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Home Assistant

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Home Assistant
Original author(s)Paulus Schoutsen
Developer(s)Home Assistant Core Team and Community
Initial release17 September 2013
(11 years ago) (2013-09-17)
Stable release
2021.3.4 [1] / 13 March 2021
(3 years ago) (2021-03-13)
Repositorygithub.com/home-assistant
Written inPython (Python 3.8)
Operating systemSoftware appliance / Virtual appliance (Linux)
PlatformARM, ARM64, IA-32 (x86), and x64 (x86-64)
TypeHome automation, Smart home technology, internet of things, task automator
LicenseApache License (free and open-source)
Websitewww.home-assistant.io

Home Assistant is free and open-source home automation software designed to be the central control system for smart home appliances with focus on local control and privacy.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] It can be accessed via a web-based user interface, via the official companion apps for Android[9] and iOS,[10] or using voice commands via a supported virtual assistant like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

A wide range of different devices, services and IoT technologies is supported by modular integration components, such as protocols like Bluetooth, MQTT, Zigbee and Z-Wave.[11][12]

Information from such entities can be used within scripts or trigger automations, e.g. for controlling lighting, climate, entertainment systems and appliances.[13][14][15][16]

History

The project was started as a Python application by Paulus Schoutsen in September 2013 and first published publicly on GitHub in November 2013.

In July 2017, a managed operating system called Hass.io was introduced which made it easier use to use Home Assistant on the Raspberry Pi. It allowed to manage, backup and update the local installation and introduced the option to extend the functionality of the software with add-ons.[17]

In December 2017, Home Assistant Cloud as a subscription service was introduced with a monthly fee of $5/month. It started support for Amazon Alexa to control local devices using voice commands.[18] Support for Google Assistant was later added in April 2018.[19]

In September 2018, Nabu Casa, Inc. was founded which took over the subscription service. The company's funding is based solely on revenue from the service to guarantee focus on its users' interests. It is used to finance the project's infrastructure and to pay for full-time employees contributing to the project.[20]

In January 2020, branding was adjusted to make it easier referring to different parts of the project. The main piece of software was renamed to Home Assistant Core, while the full suite of software with operating system and management system that runs on the Raspberry Pi was renamed to Home Assistant.[21]

On December 13, 2020 the first Home Assistant Conference was held as an online event with keynote speaches by founder Paulus Schoutsen and 16 talks by selected developers and users of Home Assistant. The Keynote introduced a new release cycle with monthly new major versions as well as a new versioning based on the release date. Additionally, Home Assistant Blue was introduced, the first piece of hardware of the project. It consists of an ODROID N2+ with a custom themed enclosure and Home Assistant pre-installed, and a power adapter and is sold as a bundle.

GitHub's "State of the Octoverse" in 2019 listed Home Assistant as the tenth biggest open-source project on its platform with 6,300 contributors.[22] In 2020, with 8,162 contributors it was listed second place in the list of Python packages with the most unique contributors.[23]

Features

Hardware

Home Assistant is supported and can be installed on multiple platforms, these include single-board computers by ODROID, Raspberry Pi, Asus Tinkerboard, Intel NUC, operating systems like Windows, macOS, Linux as well as virtual machines and NAS systems.[24] On officially supported single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, the installation requires flashing a corresponding system image onto a microSD card from which the system can boot.[24] It is possible to use Home Assistant as a gateway or bridge for devices using different IoT technologies like Zigbee or Z-Wave, necessary hardware can be mounted onto general-purpose I/O pins or using USB ports.[25][26] Moreover, it can connect directly or indirectly to local IoT devices, control hubs/gateways/bridges, or cloud services from many different vendors, including other open and closed smart home ecosystems.[27][28][29][30]

Dashboard

The frontend dashboard is called Lovelace (named after Ada Lovelace),[31] which offers different cards to display information and control devices. The design language is based on Material Design and can be themed with global themes. The interface is fully customizable using the integrated editor or by modifying the underlying YAML code. Cards can be extended with custom resources, which can be integrated manually or using HACS (Home Assistant Community Store).

