I was ready to give up on Home Assistant... until I moved the database!

[Michael_Davydov (Nix)]

@krash

Is this doable in hass.io on an RPi?

Yes, it is. Hass.io uses docker and maps it’s internal container folders to folders on the host system, this is how you keep all your data between hass updates. So your database is also on the filesystem, everything is located, by default, here: /usr/share/hassio

@krash

it’s a essensial to implement an easy and straightforward method to move the DB and log files out of the sd card.

Method I described to you is actually very straightforward and well-known for anyone familiar with Linux. Symlinks are used all over the place with Linux. And as you can see it’s quite easy, just copy database and run 1 command. But I agree that most likely majority of users come with only Windows experience - it should be documented for them and ideally moved into config options. But I can see why developers may not bother with it, because it’s so easy to achieve with native OS tools, so they probably just don’t consider it a priority.

@capstan1

was referring to the symlink to usb, though.

There’s some confusion there, I did not say anything about NAS. This command:

ln -s /path/to/sqlite.db.file /path/to/original/folder

Creates a symlink on local filesystem, anything that’s mounted. So you can do this on hassio host system:

ln -s /mnt/usbdrive/hassio/homeassistant/home-assistant_v2.db /usr/share/hassio/homeassistant/home-assistant_v2.db

or maybe

ln -s /mnt/usbdrive/hassio/homeassistant/home-assistant_v2.db /usr/share/hassio/homeassistant/

Not sure if filename is required in the destination path. (It’s source - destination order). So this way you’re creating a symlink from your existing file on the usb drive to the ‘virtual file’ placed in the config folder.

Just dont forget that you also need to mount a usb drive with /etc/fstab file.

@Alexander_Stepanov

So I was right to go for Intel NUK from the beginning

Damn right you were Though frankly if I only needed to run hass it would be a huge cringe for me to use a NUC because of all the power wasted. I hope you dont just run hass on it, there’s lots more you can use it for at the same time Good option would be to install Proxmox on it, run hass.io inside a VM, and then use other VMs and LXC containers for other services.

@firstof9

You’d use something like ln -s <database filename> /mnt/usb_drive/<database filename> in the config directory.

That’s what I told him Twice now. You messed the order though, we need to create a link from the file on the drive to the virtual file\symlink in config directory, not the other way around

@alex2

It is worth noting though, that setting up any of these options is far more involved than setting up Hass.io on a RaPi. The atomic Pi comes with Linux preinstalled, whereas the Mini PCs come with Windows - Linux can be installed, but it might be a little fiddly.

It is, but not THAT much more involved. Hass.io is installed on any host by running a single script. So just… install linux (Ubuntu), then follow these instructions: Installation - Home Assistant (just run those commands and that’s all).

Done.

Script can be used on debian as well, I do think there’s just a but more to installing docker on debian, I don’t quite remember. Not sure if it will work on other distros.

@tom_l

XCY mini pcs are competitively priced compared to NUCs too.

I’m actually surprised how a lot of people just jump onto NUCs genuinely believing they are the only option. Just google for a “net-top” or “mini PC” that’s what NUC is, they’ve existed long before NUCs appeared. There are lots of cheaper options, from Gigabyte, Zotac and other brands. And NUC is huge overkill for hass, it’ll run like on 2% of it’s performance capacity. Even Pi in truth only uses like 10% of it’s CPU for most hass installations, it’s just the SD card that’s the problem.