Remote Assistant - Access to HA from everywhere (Announcement and Beta Test)

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Hey everyone,

I’m currently launching the beta phase of a project I’ve been developing: Remote Assistant – a lightweight solution for remote access to your Home Assistant instance. It’s designed to be simple, secure, and privacy-friendly.

:wrench: What is Remote Assistant?

Remote Assistant consists of:

  • A Home Assistant Custom Component
  • A mobile app (available for Android & iOS)

Once set up, the component and app connect securely via one of my relay servers (located in Germany, the USA, and Singapore) and allow you to access your Home Assistant web interface remotely – normally without requiring any manual network setup or complex configuration.

This project focuses solely on remote access – no additional features, no accounts, no extra services.

:bulb: Costs

Remote Assistant is financed via InApp purchases. This is only $10 per year, the exact price varies from country to country due to VAT and similar charges. The InApp purchase is only required after some time and then begins with a free trial week.

:bulb: Why I Built This

I’m a solo developer with a passion for useful, no-nonsense tools. A few years ago, I created Remote-RED for Node-RED, since there were no simple option to access my own dashboard remotely.

Since then, many users started running Node-RED as Addon inside Home Assistant and use Remote-RED for remote access their HA interface. That inspired me to build something native: Remote Assistant, using the same concept but designed specifically for Home Assistant.

:test_tube: Join the Beta – Help Me Improve It

I’m now running a two-week beta to gather feedback and ensure the system works reliably in a variety of setups.

If you participate and fill out the feedback form, you’ll receive one year of free access as a thank-you for helping shape the project!

:white_check_mark: Key Features

  • Easy to setup remote connection to your Home Assistant installation.
  • Multiple HA Installations inside one app possible
  • No changes to your router or firewall needed, if you did not block outgoing traffic
  • No user account required
  • Server locations in Germany, USA, and Singapore / GDPR complient
  • Easy setup, designed for privacy and simplicity

:bust_in_silhouette: About Me

I’m a one-man dev studio who builds the kind of tools I want for myself. I don’t run ads, I don’t sell data, and I don’t have a marketing team – just code and curiosity.

Thanks for reading – and thanks in advance if you decide to try it!

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Hi,

Very nice idea but closed source for server is a no-go for me as I have no way to know if you don’t listen on connections :wink: It would be nice to release under GPL the server side code and the mobile app :wink:

Vincèn

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And what is the difference with NabuCasa (or just a vpn tunnel?)

I remotely access my HA for free…:thinking:

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That was my first question when I read this, too. I mean, HA is a web server, accessible from everywhere. I even develop the pages (dashboards) myself. Who needs an app?

But sometimes, when I’m on a remote network which is bandwith-limited (like a cruise ship) they block VPN and other protocols/ports they don’t like. I’ve had situations where I can get to my HA “loading data” page, but no further. I was thinking, we need something which uses just port 80 and straight HTML. Those are often not blocked.

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Hi Vincèn,

I can understand that. It’s quite an area of tension when you use closed source components in an area where a lot of open source is used.

I can imagine that in some time, when I have managed to make a living from my own developments, I will also publish the server components for self-hosting. But I’m not there yet.

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My system is mainly aimed at two target groups:

  • Users who want a simple out-of-the-box solution and do not want to deal with VPN or similar topics or do not have the know-how to do that.
  • Users who have certain technical requirements and cannot use certain solutions. For example, I can’t forward ports from my Internet router to my internal network at home (my router can’t do this). For others, it is not possible to install a VPN profile on the iPhone if a device is managed via MDM.

I assume that the reason why some of my existing users of Remote-RED for Node-RED (as an Addon in an HA container) and open the HA interface is the price.

Home Assistant has a really great app with so many cool features. NFC, Geopostion, CarPlay, Watch Support. Then there’s the backup function. That’s a lot of features that definitely justify the price. However, if you only need to access your dashboard briefly, you may not need such a large implementation.

My implementations should probably have worked in this environment. My app only uses port 443 on the cell phone side, which is normally always open.

Most of what users see in the Remote Assistant app is a browser. Sure, HA and Remote-RED Dashboard are both websites.

The detail is the way how the data is loaded. Among other things, the QR code scan downloads a client certificate and saves it in the app. All traffic between the cell phone and my servers is then transmitted in encrypted form via https with the client certificate. The important thing is therefore not the browser, but the network stack within the app.

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Just to let you know, you’re competing against a remote-access service that provides a free Personal tier (up to 3 users).

Tailscale consists of:

  • A Home Assistant Add-on.
  • An app (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS, Linux).

Configuration is mostly just creating a Tailscale account.

Tailscale optionally provides access to other network resources (i.e. not just Home Assistant).

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For those that can afford it, priority should be given to Nabu Casa as it supports the Home Assistant ecosystem.

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