Home Assistant on Raspberry Pi: Complete 2026 Setup Guide

A Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant is the most popular way to build a smart home that actually belongs to you. No monthly fees. No cloud dependency. No company deciding to shut down the service you rely on (looking at you, Google).

This guide walks you through the entire process. You don't need Linux experience or coding skills. If you can flash an SD card and plug in a cable, you can do this.

Why Raspberry Pi for Home Assistant?

Home Assistant is free, open-source software that controls your smart home devices locally. It supports over 2,700 integrations: lights, sensors, cameras, thermostats, locks, speakers, you name it.

The Raspberry Pi is where most people run it, and for good reason:

• It's cheap. A Pi 4 with case, power supply, and SD card runs about $80-100 total. A Pi 5 kit is around $120-140.
• It's small. About the size of a credit card. Tuck it behind your router and forget about it.
• It's silent. No fans (Pi 4) or barely audible (Pi 5). Runs 24/7 without you noticing.
• It sips power. Around 3-5 watts. That's less than $10/year in electricity.
• Huge community. Millions of people run this exact setup. Every problem you hit, someone's already solved it.

Raspberry Pi 4 vs Pi 5: Which One?

Both work great. Here's how they compare for Home Assistant specifically:

Our recommendation: Get a Pi 5 if you're buying new. The price difference is tiny and you get noticeably faster dashboard loading, which matters when you're checking your home on your phone. The Pi 4 is perfectly fine if you already own one or find a good deal.

What You Need (Shopping List)

Total cost: $100-170 depending on what you already have. That's it. No subscription. No monthly fee. One-time purchase, runs forever.

Step-by-Step Installation

This takes about 15 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10-15 minutes of waiting for things to download and install.

1 Download Raspberry Pi Imager

Grab the official Raspberry Pi Imager for your computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux). This is the tool that writes Home Assistant to your SD card.

2 Flash Home Assistant OS

1. Insert your microSD card into your computer
2. Open Raspberry Pi Imager
3. Click "Choose Device" and select your Pi model (Pi 4 or Pi 5)
4. Click "Choose OS", scroll down to "Other specific-purpose OS"
5. Select "Home assistants and home automation"
6. Select "Home Assistant", then pick the version for your Pi
7. Click "Choose Storage" and select your SD card
8. Click "Next", then "No" when asked about custom settings (Home Assistant handles its own config)
9. Wait for it to write and verify. This takes 5-10 minutes.

3 Boot It Up

1. Put the SD card into your Raspberry Pi
2. Connect the Ethernet cable to your router (recommended) or plan to use WiFi
3. Plug in the power supply
4. Wait. Seriously, just wait. The first boot takes 5-20 minutes depending on your internet speed. Home Assistant is downloading and installing things.

First-Time Setup and Onboarding

Once you see the welcome screen at homeassistant.local:8123, you'll walk through onboarding:

1. Create your account. Pick a name, username, and strong password. This is your admin account.
2. Name your home. Set your location on the map (for sunrise/sunset automations and weather).
3. Choose your units. Metric or imperial, currency, time zone.
4. Auto-discovered devices. Home Assistant will show devices it already found on your network. You can add them now or skip and do it later.
5. Analytics. Optional. Shares anonymous usage data with the HA team. Your choice.

That's it. You're in. Welcome to your dashboard.

Adding Your First Devices

Home Assistant auto-discovers most devices on your network. Go to Settings > Devices & Services and you'll likely see things already waiting for you.

WiFi Devices (Easiest)

If you have smart plugs, bulbs, or other WiFi devices from brands like TP-Link, Shelly, or WLED, they often show up automatically. Click "Configure" next to the discovered device and follow the prompts.

