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After testing Home Assistant (HA) for a while, I’ve realised it could improve my home automation, despite that I'm using Apple HomeKit. When I tested HA with Node-RED and some other "Add-ons", on a Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi) I found that its computational power wasn’t enough. The following setup could be any computer but I recently bought an Apple Mac Mini M4, replacing my 2018 (M18) model, so the M18 was really a great candidate for my HA setup. The preferred method of running HA is through the  HA Operating System (HAOS), which makes your "life" easier. 😉

Updated 2025-06-02 ! This will soon be a deprecated installation method !! The best way to start with Home Assistant (HA), and Raspberry Pi(RPi), is off course to use the ”Raspberry Pi imager” and in the menu select " Other specific-purpose OS => Home Assistant and home automation => Home Assistant ". This will install the HA operating system. It works very well and here are the install instructions .  On the other hand if you want to add HA to a RPi which you already have up and running, without Docker, you need to install something which is called " Home Assistant Core ". Please check the " Remarks " below before you start. New version for Python 3.13 ! Below info is not updated but just change from 3.12 to 3.13 

Updated 2025-05-20 ! I have done several posts Blogging about how to keep an old MacBook Air(MBA), mid 2011(A1369), with SSD disk "alive". I have used the fantastic software package OpenCore Legacy patcher to upgrade the Mac to the latest Mac OS.  A while ago i tested Mac OS  Sequoia (15.3), on the mentioned Mac, but I had to admit that it was to much for the 14 year old companion. I really like the Mac and everything works, after a battery change , so it ended up with installing  Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS  or if you want the latest scroll down and get Ubuntu 24.10/25.04.

Updated 2025-05-18 This post is for both Windows and Mac users !   I have been running Linux, Raspberry Pi OS , since several years but almost just the Lite version (without Desktop). But when my old MacBook Air "gave up" , with Mac OS, it came naturally to use Ubuntu Desktop since it's also based on the Debian Linux distribution and the most used Linux distribution. So it ended up with installing Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS (UOS) or the later 24.10 !

Node-Red (NR) is  Flow-based programming for the Internet of Things. I have in the past  written a lot of posts  for Node-RED and the   HA implementation  makes it easy to interact with HA:s entities. The best thing is that even if you don't are a skilled programmer, but like logic flows, you can make really advanced things and it really complements the logic that could be made within Home Assistant(HA). In this post I will do a quick introduction to what is possible with NR together with HA.

Updated 2025-03-23 ! Sometimes it's really nice to reach your applications, secure and quick, at home when you are somewhere else.  There are several applications but this post will be describe a really quick setup with remote.it  on a Raspberry Pi(RPi) or another Linux platform. Of course there also is a Windows version. The most used services are; http, ssh, vnc, rdp, SAMBA(smb/cifs) ..... and  or non-commercial use, with up to 5 devices, it's free ! I'm using it to access Home Assistant , display  NodeRed dashboard , access servers with "ssh" and file sharing with SAMBA there all applications are running on RPi:s at home.

Updated 2025-03-14 ! What is the purpose of a Home Assistant(HA)  according to Wikipedia ? Home Assistant is free and open-source software used for home automation. It serves as an integration platform and smart home hub, allowing users to control smart home devices. The software emphasizes local control and privacy and is designed to be independent of any specific Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.  Even for me, as someone running Apple HomeKit and Homebridge, it is a fantastic piece of software that bridges almost everything and enables highly intelligent integrations.  Since it is widely used, there is a wealth of information available. However, I couldn't find a clear "bullet list" on how to get started. This post will primarily contain links to other sources rather than writing extensive explanations myself.