Home Assistant Add-ons and Apps: What to Install

If a tutorial says "add-on store" and your screen says "Apps," you are looking at the same part of Home Assistant. The current app documentation uses Settings > Apps > Install app.

Apps run alongside Home Assistant. An MQTT broker carries device messages; a file editor changes configuration files; a recorder stores camera footage. An integration connects those services to Home Assistant. Installing the application and configuring the integration are often separate steps.

The supported installation with managed apps is Home Assistant OS. Home Assistant Container users run supporting services separately. Core and Supervised are retired installation methods, so choose a current route from the installation section before following an old tutorial.

Read the publisher and documentation for each app. Some come from Home Assistant's repository and others from community repositories. Installing them on the same host does not make them all maintained by the same team.

A fresh installation does not need five extra apps before it can be useful. Connect a device and build a routine first. Then choose the smallest set of supporting services that those devices actually need.

Mosquitto when you need MQTT

MQTT needs a broker. Mosquitto is a common choice, and Home Assistant OS can manage it as an app. An existing broker can also work. Configure the broker, connect the Home Assistant MQTT integration, then check that a device publishes updates and accepts commands.

Zigbee2MQTT uses MQTT. ZHA does not. A Shelly device connected through its native integration does not need an MQTT broker just because it is a Shelly. The same applies to ordinary Kasa plugs: follow the TP-Link integration before adding unrelated services.

An editor when the UI is not enough

File editor can be useful for a small YAML change. Studio Code Server provides a larger browser editing environment. Samba share lets you access selected files from another computer. Pick the access method you understand and need; you do not have to install all three.

Keep a copy before editing configuration and use Home Assistant's configuration checks where applicable. A file editor does not validate whether an automation will behave as intended.

Backups before experiments

Configure the built-in backup schedule and destinations. Official Google Drive and OneDrive integrations are available. A community backup app may offer features you want, but it is no longer required just to schedule an offsite copy.

Terminal access for a specific task

Terminal & SSH can help when a documented procedure needs the command line. Read that app's access options and keep credentials private. Do not expose a terminal to the internet merely to make administration convenient.

Zigbee2MQTT

Zigbee2MQTT needs a supported adapter and an MQTT broker. Check the exact adapter and device models before choosing it over ZHA. One coordinator cannot serve both systems at the same time. Adding this app is not a reason to move a working Zigbee network unless you need a feature it provides.

ESPHome Device Builder

Use ESPHome Device Builder to create and maintain firmware for supported devices. The ESPHome integration connects a running device to Home Assistant. Buying a ready-configured ESPHome product does not necessarily mean you need to build its firmware yourself. Compilation is a separate workload, so check hardware requirements if you plan to maintain several custom devices.

Node-RED

Node-RED suits people who prefer visual flows and already understand its execution model. Home Assistant's built-in editor also supports conditions, branches, and reusable scripts. Choose one place for a routine's main logic so you can find it later. If you use Node-RED, include its flows and credentials in your recovery plan.

Frigate

Frigate records video and can perform local object detection. A Coral TPU is one supported detector option, not a universal requirement. Read Frigate's current detector documentation before buying hardware. Video decoding, detection, and recording have different resource requirements.

Size storage for your cameras and retention period. Keeping camera recording on another host may make sense if you do not want it competing with your lights and thermostat for resources. The Reolink and UniFi Protect guides cover other camera paths.

AdGuard Home

AdGuard Home can provide DNS filtering for your network. If you make an app on the Home Assistant host your household's only DNS server, a host outage or OS reboot also interrupts name resolution. Decide on an outage plan before changing the router's DNS settings. Filtering by domain cannot remove every advertisement inside a shared service.

MariaDB

Keep the default database unless you have a reason to change it. Home Assistant's Recorder documentation recommends SQLite. MariaDB is supported, but installing it does not automatically improve performance or reduce writes to the same disk. Moving databases also requires a plan for history, storage, and backups; changing the recorder database does not migrate history for you.

Remote access tools

Start with Home Assistant's remote access options. Home Assistant Cloud or a properly configured VPN can meet many needs. Nginx Proxy Manager is a reverse proxy, not a tunnel that automatically avoids exposed ports. Use it when you understand and need that network arrangement.

HACS helps manage community integrations and dashboard elements. It is separate from the app store. A custom integration can add a missing device connection; a custom card changes how a dashboard looks or behaves.

Use a custom component for a clear need. Before installing it, check the maintainer's documentation, the versions it supports, and open issues relevant to your setup. Review releases when updating. A star count or a familiar project name does not establish that every release has been reviewed.

Keep a note of which dashboards and automations depend on custom components. If a card fails after an update, check the browser and card errors before changing the device integration. If a custom integration fails, review its logs and release compatibility before deleting the device or resetting it.

You can build a useful dashboard with Home Assistant's built-in cards. The dashboard guide offers layout ideas; choose a custom card only when it solves a problem the built-in version does not.

1. Read the app documentation and confirm your hardware and installation type are supported.
2. Take a current backup, install the app from its documented repository, and enter only the configuration it needs.
3. Start it and read the log. Add its Home Assistant integration if that is a separate step.
4. Test the real outcome: an MQTT device updating, a firmware build completing, or a camera recording. An app marked "running" does not prove that connection works.
5. Decide whether it should start on boot and how you will handle updates. Check its backup contents before relying on it.

When an app will not start

Read the first useful error in its log. Common causes include a port already used by another service, an unavailable radio, incorrect credentials, missing configuration, or a full disk. Check the failing app and its dependency before restarting the entire host.

When the host slows down

Compare CPU, memory, disk usage, and storage activity during the slow period. A video workload can dominate a host even if only one app is installed. Stopping an unused app removes its running workload, but its stored data still occupies disk. Keep or remove that data deliberately.

Maintain a short list of the apps you actually use and what depends on them. That list is more useful during an outage than a collection of apps installed because an old tutorial called them essential.