Simple and Fast Installing Home Assistant Core (and Matter Server) on Android: No Root, No QEMU

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Got an old Android phone and don’t want to buy a Raspberry Pi or a PC to host Home Assistant? This tutorial is for you!

Requirements: Android Phone – No Root Required

Credit: Special thanks to George-Seven for the Termux-Udocker repository.

Step 1: Install the Termux app from F-Droid.org

Note:

  • Although Termux is also available on the Play Store, according to the Termux developers, the version on F-Droid is the most stable.
  • After installing Termux, it is recommended, though not required, to install OpenSSH and enable remote access from a PC for easier interaction with the Termux Terminal. For details on setting up Termux remote access. See more: Termux Remote Access Guide.

Step 2: Install Git in Termux:

# Update & Upgrade Termux packages
pkg update && pkg upgrade
# Install git
pkg install git

Step 3: Install HomeAssistant-Termux

Clone HomeAssistant-Termux:

git clone https://github.com/huytungst/HomeAssistant-Termux.git

Go to the root directory of HomeAssistant-Termux:

cd HomeAssistant-Termux

Install Udocker from the cloned repository:

./install_udocker.sh

Run the script home-assistant-core.sh:

./home-assistant-core.sh

Wait about 10 minutes, then you can access Home Assistant on port 8123 (http://localhost:8123/)

Also, you can install and run the Python Matter Server to enable Matter compatibility.

Note: To keep both containers (Home Assistant Core and Python Matter Server) running at the same time, start each one in a separate Termux session. Two easy ways are either opening two Termux terminal sessions (using the Termux GUI) or using the screen command. See more

Run the script matter-server.sh:

./matter-server.sh

Then, enable the Matter Integration in Home Assistant and connect them using the WebSocket URL:

ws://localhost:5580/ws

Tips: Running Multiple Containers Simultaneously

To keep both containers (Home Assistant Core and Python Matter Server) running at the same time, start each one in a separate Termux session. Two easy ways are either opening two Termux terminal sessions (using the Termux GUI) or using the screen command.

Option 1: Using Termux GUI

  1. Open Termux.
  2. Start the first container in the initial Termux session.
  3. Open a new Termux session by swiping from the left edge to open the drawer, then selecting New Session.
  4. In this new session, start the second container.

Option 2: Using screen

If you prefer to use screen to manage multiple sessions in a single Termux window:

  1. Open Termux and install screen if you haven’t already:
    pkg install screen
  2. Start screen and create a new session:
    screen -S container1
  3. Start the first container in this screen session.
  4. To create a new screen session, detach from the current session by pressing Ctrl + A followed by D.
  5. Start a new session for the second container:
    screen -S container2
  6. Start the second container in this new session.
  7. To switch between sessions, use:
    screen -r container1  # For the first container
screen -r container2  # For the second container

This completes the setup for running Home Assistant Core and the Matter Server on Android without root.

:bangbang: Known Issue: Home Assistant setup failed for some dependencies, including ‘bluetooth,’ ‘usb,’ ‘zeroconf,’ etc. :robot::wrench: Any help would be appreciated! :pray:

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