else %} background: center / cover no-repeat fixed url("/local/IMG_CHC.png")
{% endif %}
card-mod-theme: Example
Switching to that theme here
Card-mod is required for this method.
Thanks for this. I can’t seem to get it to work with the Sections Layout.
I’ve tried:
sections-layout {
sections {
etc.
Have you any idea if it will work or how to make it work.
Thanks.
Ive found this to work, in my card-mod-themes:
card-mod-view: |
vertical-layout {
{% set weeralarm = states['sensor.weer_alarm'].attributes.icon_color
if is_state('binary_sensor.meteoalarm_brabant','on') %}
background: {{weeralarm}};
}
hui-sections-view {
{% set weeralarm = states['sensor.weer_alarm'].attributes.icon_color
if is_state('binary_sensor.meteoalarm_brabant','on') %}
background: {{weeralarm}};
}
be ware though that while the vertical-layout colors the complete background, and goes beyond the last card, just as the window stretches, the hui-sections-view ends at the last section, which, if the required vertical space for that section is less than the window, looks really ugly…
Maybe there is another way of doing it, not sure yet, Sections is still experimental after all… We can add some empty grids in that section to make it use more background, but ofc that is plain silly
Hi,
I tried in a “section” type view but it didn’t work.
I currently use the ‘frontend’ mode to edit lovelace and I would like to change the background of only one specific tab (of type ‘section’) based on the entity sun.sun.
Could you please detail how you applied it?
Thanks
dont think it can be any more detailed.
If you use themes you can use card-mod-theming to set things system wide on particular elements, in this case a type of view.
check the instructions in the card-mod repo on the subject.
I take it with
you mean the UI editor opposed to Yaml mode? tbh, I dont use that a lot, and it really is a pain to have to copy all of that code in the editor…
I haven tried to set a mod on a single Sections view in Yaml mode yet, so cant say how to do that.
I did notice that the colorization was different than on a regular view, as those regular vies are colored all the way done to the view window, even if that is taller than the actual view. WIth sections, the colored background stops at the bottom of the section, and if the window of the view is taller (like on desktop) the rest gets the regular theme setting color.
Which I found really ugly, so I stopped using it altogether for now
Well I finally got this to work using the code below. I can change the background based on a variable. Thanks to all who gave their advice and opinions. I only have one problem now. I am not able to edit the code using the conventional ‘Edit’ on this page (clicking the pencil in the upper right corner). The only way I can edit is with the Raw Configuration Editor.
Just wanted to post what I had in case someone else stumbles on this while researching the same topic.
button_card_templates:
custom_background:
styles:
card:
- background: |
[[[
if (states['input_select.background_selector'].state === 'Day') {
return 'url("/local/CHC.jpeg")';
} else if (states['input_select.background_selector'].state === 'Night') {
return 'url("/local/Wrigley_Winter.jpg")';
} else {
return 'var(--primary-background-color)';
}
]]]
- background-size: cover
- background-position: center
- background-repeat: no-repeat
- height: 100vh
- width: 100vw
- position: fixed
- top: 0
- left: 0
views:
- title: Home
panel: true
cards:
- type: custom:button-card
template: custom_background
styles:
card:
- overflow: auto
- padding: 16px
custom_fields:
content:
card:
type: vertical-stack
cards:
- type: custom:teamtracker-card
entity: sensor.cubbies
visibility:
- condition: state
entity: sensor.cubbies
state: NOT_FOUND
- type: entity
entity: sensor.spring_training
name: Days until Spring Training
icon: mdi:baseball
- type: entity
entity: sensor.opening_day
name: Days until Opening Day
icon: mdi:baseball-outline
type: panel
icon: ''