Installing Home Assistant On Your UNRAID Server

This is a short tutorial on how to easily install Home Assistant on UNRAID or any other VM host. I recently wanted to experiment with Home Assistant to see how it would fit into my primarily HomeKit-based smart home. Though the process ended up being pretty easy, they have some of the most confusing instructions I have ever seen, as they are not written for the first-time user. If you want to use Home Assistant and you run UNRAID, then this is for you.
Update 2-11-2024: Home Assistant has once again changed its website and files. You can use the instructions below to download a different file.
1. Download the .qcow2 image above and decompress it. (Extract all in Windows)
2. Store the image in the isos share on your server.
3. Make sure under Settings -- VM manager, Enable VMs is enabled.
4. Create a new virtual machine: VMS -- Add VM.
5. Select type Linux and give the VM a name and a description.
6. Select the CPU cores you want to let the VM use and give it some memory.
7. Under Primary vDisk Location, select Manual and then select the qcow2 image.
8. Select your keyboard language under VM Console Keyboard.
9. Select br0 under Network Source.
10. Select virtio under Network model.
11. Select any USB-devices that you want to pass through to Home Assistant, such as Zigbee- or Z-Wave controllers.
12. Deselect Start VM after creation.
13. Select Create.
14. Select the name of your new VM and select the capacity number for your disk. Here, you can expand the disk to whatever your needs are. The default is 32 GB.
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[@Trashbag_Full_of_Coleslaw]

Your updated instructions got me up and running, thank you so much!!

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad to hear and good luck!

[@40something]

You made it straightforward and easy to follow, thanks for investing the time!

[@MikeFaucher]

Awesome, glad you found it useful. Appreciate the feedback.

[@brucedeloop9494]

Thanks for this! Very clear and consise, no B-S tutorial

[@MikeFaucher]

Awesome and thanks for the feedback.

[@matstraka]

Not yet installed for me, but wanted to say that I really appreciate the way you explained everything. Keep up the good work.

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback and I hope you get it configured.

[@BillPaulmenn]

Just in time. By new backup unraid server just went into the stack. This was job one. Your timing is perfect. Ty!

[@MikeFaucher]

Awesome. Glad it helped.

[@neilsonwheels62]

the Image off the home assistant webpage is no longer under linux. I found it in the windows section. Just to be confusing

[@MikeFaucher]

Interesting, thanks for the feedback.

[@codys846]

thank you!

[@mauritsdekoning]

Straight to the point explanation. Works like a charm. Thank you for the help!

[@MikeFaucher]

Great to hear. Thanks for the feedback.

[@user-fn8kk6wp6b]

Thank you!!!! I could NOT figure out what I was doing wrong when I tried the qcow images that I had seen elsewhere. I need to run HAOS since I had this installed on an RPi before and need to restore to a full HAOS system. You're the best!

[@MikeFaucher]

Great, glad it helped. HA is pretty slick and I use along side of HomeKit. Good luck and thanks for the feedback!

[@denveronly]

Thank you so much for the manual, it helped a LOT!

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad to hear that. HA is great but they made installing it a science. Thanks for the feedback and good luck.

[@robertmathers7852]

Excellent Video, unfortunatly the VMWare image is no longer on the home assistant page.

[@MikeFaucher]

Your right. Check the video description I added an update to the process a while ago. Thanks for the feedback.

[@fj-09adventures73]

Fantastic video. Especially if you already own unraid

[@MikeFaucher]

Thank you very much for the feedback. Appreciate it!

[@vetnet100]

Nice video Mike! Thanks for posting it

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad you like it. Thanks for the feedback.

[@ephraimvm]

Hi can you make a new tutorial on how to install a Supervised HA on Unraid?

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback and I will add it to the queue if there is interest in it.

[@mankescott7183]

Very nice Tutarial! Thanks.

[@MikeFaucher]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful and thanks for the feedback.

[@RussellMoran]

I get an error message “A start job is running for HAOS swap.” I have followed your tutorial to a T. I’ve Google the error but can’t find a fix. Any suggestions? Thanks

[@MikeFaucher]

Are you running any other VMs? Have you tried to repeat the installation? I am not familiar with that error message. I might suggest you post the question ib the UNRAID forums but try to delete everything and repeat the install. Sorry I could not be more help.

[@elypt]

I also had the same error and tried so many options to fix it. What ultimately worked was using the .qcow2 image with a Linux VM instead of the .vmdk.

[@MikeFaucher]

@@elyptThanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you got it working.

[@CivilSphere]

Where does one find the Configuration Yaml?

[@MikeFaucher]

See if this helps (www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/configuration/)

[@at3o]

For some reason the .vmdk is under Windows Downloads instead of Linux. Still worked fine!

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@networx2002]

That's what I'm seeing as well. Can you use the under windows?

[@MikeFaucher]

@@networx2002 Should work.

[@mattym00]

Thanks. Nice and simple

[@MikeFaucher]

Glad it helped. thanks for the feedback!

