[#action-hidden]
= Hidden actions

Set `hidden: true` on an action to keep it off the default **Actions** dashboard and out of automatic UI listings (for example entity-related action pickers). This is useful for background helpers that run on cron, startup, webhooks, or as xref:action_execution/triggers.adoc[triggers].

[source,yaml]
----
actions:
  - title: Update container entity file
    shell: docker ps -a --format=json > /etc/OliveTin/entities/containers.json
    hidden: true
    execOnStartup: true
----

IMPORTANT: `hidden` is **not** a security control. It only affects where the action appears in the UI. Opening Action Details and calling APIs such as `GetActionBinding` require **view** permission; viewing execution logs requires **logs** permission. Those are separate from whether the action is listed on a dashboard. To restrict who can see or run an action, use xref:security/acl.adoc[Access Control Lists].

You can still place a hidden action on a custom dashboard by title if you want a button for it in a specific place.