Home Assistant Guide

What is HACS?

HACS is like an "app store" for Home Assistant. It brings together thousands of community-made add-ons that extend Home Assistant far beyond the built-in integrations. With HACS, you can add support for more devices, try out custom cards for your dashboard, or apply stylish themes with just a few clicks.

Benefits of Using HACS

• Access to more integrations and features: HACS unlocks hundreds of custom integrations and frontend elements that aren't available in the default Home Assistant installation.
• Easy updates: HACS notifies you when your installed community add-ons have updates, and lets you upgrade them with a click.
• Safer and simpler management: HACS keeps track of everything you install, so you don't need to manually copy files or remember where you found something.
• Discover new ideas: You can browse and search for new automations, themes, and dashboards from within Home Assistant.

How to Get and Set Up HACS

1. Back up your Home Assistant. It's always a good idea to take a backup before adding custom components.
2. Install HACS:
   • Open your Home Assistant web interface.
   • Go to Settings > Add-ons, then click on Add-on Store.
   • Click the three-dot menu in the upper-right and choose Repositories.
   • Add the official HACS repo URL: https://github.com/hacs/integration.
   • Click "Add". HACS should appear in your add-on list. Click it, then click "Install".
   • Once installed, start the add-on and follow the on-screen instructions to finish setup.
3. Restart Home Assistant.
4. HACS will now appear in your sidebar.

How to Use HACS

• Click on HACS in the sidebar.
• Choose what you want to add: Integrations, Frontend (for custom cards and themes), Automations, or Sensors.
• Use the search bar or browse by category.
• Click on an item for more details, then click Download or Install.
• After installing, most integrations require you to restart Home Assistant before they appear.
• For integrations, go to Settings > Devices & services and add/configure the new integration as you would any official integration.

Adding a Custom Repository in HACS

Sometimes when you find a new integration or custom card online - such as on GitHub, a developer's website, or the Home Assistant community forums - you might see instructions that say something like: "Add this repo via HACS".

This usually means the integration or theme isn't in the main HACS store yet, so you need to add it manually using the repository's GitHub link. Here's exactly how to do that, step by step:

1. Go to HACS in your Home Assistant sidebar.
2. Click the three-dot menu ⋮ (in the top-right corner), then select Custom repositories.
3. Paste the GitHub URL for the custom repository into the Repository field.
4. Choose the correct Category/Type (for example, Integration, Frontend, Automation, etc.).
5. Click Add.
6. Return to the HACS main menu, use the search bar to find the new repository you just added.
7. Click on the repository, then click Download to install it.
8. Restart Home Assistant to finish installing.
9. If it's an integration, go to Settings > Devices & services, click Add Integration, search for it, and follow the setup instructions.
10. Configure the integration as needed.

Good to Know

• HACS is not officially supported by the Home Assistant core team, but it's extremely popular and widely used.
• Always read the documentation for any add-on or integration you install, as some require extra configuration.
• If you run into trouble, check the HACS FAQ or search the Home Assistant community forums.