Setting up Zwave usb in Docker on Windows

Configuration Z-Wave
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'm in the process of trying to move everything over from an old Vera into my Home Assistant system. It is running in a Docker container on a Windows system. I have the Vera integration working ok, but it is slow and it seems pragmatic to migrate now to a z-wave usb stick. My understanding from Z-Wave - Home Assistant is I need to create a Z-Wave JS UI docker container to run simultaneously. In trying to spin up that container, I am stuck with the compose file.

I’m trying to figure out what I replace e /dev/serial/by-id/insert_stick_reference_here with and everything fails. I’m using a Zooz 800 stick that windows recognizes as COM3. Device Manager calls it “USB-Enhanced-SERIAL CH9102” without the quote marks but with a space. Every iteration of running docker compose up gives me a variation on ‘Error response from daemon: error gathering device information while adding custom device “/dev/serial/by-id/USB-Enhanced-SERIAL CH9102”: no such file or directory’. I cannot figure out what it wants specifically to get it to run.

I also separately got Siliconlabs Simplicity Studio up and running is there somewhere in there I can get the correct serial id path?

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AFAIK, Docker Desktop (assuming you’re using that in Windows) uses HyperV and creates a VM for the containers. HyperV doesn’t support USB passthrough, so you’ll have to find an alternative solution. Usually the answer is to switch to a Linux host, or use a serial over TCP controller device like tubez Z-Wave / Homeseer Z-net / roll your own with a rapsberry PI or other SBC.

If you insist on keeping Windows:

  1. Switch to a hypervisor that supports USB passthrough (VirtualBox, Vmware?) and run ZUI in Docker or switch entirely to HAOS
  2. Use some sort of Windows USB-IP software that can pass the device over network to the container
  3. Run ZUI using the native Windows application, HA can talk to it over local network

You’ll find all these discussed in other posts.