Home assistant OS vs Home Assistant on Ubuntu

Installation
1

I installed Home Assistant (Advanced Raspberry Pi installations - Home Assistant) on a Raspberry PI 3B+ running Ubuntu. This works fine :slight_smile:
But now I read that for an SSL cert I need the Add-on function.

I think I fall under ā€œHome Assistant Coreā€ and if I want to work with the addons, I have to go for the install ā€œInstall Home Assistant on Raspberry Piā€ (Raspberry Pi - Home Assistant)?With Home Assistant OS.
I need to buy a new PI 4 according to the manual :frowning:

But the question is, what Linux distro is Home Assistant OS?

2

You do not need HAOS.
HAOS provide an easy way to install other Docker containers, but those same Docker containers can be installed manually too or even installed in the OS itself.

HAOS is based on Alpine Linux and you can make very few changes in that OS.
It should be considered an appliance for HA more than a Linux OS.

3

I have solved the SSL cert like this now.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot

sudo certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges dns -d ā€œ*.domein.nlā€

Added TXT to my DNS (public) and put the generated pem files in the homeassistant folder. configuration.yaml, reboot and done

configuration.yaml
http:
ssl_certificate: ā€¦/.homeassistant/ssl_certs/fullchain.pem
ssl_key: ā€¦/.homeassistant/ssl_certs/privkey.pem

4

You mean HA on an Ubuntu should be able to do everything? I wouldnā€™t be able to use the add-ons if I read it right, but I was able (yet) to fix the CERT thing.

5

Addons are just Docker containers, which also exist for the other installation types.
HAOS and supervised installations come with supervisor that makes the adding, removal and updating of the Docker containers easy.
The containers are just the same.

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6

O, how should I have installed the SSL cert according to HA? I couldnā€™t find that on this forum.

7

You have done it correctly.
You have chosen to install the feature in the OS instead of in a Docker container.
Both are correct, but most users of the core installation will say yours are the most correct one, since there is less complexity.

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8

Did I understand correctly that the ā€œHome Assistant Coreā€ will no longer be available in 2026? And that I need to install the Home Assistant OS?

9

Probably better to say that HA Core in python/python-venv is what is no longer going to be supported; But HA Core in Docker Container will be supported in either a stand-alone (add container yourself within your own OS) or as part of HAOS (container already built-in).

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10

HA core will not be supported.
It will still be available, but you will probably be looking at a developer setup instead.
If you are experienced in running a headless no-GUI server, then you can still do so.

The deprecation of support means that it will not be ā€œofferedā€" for normal users and the documentation in the normal user website will disappear.
This is done because many users think they know how to run a headless no-GUI server, but they do not and then the support becomes troublesome and time consuming for the HA team.

11

Okay, thanks for your explanation.

I also think I know how to run a headless no-GUI server :keyboard:

12

Well, if you take regular backups, then the worst that can happens is that you have to make the switch if you fail.