[@dangychoice7800]

Hi, do you know if APs like the Grandstream ones you covered with multiple ethernet links can be used as a switch or passthrough? What is the use-case for having multiple ports?

[@MikeFaucher]

They can be used for various things, such as connecting a device such as a media streamer connect to the AP and bridge or connecting another AP to avoid running a separate run back to the router. It acts more like a switch. Thanks for the question.

[@YanVerde]

I see home assistant starting successfully in the QEMU window, but when I try to access the URL they give me I get a 500 Internal server error. Any idea why?

[@MikeFaucher]

Sorry, I have not ever seen that error and it is a generic error so it could be anything. Sorry I can't be much help.

[@YanVerde]

@@MikeFaucher I think there was a problem with my image, I redownloaded it and it worked after that, Thanks for the video!

[@MikeFaucher]

@@YanVerde Awesome and great to hear that you got it working. Thanks for the feedback.

[@AIMIWA95]

Hey quick question. I don't have a cache. Where would I find my domains folder when selecting the primary vdisk location? Would it be under the user folder?

[@MikeFaucher]

You should have a share called DOMAINS even if is not on a cache drive. Look at your share setup and look at your setting for another VM or docker container, it should look something like /mnt/XXXX/domains/XXXXXX. Hope that helps.

[@askjacob]

I didn't have a cache disk either, so I just browsed the drives until I found the domains folder. Seems unraid is pretty arbitrary when it comes to choosing where to put it if you don't have a cache disk

[@MikeFaucher]

@@askjacob Yes, it is not the most straightforward. Thanks.

[@srt4b]

The vmdk is no longer available on the HA website.

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for pointing that out. I updated the notes section with some updated instructions.

[@611rain]

Something else worth considering here is whether the user wants the overhead of the VM. If they do not, a user can install home assistant from CA and run it as a docker container. Much less resources are invoked and used this way.

[@MikeFaucher]

Excellent point. Thanks for the feedback.

[@heyimneph1528]

Whilst technically true, the VM has features that the Docker doesn't, for instance the add-ons. The VM is a bit more user friendly when it comes to adding things, especially something like Frigate.

[@MikeFaucher]

@@heyimneph1528 Good point, thanks for pointing that out.

[@mikel2700]

@@heyimneph1528 I wonder if that's why the docker version wasn't finding any smart devices

[@christopherobrien6215]

and less features!

[@KillaBitz]

Mine runs well with just 512mb and a single thread (on a 10w Pentium Silver J5040 @ 3.20 GHz) I've no idea why the requirements on the website are so high but they don't seem necessary for my setup. Maybe a bit more if you have a huge dashboard and 100's of automations but it's worth experimenting with less than what's recommended. also I used the QCOW file instead witch means I don't have to type in the file name, I can brows for it.

[@MikeFaucher]

Sounnds like you did well. As long as your are happy with tit you shoujl be fine. Thanks for the feedbak.

[@MikeFaucher]

Thanks for the feedback. Never hurts to have a of wiggle room.

[@n1ixe]

Hi, I have been using HA on a dedicated PC for a couple of years now. I have been testing using the VM on UnRaid and thinking of getting rid of the dedicated PC. I checked my Storage in the HA VM and there is only about 7 GB free after doing a restore from my dedicated system. I'm afraid I might run out of room if I use the VM. Do you know of a way to increase the virtual disk space for the VM? Thanks for the great video!

[@n1ixe]

I just found that if I use the qcow2 image instead of the vmdk UnRaid lets me click on the vdisk and increase it to whatever size I need. I just increased the vdisk from 32 GB to 64GB so that works for me!

[@MikeFaucher]

It is easy to change the size of the virtual disk. Shut off the VM and click on the machine name to edit, then go change the disk size. Hope that helps.

[@RatherPeyton]

I’m getting stuck in the console window on HAOS swap. Any ideas on a fix for this?

[@RatherPeyton]

Just tried using the .qcow2 image and it worked great! Haven’t looked into why this is (I’m not versed in Linux at all) but in case anyone else runs into this problem give it a try!

[@MikeFaucher]

Can you provide more detail, I am not sure what you mean by HAOS swap.

[@Elmojomo]

I had the same issue, and it was because I had already installed HA as a docker before I decided to run it as a VM. Is it possible you also have a 2nd instance running somewhere? I just shut down my docker, rebooted the VM, and all was good.

[@elypt]

I also had the same error and tried so many options to fix it. What ultimately worked was using the .qcow2 image with a Linux VM instead of the .vmdk.

[@protacticus630]

Can you please make video how to install/set up Home Assistant on your Synology DS224+ Thanks!

[@MikeFaucher]

Great idea, I will add it to my list. Thanks for the feedback.

[@askjacob]

You forgot to leave the link to the home assistant site for downloading. Just letting you know

[@MikeFaucher]

Thank you. I added it in.

[@askjacob]

@@MikeFaucher Great! By the way, very helpful guide, I now have HA running on my Unraid system!

[@MikeFaucher]

@@askjacob Outstanding, glad it worked out. Thanks for the feedback.