Install Home Assistant

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Introduction

Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform for managing devices, viewing their status, and creating automation rules on a local network. Alongside edge AI applications, reComputer RK3576 can run Home Assistant as a local management node for a home or small IoT system.

This tutorial deploys Home Assistant Container with Docker on reComputer RK3576 and explains how to access it in a browser and create an account.

Tested scope: Home Assistant Container was started on reComputer RK3576 (Armbian / Debian 12 Bookworm, ARM64), and the initial Create User page was successfully opened.

Getting started

Hardware

  • One reComputer RK3576 running a bootable 64-bit Linux system.
  • One Windows / macOS / Linux computer to access Home Assistant in a browser.
  • A network connection between RK3576 and the computer. Internet access is needed to download the Docker image during deployment.

Software

The tested environment is:

ItemConfiguration
HardwarereComputer RK3576
Operating systemArmbian (based on Debian 12 Bookworm)
ArchitectureARM64 / aarch64
Container engineDocker Engine (already installed on the test device)
Home AssistantHome Assistant Container, stable image
Web port8123

Connect to RK3576 over SSH and check the system information:

bash
cat /etc/os-release
uname -m

Confirm that the system uses ARM64, for example aarch64.

Install Home Assistant

Step 1: Check Docker

Check whether Docker is installed and running:

bash
sudo docker --version
sudo systemctl status docker --no-pager

If Docker is installed and its service is running, skip to step 2.

Otherwise, follow the official Docker Engine installation guide for Debian to configure the repository and install Docker Engine. Use a repository matching your Armbian / Debian version, and avoid installing an unverified older version.

After installation, check again:

bash
sudo docker --version
sudo docker info

Home Assistant requires Docker Engine 23.0.0 or later (not Docker Desktop). This tutorial uses Docker Engine to deploy Home Assistant Container.

Step 2: Create the configuration directory

Create a directory for persistent Home Assistant data:

bash
mkdir -p "$HOME/homeassistant/config"

Home Assistant configuration and runtime data will be stored here rather than only inside the container.

Step 3: Download the Home Assistant image

Pull the stable image from the official Home Assistant container registry:

bash
sudo docker pull ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable

Check the downloaded image:

bash
sudo docker images | grep home-assistant

Step 4: Run the Home Assistant container

Run this command on RK3576:

bash
sudo docker run -d \
  --name homeassistant \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  --privileged \
  --network=host \
  -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai \
  -v "$HOME/homeassistant/config:/config" \
  -v /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro \
  ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable

This command matches the deployment used in the RK3576 test:

  • --name homeassistant: assigns the container name.
  • --restart=unless-stopped: restarts the container after Docker or the device restarts, unless you explicitly stopped it.
  • --network=host: uses the RK3576 host network; Home Assistant is accessible on port 8123.
  • -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai: sets the container time zone. Adjust it for your region.
  • -v "$HOME/homeassistant/config:/config": stores configuration on RK3576 so that removing the container does not remove the configuration.
  • --privileged: follows the official Home Assistant Docker example and grants elevated container privileges. Evaluate this setting against your production security requirements.

Check the container status:

bash
sudo docker ps --filter name=homeassistant
sudo docker logs --tail 50 homeassistant

The homeassistant container should appear with an Up status in docker ps.

Step 5: Access the Home Assistant web interface

Find the device IP address on RK3576:

bash
hostname -I

Open this address in a browser on a computer on the same network:

text
http://<RK3576_IP>:8123

For example, if RK3576 has the IP address 192.168.1.100, open:

text
http://192.168.1.100:8123

Home Assistant may need some time to initialize on its first start. Once the page loads, it displays the Create User onboarding page.

Home Assistant Create User page on reComputer RK3576

Step 6: Create an administrator account

On the initial Create User page:

  1. Enter your name and username.
  2. Set and confirm an administrator password.
  3. Select Create account.
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the location, time zone, and other initial settings.

After onboarding, you can use the Home Assistant web interface in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check whether Home Assistant is running?

If the page is unavailable, check the container, logs, and device IP address:

bash
sudo docker ps --filter name=homeassistant
sudo docker logs --tail 100 homeassistant
hostname -I

How do I restart Home Assistant?

bash
sudo docker restart homeassistant

Note: Home Assistant Container does not include the Supervisor / Apps management features of Home Assistant OS. Deploy and manage separate containers when you need additional services.

This tutorial's run command does not mount D-Bus. To use the Bluetooth integration, consult the optional D-Bus mount requirements in the official Container installation guide.

Summary

These steps let developers run Home Assistant on reComputer RK3576 and configure it through a web interface. Home Assistant provides a local IoT management platform and a foundation for connecting sensors, smart home devices, and automation services.

This tutorial focuses on installation and basic setup. Device integrations and automation examples can be covered in separate tutorials.

References

Technical support and product discussion

For deployment questions, visit the Seeed Studio Forum.