Installing ESP Home?

ESPHome
1

I have an ESP-32 with built-in OLED. I have successfully uploaded programs using the Arduino IDE. I want to use this ESP-32 with Home Assistant.

I have searched to be able to install ESP Home onto my ESP device. The FAQ on Frequently Asked Questions — ESPHome seems to assume that I already have ESP Home installed. This is the most helpful guide that I have found for installing ESP Home: Complete ESPHome Installation Guide: 4 different ways to install ESPHome - Kiril Peyanski's Blog

Option 1: Won’t work because my Home Assistant is installed in my basement with no monitor nor keyboard.

Option 2: Won’t work because I don’t have Docker.

Option 3: Wont work because I cannot install esphome. If I use “pip3 install --user esphome” or “sudo pip3 install esphome” I get "This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try apt install
python3-xyz, where xyz is the package you are trying to
install.

Trying “sudo apt install python3-esphome” results in “Unable to locate package python3-esphome”

Option 4: Won’t work because when I go to ESP Web Tools I get the message: " The demo is not available because your browser does not support Web Serial. Open this page in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge instead." I am using Chromium which is not Chrome.

FYI: I am using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. I am a computer programmer versed in several languages. I am currently programming Python3 at work and at home.

2

Just follow the official instructions: Getting Started with ESPHome and Home Assistant — ESPHome

The IDE has a web interface you can access from anywhere you can access home assistant. You don’t need an attached display.

3

The next few lines will tell you to create a virtual environment (venv).

python -m venv my_esphome_venv
source my_esphome_venv/bin/activate
pip ...

But yeah, if you run HAOS, the addon way is simpler.

4

tom_l: Read the official instructions, and they are insufficient.

However, what I do read from those pages is Option 4 again.

koing’s instructions worked to install esphome program. It seems to be working so far.

5

I finished the rest of koing’s instructions. The installation compiled and dowloaded to the ESP-32, but it wasn’t recognized by Home Assistant. It showed up a few minutes later.

I have it talking to Home Assistant now. I still need to get the ESP-32 to do something useful.

Thanks!