Add-ons in Home Assistant are additional packages that extend its functionality, providing enhanced tools and services to integrate with your smart home setup. While Home Assistant is already powerful out of the box, add-ons can significantly boost its capabilities by adding features like automation visualizations, network monitoring, ad-blocking, file sharing, and more.
For more advanced users who want a deeper understanding, add-ons in Home Assistant are essentially Docker containers. Docker containers offer several advantages, including easy isolation of processes, consistent environment setups, and portability, ensuring that each add-on runs independently without affecting the core system.
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the top Home Assistant add-ons that you should consider using to maximize the efficiency and security of your smart home system.
1. AdGuard Home
AdGuard Home is a network-wide DNS server that blocks ads and trackers while also providing parental control features. After installing this add-on, you’ll need to either configure your router or change some settings in each computer, phone or tablet you wish to protect, all explained clearly in the AdGuard documentation. Once set up, AdGuard Home will immediately begin blocking ads across your entire network.
What sets AdGuard apart is the level of customization it offers. You can select from various blocklists to block ads, malware, phishing sites, and even adult content. The add-on also allows you to monitor DNS requests, giving you insights into what domains are being queried on your network. It’s a great way to clean up your browsing experience and increase network security.
I use it mainly to block ads on my Chromecast and AppleTV—there’s no native ad-blockers for those devices, and AdGuard Home handles this task quite well. Additionally, it’s excellent for parental control, allowing me to block adult content on my kids’ devices.
2. Node-RED
Node-RED is an excellent automation tool that lets you visually create and manage automations through a browser-based interface. Unlike the standard YAML-based automations in Home Assistant, Node-RED uses a graphical interface to connect “nodes” that represent services, devices, or APIs.
The beauty of Node-RED lies in its ability to simplify complex automations by visualizing the process. You can easily see how automations “flow” and tweak them to perfection without needing to sift through lines of code. It’s an ideal tool for users who prefer a more intuitive way to manage their automations.
While I initially used Node-RED extensively for my automations, I eventually moved all of them to Home Assistant’s native automation builder. Node-RED is great for beginners, but it can get cluttered with complex automations over time. For those just starting out, however, it’s an invaluable tool to visualize the flow of actions in a smart home.
3. Uptime Kuma
Uptime Kuma is a local monitoring solution, offering a highly customizable dashboard to monitor various services in your home network. Think of it as a self-hosted version of “Uptime Robot,” but with more control and flexibility.
You can track multiple services, websites, or devices, and set up notifications to be alerted if something goes down. Uptime Kuma is indispensable for those who manage a lot of services or devices within their home network, as it allows them to quickly react to issues before they escalate. Whether you’re monitoring your Home Assistant instance, web servers, or other devices, Uptime Kuma provides real-time updates and reports on service statuses.
I’ve set up Home Assistant automations to alert me whenever one of my monitored services is down, which is extremely useful for quickly addressing issues before they impact other devices or services.
4. Samba Share
Samba Share is an add-on that makes transferring files between your Home Assistant instance and your local devices a breeze. Whether you’re capturing footage from your surveillance cameras or you just need to back up important configurations, Samba Share enables easy file transfer over your local network using the CIFS and SMB protocols.
Samba Share is also an excellent solution if you want to turn your Home Assistant node into a makeshift NAS (Network Attached Storage) system. You can access your Home Assistant files from any computer on your network, making file management more convenient.
5. Google Drive Backup
As with any critical system, ensuring regular backups of your Home Assistant instance is essential. Google Drive Backup is an add-on that automates the process of saving snapshots of your setup to your Google Drive account.
What makes this add-on particularly useful is its automation feature—you can set it to periodically back up your configuration and store it safely in Google Drive. It offers peace of mind that, in case of a failure, your Home Assistant configuration can be restored quickly. With the ever-increasing complexity of smart homes, backing up your configuration is more important than ever, and this add-on makes it easy.
6. Terminal & SSH
Terminal & SSH is a vital tool for users who want direct access to the command line interface of their Home Assistant instance. Through this add-on, you get a terminal right in your browser, allowing you to manage processes, browse the file system, and make adjustments to your Home Assistant setup.
It’s an excellent resource for advanced users who need to tweak system settings, edit files directly, or debug issues without leaving the Home Assistant environment. While the Terminal & SSH add-on is geared more toward users who are comfortable with command-line operations, it can also serve as a great learning tool for those looking to get more hands-on with their setup.
7. VLC
Finally, the VLC add-on allows you to play audio files directly from your Home Assistant instance. This is perfect for creating notifications or alerts for various events around your home, such as playing a sound when the doorbell rings or a voice alert for security breaches.
By uploading audio files into Home Assistant, you can trigger these sounds based on your automations, turning your Raspberry Pi or any connected device into a smart speaker. It’s a simple yet highly effective way to add audible notifications to your smart home system.
I’ve previously written about methods for playing sounds through Alexa speakers, but VLC is the only reliable way I’ve found to play sounds directly through the Home Assistant computer itself.
Conclusion
Home Assistant add-ons significantly expand what your smart home setup can do. From enhancing security with AdGuard Home to simplifying automation with Node-RED and ensuring system backups with Google Drive Backup, these add-ons can take your smart home to the next level. Whether you’re looking for better control, more efficient management, or added layers of security, there’s likely an add-on that suits your needs.
