Home Assistant OS hub

What you’re building

Home Assistant OS turns a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 into a dedicated local home-automation appliance. The Buildroot-based operating system runs Docker, deploys Home Assistant Supervisor, and manages Home Assistant Core and add-on containers as an integrated system rather than as packages on a general-purpose Linux desktop. On a Raspberry Pi 5 with at least 2 GB RAM, a 32 GB or larger A2 microSD card, correct power supply, and Ethernet, Raspberry Pi Imager can write the hardware-specific HAOS image. After first boot, the expected outcome is a browser-accessible Home Assistant onboarding flow for adding integrations, dashboards, and automations. Writing the image erases the selected card. Ethernet is required for the documented installation and is more reliable afterward; use the Pi 5 image specifically, and do not expect normal Ubuntu-style package management on this purpose-built OS.

Key steps

1. Install Raspberry Pi Imager on a computer and insert the target microSD card.
2. Choose Other specific-purpose OS > Home automation > Home Assistant, then select the Raspberry Pi 5 HAOS image.
3. Select the correct card, write the image, wait for verification, and eject it; this erases the card.
4. Insert the card into the Pi, attach Ethernet to the same network as the setup computer, then connect the proper power supply.
5. Open homeassistant.local or the Pi’s IP address in a browser and complete Home Assistant onboarding.