Zigbee Devices (Best for Sensors)

If you bought the SONOFF Zigbee dongle:

1. Plug the dongle into a USB port on the Pi (use a USB extension cable to avoid interference)
2. Go to Settings > Devices & Services > Add Integration
3. Search for "Zigbee Home Automation" (ZHA)
4. Select your SONOFF dongle from the list
5. Put your Zigbee device in pairing mode (usually hold a button for 5 seconds)
6. It shows up in Home Assistant within seconds

Popular Zigbee devices to start with: Aqara sensors, IKEA Tradfri bulbs, SONOFF plugs. They're cheap, reliable, and work without internet.

Existing Smart Home Devices

Already running Google Home or Alexa? Most of your devices probably work with Home Assistant too. Philips Hue, Nest thermostats, Ring cameras, Sonos speakers. Check the compatible devices guide or run our free scan to find out.

Your First Automation

The real power of Home Assistant is automations. Here's a simple one to get you started: turn on a light when motion is detected.

1. Go to Settings > Automations & Scenes > Create Automation
2. Click "Create new automation"
3. Under Triggers, click "Add trigger" and choose "Device"
4. Select your motion sensor and pick "Motion detected"
5. Under Actions, click "Add action" and choose "Device"
6. Select your light and pick "Turn on"
7. Save it. Name it something like "Hallway motion light"

Walk past the sensor. Light turns on. That took maybe 2 minutes to set up.

Want it to turn off after 3 minutes? Add a second automation, or use the "Wait for" action followed by "Turn off." The automation editor is visual. No YAML required for basic stuff.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using a cheap power supply

Already mentioned it, mentioning it again. Underpowered adapters cause random reboots and SD card corruption. Use the official one.

2. Running on SD card long-term

SD cards wear out over time from constant read/write operations. Home Assistant writes data frequently (sensor history, logs, database). An SD card might last 6 months to 2 years before issues appear.

Better option: After your initial setup works, migrate to a USB SSD. It's faster, more reliable, and costs about $25. Home Assistant has a built-in tool to move your installation.

3. Not making backups

Go to Settings > System > Backups and set up automatic backups. Weekly at minimum. Store them somewhere other than the Pi itself (Google Drive add-on, network share, etc.).

Nothing ruins your week like losing months of carefully built automations because the SD card died.

4. Installing too many add-ons at once

Home Assistant's add-on store is like a candy shop. Resist the urge to install everything on day one. Start with the basics, get comfortable, then expand. Every add-on uses memory and CPU.

5. Putting the Zigbee dongle directly in the USB port

USB 3.0 ports generate radio interference that messes with Zigbee signals. Use a short USB extension cable (even 6 inches helps) to move the dongle away from the Pi. This one trick fixes 80% of "my Zigbee devices keep disconnecting" complaints.

Raspberry Pi vs Home Assistant Green

The Home Assistant Green ($99) is the official plug-and-play box from Nabu Casa (the company behind Home Assistant). Is it worth it?

Pick the Green if you want zero fuss. It works out of the box, no SD card flashing required. It's slightly less powerful than a Pi 5 but runs Home Assistant perfectly fine for most homes.

Pick the Pi 5 if you enjoy the DIY aspect, want the option to repurpose the hardware later, or plan to run a larger setup with many devices and add-ons.

Either way, you get the same Home Assistant experience. The software is identical.

What's Next

You now have a fully working Home Assistant installation. Here's what most people do next:

1. Install the mobile app. Available for iOS and Android. Gives you push notifications and location-based automations.
2. Set up remote access. Home Assistant Cloud ($7.50/mo) is the easiest way. Or use a reverse proxy if you're comfortable with networking.
3. Add more devices. Start with the rooms you use most. Kitchen, living room, bedroom. One room at a time.
4. Build a dashboard. Customize what you see on your home screen. Group devices by room. Add weather, energy monitoring, whatever matters to you.
5. Explore add-ons. Mosquitto (MQTT broker), Node-RED (visual automation builder), and ESPHome (DIY sensors) are popular first picks.

The Raspberry Pi + Home Assistant combination scales surprisingly well. People run hundreds of devices on a single Pi without problems. Start small, expand as you see fit.