How to Install Home Assistant OS on a Raspberry Pi With Raspberry Pi Imager

Getting Home Assistant OS onto a Raspberry Pi used to mean fiddling with image files and command-line flashers. Now the official Raspberry Pi Imager has a built-in option that does the whole job, and the same approach works on a mini PC. From a blank SD card or SSD to the onboarding screen at homeassistant.local:8123 takes well under ten minutes of actual work, most of which is just waiting for the write to finish.

Quick Answer

Use Raspberry Pi Imager, pick Home Assistant OS under Other specific-purpose OS, write it to your SD card or SSD, then boot the Pi on Ethernet and open homeassistant.local:8123. The whole flash-and-boot process takes under ten minutes, after which onboarding walks you through the rest. An SSD is strongly preferred over an SD card for durability.

What You Need Before Starting

Gather the parts so the install runs without interruption.

• A Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi 5, or a compatible mini PC
• An SD card or, far better, an SSD with a suitable adapter or HAT
• A power supply rated for your board
• An Ethernet cable for first boot
• Raspberry Pi Imager installed on your computer

Ethernet for the first boot saves a lot of grief, because it gets the device on the network reliably while you complete setup. An SSD is the better long-term choice: Home Assistant writes to a database constantly, and an SD card under that load often fails within a year or two, while an SSD is faster and far more durable.

Step by Step: Flash With Raspberry Pi Imager

The Imager handles everything, so there is no separate download or extraction to manage.

1. Open Raspberry Pi Imager and click Choose Device, then select your Pi model.
2. Click Choose OS, then go to Other specific-purpose OS, then Home automation, then Home Assistant.
3. Pick the Home Assistant OS build that matches your hardware, for example the Pi 4 or Pi 5 image.
4. Click Choose Storage and select your SD card or SSD. Double-check this so you do not overwrite the wrong drive.
5. Click Next, then Write, and confirm. The Imager downloads and writes the image for you.
6. When it finishes, eject the storage safely.

That is the entire flashing process. There is no need to manually fetch an .img file or unzip anything, because the Imager pulls the correct build directly.

First Boot and Onboarding

Now bring the device to life on your network.

1. Insert the SD card or connect the SSD to the Pi.
2. Plug in the Ethernet cable to the same network as your computer.
3. Connect power. The Pi boots and Home Assistant begins setting itself up.
4. On your computer, open a browser and go to homeassistant.local:8123.
5. Wait a few minutes on the first boot while it prepares, then follow the onboarding to create your account and name your home.

If homeassistant.local does not resolve on your network, you can reach it by the Pi's IP address on port 8123 instead. Once onboarding finishes, Home Assistant starts discovering compatible smart devices on your network automatically. To grow the system from there, the smart home and connected device range covers sensors, plugs, and hubs that integrate cleanly.

Why SSD Over SD Card

It is worth repeating because it is the most common regret. Home Assistant's constant database writes wear out SD cards quickly, and a corrupted card means a dead smart home until you reflash. An SSD removes that failure mode and makes the whole system noticeably snappier, especially on a busy setup with many devices and automations. For boot drives, adapters, and the other bits a clean build needs, the best-selling accessories are a useful shortlist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really install Home Assistant OS straight from Raspberry Pi Imager?

Yes. Recent versions of Raspberry Pi Imager include Home Assistant OS under Other specific-purpose OS, so you select it, choose your storage, and write. There is no separate image download or flashing tool required.

Should I use an SD card or an SSD?

An SSD, without much doubt. Home Assistant writes to its database constantly, which wears SD cards out, often within a year or two. An SSD is faster, more reliable, and avoids the corruption that plagues card-based installs.

Why can't I reach homeassistant.local:8123?

The first boot takes a few minutes to prepare, so wait before assuming it failed. If the hostname still does not resolve, some networks block it, in which case use the Pi's IP address followed by :8123 to reach the onboarding screen.

Does this work on a mini PC too?

Yes. Home Assistant OS runs on compatible mini PCs as well as Raspberry Pi boards. The flashing principle is the same, writing the OS image to the boot drive, though a mini PC may need its image written to the internal drive rather than via Imager's Pi flow.

What happens after onboarding?

Once you create your account, Home Assistant automatically scans your network for compatible devices and offers to add them. From there you build dashboards and automations, adding more sensors and smart devices over time.