Automation

Home Assistant acts as a central smart home controller hub by combining different devices and services in a single place and integrating them as entities. The provided rule-based system for automations allows creating custom routines based on a trigger event, conditions and actions, including scripts. These enable building automation, alarm management of security alarms and video surveillance for home security system as well as monitoring of energy measuring devices.[32][33][34][35] Since December 2020, it is possible to use automation blueprints - pre-made automations from the community that can be easily added to an exsisting system.[36]

Security

Home Assistant as an on-premises software with its focus on local control for the purpose of privacy in combination with its state as an open-source application has been described as beneficial to the security of the platform, specifically when compared to closed-source home automation software based on proprietary hardware and cloud-services.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

There is no remote access enabled by default and data is stored solely on the device itself. User accounts can be secured with two-factor authentication to prevent access even if the user password is known by the attacker. Add-ons get a security rating based on their access to system resources.[37]

In January 2021, cybersecurity analyst Oriel Goel found a directory traversal security vulnerability in third party custom integrations. The issue got disclosed on January 22, 2021 and finally patched with Home Assistant version 2021.1.5. There is no information if the vulnerability has been abused.[38][39]

Reception

Home Assistant took second place in 2017[40] and 2018[41] for the Thomas Krenn Award (formerly Open Source Grant), later winning first place in 2019.[42] Home Assistant also won an DINACon award in 2018 for their "Open Internet Award" category.,[43][44] as well as being a nominee for the same awards in 2013[45]

Home Assistant has been included in a number of product and platform comparisons, where, like many other non-commercial home automation controllers/hubs, it has often in the past been criticized for forcing users into a tedious file-based setup procedure using text-based YAML markup-language instead of graphical user interfaces.[46][47][48][49][50][51][32][52] However, newer versions of Home Assistant have also made it simpler to perform a standard installation from scratch via only the main graphical user interfaces and quickly get started more compared to earlier versions, as the core development team have for the latest couple of years been working on making Home Assistant more user-friendly to new and less advanced home automation users, with most features being available from the GUI. Thus the team have increasingly moved its configuration settings from its YAML setup files to the latest revisions of its web-based graphical user interface.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]

