Home Assistant Guide

What is Home Assistant Cloud?

Home Assistant Cloud is an optional paid service from Nabu Casa (the company founded by the creators of Home Assistant). It makes certain advanced features - especially secure remote access - much simpler and safer for beginners.

How to access Cloud settings:
In Home Assistant, go to Settings → Home Assistant Cloud (usually near the bottom of the settings menu).

Do I need a Nabu Casa subscription?

Yes - most Cloud features require an active Nabu Casa subscription. There is a free trial, then a small monthly fee. This money directly supports the development of Home Assistant.
Note: You can set up remote access yourself without the cloud, but it involves port forwarding, dynamic DNS, SSL certificates, and extra security risks. For beginners, Nabu Casa is the simplest and safest choice.

Cloud Settings Explained

• Nabu Casa account
  Shows which email/account is signed in, your subscription status, and lets you manage billing or sign out.
• Remote access
  What it does: Lets you access your Home Assistant from anywhere (outside your home), securely, without opening ports on your router.
  How it works: Gives you a unique URL (ending in ui.nabu.casa) to reach your Home Assistant, even from your phone or office.
  Tip: Just click "Copy Link" to get your personal address!
• Text-to-speech (TTS)
  Lets you use cloud-based voices (with accents, different voices, etc.) for announcements and automations. For example, you can have Home Assistant speak with a natural-sounding voice by using the tts.cloud_say action.
  Options: Choose the default language and voice for all TTS announcements.
• WebRTC connections
  Improves how you view camera feeds remotely by using fast, secure WebRTC servers.
• Webhooks
  Lets apps (like your mobile app) and services trigger actions in your Home Assistant from the internet, without exposing your whole system.

Integrations

Home Assistant Cloud enables quick, easy setup for voice assistants (like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa) and some other cloud features, without complex configuration or extra add-ons.
Note: As of recent updates, the setup for voice assistants is now under a new page - check for a link if you're looking for it.

Why use Home Assistant Cloud?

• Simple, secure remote access - no need to mess with router settings
• Supports Home Assistant development
• Easy setup for Google Assistant and Alexa
• Reliable text-to-speech voices and remote camera streaming
• No need to share your data with third parties

Tip: If you're new to Home Assistant, Home Assistant Cloud is by far the easiest way to get started with remote access and advanced features.

Other remote access options?

While it's possible to set up remote access for Home Assistant yourself using free tools, these methods are more complex, can be insecure if not done properly, and require ongoing maintenance.
For most beginners, Nabu Casa is the recommended path.

Summary: Getting Started

1. Go to Settings → Home Assistant Cloud in your HA interface.
2. Sign up or log in to your Nabu Casa account.
3. Explore each setting (remote access, TTS, integrations, etc.).
4. Try remote access from your phone or a device not on your home WiFi.

Don't worry about breaking anything - cloud settings are easy to turn on/off, and you can always sign out or cancel your subscription later!