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Home Assistant

Home Assistant is a home automation platform that connects smart devices from many vendors and runs automations locally on your own hardware. It is controlled through a web interface and mobile apps and has a large library of integrations. The recommended setup is Home Assistant OS on dedicated hardware; Nabu Casa's cloud service is optional.

Code Fireworks render of the Home Assistant repository, as of Nov 2026
As of Nov 2026Code Fireworks ↗

Why it fits

The core is licensed under Apache License 2.0. You can install Home Assistant on your own device without a mandatory subscription for core local control.

Getting started

5 steps · clarity 4/5

Prerequisites (from the official docs):

  • Recommended: dedicated hardware such as Home Assistant Green, a Raspberry Pi or a small x86 PC for Home Assistant OS
  • Alternative: an existing Linux host with Docker for the Container installation (fewer features, no add-on store)
  • A local network connection to your smart devices

Steps:

  1. Create a config directory on the host.
  2. Start the official container with your timezone and config path (see the Container install guide).
  3. Open http://<server>:8123 (or http://homeassistant.local:8123).
  4. Create your account in onboarding.
  5. Finish onboarding (location, analytics and first integrations).

Official installation overview: https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/

Notes

Optional cloud subscriptions (e.g. Nabu Casa) are not required for basic self-hosted use.

Sources

  1. home-assistant.io
  2. github.com/home-assistant/core/blob/dev/LICENSE.md
  3. home-assistant.io/installation

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