References

  1. ^ https://github.com/home-assistant/core/releases Home Assistant Core releases on GitHub
  2. ^ a b Lakshmanan, Shankar (26 May 2020). "House Automation using Home Assistant". Medium. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "No Privacy Compromise Home Automation". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b comment, 4 July 2017 Sean Dague Feed 384up 1. "Why can't we have the Internet of Nice Things? A home automation primer". Opensource.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b "Just how secure is Home Assistant? (Hint: very)". 8 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Home Assistant lets you automate your smart home without giving up privacy". The Ambient. 10 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Secure home automation, without clouds or dedicated hubs". 20 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b Greenberg, Andy (20 July 2016). "Now You Can Hide Your Smart Home on the Darknet" – via www.wired.com.
  9. ^ "Home Assistant - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. ^ "‎Home Assistant". App Store. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  11. ^ Assistant, Home. "Integrations". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ^ Young, Chris (17 May 2019). "Connecting Home Assistant to Apple HomeKit".
  13. ^ Assistant, Home. "Automating Home Assistant". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Tested: Home Assistant integrations, remote access and voice commands". 1 April 2020.
  15. ^ Young, Chris (24 October 2019). "Using Home Assistant With Ikea Smart Blinds for HomeKit".
  16. ^ "Magical Smart Home Upgrade Lets Muggles Control Their Homes With a Wand Too". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  17. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Introducing Hass.io". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Introducing Home Assistant Cloud". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  19. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Our Google Assistant skill is live!". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Thinking Big". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  21. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Changing the Home Assistant Brand". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  22. ^ "The State of the Octoverse". The State of the Octoverse. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  23. ^ "State of the Octoverse 2020: Empowering healthy communities" (PDF). octoverse.github.com. 2 December 2020.
  24. ^ a b Assistant, Home. "Installation". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  25. ^ "RaspBee II Overview". phoscon.de. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  26. ^ "ConBee II Overview". phoscon.de. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  27. ^ Assistant, Home. "Integrations". Home Assistant. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  28. ^ Murphy, Dylan (May 2018). "Controlling smart lights with Home Assistant" (PDF). HackSpace. No. 4. p. 92. ISSN 0016-9900. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Transferring my Z-Wave Network to Home Assistant from Vera". HomeTechHacker. 15 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Best Hardware for Home Assistant". 21 June 2019.
  31. ^ "Home Assistant: Getting Started With Lovelace". HomeTechHacker. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  32. ^ a b comments, 14 December 2017 Jason BakerFeed 1481up 23. "6 open source home automation tools". Opensource.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "16 Open Source Home Automation Platforms To Use In 2020". ubidots.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Trends In Open Source Home Automation". 21 March 2017.
  35. ^ "My Smarthome Evolution: Part 3 - Current State". HomeTechHacker. 12 December 2019.
  36. ^ Assistant, Home. "Using Automation Blueprints". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Just how secure is Home Assistant? (Hint: very)". Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  38. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Disclosure: security vulnerabilities in custom integrations HACS, Dwains Dashboard, Font Awesome and others". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  39. ^ Schoutsen, Paulus. "Security Disclosure 2: vulnerabilities in custom integrations HACS, Font Awesome and others". Home Assistant. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  40. ^ "Thomas-Krenn-Award 2017: Zammad, Home Assistant und Freifunk". TKmag. 12 March 2017.
  41. ^ "Die Gewinner des Thomas-Krenn-Awards 2018". TKmag. 12 March 2018.
  42. ^ Thomas-Krenn.AG (16 March 2019). "Thomas-Krenn-Award 2019 – Die Gewinner" [Thomas Krenn Award 2019 - The Winner] (in German). Retrieved 18 June 2020. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  43. ^ "Das sind die Nominierten für die Dinacon Awards 2018". www.netzwoche.ch.
  44. ^ "DINAcon begeistert 200 Teilnehmende und die Award-Gewinner 2018" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). 19 October 2018.
  45. ^ "Home Assistant > DINAcon Awards". DINAcon Awards.
  46. ^ "SmartThings vs Home Assistant: What is the Best Smart Home Hub". 29 April 2018.
  47. ^ comments, 20 March 2018 Patrick EastersFeed 414up 5. "Feed the dog and close the door with an open source home automation system". Opensource.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ "Best of open source smart home: Home Assistant vs OpenHAB". 28 February 2018.
  49. ^ "It's time for the DIY smart home 2020 challenge with Home Assistant". 19 February 2020.
  50. ^ Jancer, Matt (26 May 2016). "Smart-Home Gadgets Need a Translator Real Bad—Here's How to Get One" – via www.wired.com.
  51. ^ "What Smart Home IoT Platform Should You Use?". hackernoon.com.
  52. ^ "Home Assistant Review – Sean's Technical Ramblings".
  53. ^ "Home Assistant Beginners Guide 2020 – Installation, Addons, Integrations, Scripts, Scenes and Automations – The".
  54. ^ "Build a wireless MQTT temperature and humidity sensor for your Home Assistant | Smartlab".
  55. ^ comments, 10 August 2018 Matthew Treinish Feed 182up 4. "Building a better thermostat with Home Assistant". Opensource.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  56. ^ "Smart Home Home Assistant Konfiguration mit YAML". 12 July 2017.
  57. ^ "Weekend Project: Setting up Home Assistant on your PC or Mac". 22 April 2016.
  58. ^ "OpenHab vs Home Assistant vs Domoticz - Best Open Source Home Automation". The Smart Home Blog. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  59. ^ "OpenHAB vs Home Assistant: What is the Best For Smart home?". 11 February 2020.
  60. ^ "Home Assistant Vs Openhab 2019". 10 August 2019.
  61. ^ "Home Assistant Vs OpenHAB". 29 July 2019.
  62. ^ Gadget-Freak, Chef (28 April 2019). "Comparison between Domoticz and Home Assistant".
  63. ^ "How to create automations in Home Assistant that supercharge your smart home". 22 April 2020.
  64. ^ "Home Assistant makes your smart devices work together the way you imagined". Android Central. 12 April 2018.
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