Port Monitoring Panel for Home Assistant OS – View Usage, Track Activity, and Suggest Actions

Feature Requests
1

Hi all,

I’d like to propose a feature to enhance network visibility and operational awareness in Home Assistant OS:
A built-in port monitoring interface, allowing users to view currently listening ports, track their usage over time, and receive actionable suggestions based on inactivity.

:mag: Problem

There is currently no native UI in Home Assistant OS to display which network ports are exposed and active.
This is particularly important for users who:

  • Run multiple add-ons (MQTT, MariaDB, SSH, etc.)
  • Operate behind VPN or without internet exposure
  • Want to audit their HA instance’s footprint and potential attack surface
  • Lack terminal access or networking background

:bulb: Proposed Solution: Port Monitoring & Recommendation Panel

A panel (e.g., in Supervisor > System) would:

  • List all listening ports
  • Show:
    • Port number
    • Protocol (TCP/UDP)
    • Bound IP (0.0.0.0, 127.0.0.1, etc.)
    • Associated add-on or service
    • Last activity timestamp
  • Provide non-invasive, contextual recommendations, such as:

“This port (1883) has not been used in 15 days. It belongs to the Mosquitto add-on. Consider disabling it if not in active use.”

:closed_lock_with_key: Security & Maintenance Benefits

  • Improve user awareness of system exposure
  • Reduce unnecessary open services
  • Empower users to make proactive decisions
  • Encourage cleaner, more efficient HA setups

:brain: Future Use Cases (Optional Expansion)

Once the basics are in place, this data could feed:

  • Custom automations (e.g., notify if an unused port stays open too long)
  • Supervisor health insights
  • Security audit tools (e.g., detect unexpected open ports)

:white_check_mark: Why it’s useful

Feature Current State With This Feature
View open ports :x: Terminal-only :white_check_mark: Native UI
Know what services are exposed :x: Requires deep knowledge :white_check_mark: Clear visibility
Monitor port inactivity :x: Not available :white_check_mark: Usage tracking
Recommended actions :x: Manual guesswork :white_check_mark: Smart suggestions
Security awareness :x: Hidden risks :white_check_mark: Actionable insights

By keeping the implementation passive and suggestive, this avoids system-breaking changes and aligns with Home Assistant’s philosophy: empower users with visibility and control — safely and simply.

Thanks for considering this enhancement!

2

You obviously put some thought and effort into composing this FR so you might want to consider voting for your own request. :wink: