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layout	title	description	date	sidebar	comments	sharing	footer	ha_category	ha_release	logo
page	HomeKit	Instructions on how to setup the HomeKit component in Home Assistant.	2018-02-20 17:30	true	false	true	true	Voice	0.64	apple-homekit.png

The HomeKit component allows you to forward entities from Home Assistant to Apple HomeKit, so they could be controlled from Apple Home app and Siri. Please make sure that you have read the considerations listed below to save you some trouble later.

It might be necessary to install an additional package: `$ sudo apt-get install libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev`

If you are upgrading Home Assistant from `0.65.x` and have used the HomeKit component, some accessories may not respond or may behave unusually. To fix these problems, you will need to remove the Home Assistant Bridge from your Home, stop Home Assistant and delete the `.homekit.state` file in your configuration folder and follow the Homekit [setup](#setup) steps again.

{% configuration %} homekit: description: HomeKit configuration. required: true type: map keys: auto_start: description: Flag if the HomeKit Server should start automatically after the Home Assistant Core Setup is done. (Disable Auto Start) required: false type: boolean default: true port: description: Port for the HomeKit extension. required: false type: int default: 51827 filter: description: Filter entities to available in the Home app. (Configure Filter) required: false type: map keys: include_domains: description: Domains to be included. required: false type: list include_entities: description: Entities to be included. required: false type: list exclude_domains: description: Domains to be excluded. required: false type: list exclude_entities: description: Entities to be excluded. required: false type: list entity_config: description: Configuration for specific entities. All subordinate keys are the corresponding entity ids to the domains, e.g. alarm_control_panel.alarm. required: false type: map keys: alarm_control_panel: description: Additional options for alarm_control_panel entities. required: false type: map keys: code: description: Code to arm or disarm the alarm in the frontend. required: false type: string default: '' {% endconfiguration %}

{% linkable_title Setup %}

To enable the HomeKit component in Home Assistant, add the following to your configuration file:

# Example for HomeKit setup
homekit:

After Home Assistant has started, the entities specified by the filter are exposed to HomeKit if the are supported. To add them:

1. Open the Home Assistant frontend. A new card will display the pin code.
2. Open the Home app.
3. Choose Add Accessory, than select Don't Have a Code or Can't Scan? and enter the pin code.
4. Confirm the you are adding an Uncertified Accessory by clicking on Add Anyway.
5. Follow the setup be clicking on Next and lastly Done in the top right hand corner.
6. The Home Assistant Bridge and the Accessories should now be listed in the Home app.

After the setup is completed you should be able to control your Home Assistant components through Home and Siri.

{% linkable_title Considerations %}

{% linkable_title Accessory ID %}

Currently this component uses the entity_id to generate a unique accessory id (aid) for HomeKit. The aid is used to identify a device and save all configurations made for it. This however means that if you decide to change an entity_id all configurations for this accessory made in the Home app will be lost.

{% linkable_title Persistence Storage %}

Unfortunately HomeKit doesn't support any kind of persistence storage, only the configuration for accessories that are added to the Home Assistant Bridge are kept. To avoid problems it is recommended to use an automation to always start HomeKit with at least the same entities setup. If for some reason some entities are not setup, their config will be deleted. (State unknown or similar will not cause any issues.)

A common situation might be if you decide to disable parts of the configuration for testing. Please make sure to disable auto start and turn off the Start HomeKit automation (if you have one).

{% linkable_title Disable Auto Start %}

Depending on your individual setup, it might be necessary to disable Auto Start for all accessories to be available for HomeKit. Only those entities that are fully setup when the HomeKit component is started, can be added. To start HomeKit when auto_start: False, you can call the service homekit.start.

This can be automated using an automation.

{% raw %}

# Example for Z-Wave
homekit:
  auto_start: False

automation:
  - alias: 'Start HomeKit'
    trigger:
      - platform: event
        event_type: zwave.network_ready
    action:
      - service: homekit.start

{% endraw %}

{% raw %}

# Example using a delay after start of Home Assistant
homekit:
  auto_start: False

automation:
  - alias: 'Start HomeKit'
    trigger:
      - platform: homeassistant
        event: start
    action:
      - delay: 00:05  # Waits 5 minutes
      - service: homekit.start

{% endraw %}

{% linkable_title Configure Filter %}

By default no entity will be excluded. To limit which entities are being exposed to HomeKit, you can use the filter parameter. Keep in mind only supported components can be added.

{% raw %}

# Example filter to include specified domains and exclude specified entities
homekit:
  filter:
    include_domains:
      - alarm_control_panel
      - light
    exclude_entities:
      - light.kitchen_light

{% endraw %}

Filters are applied as follows:

1. No includes or excludes - pass all entities
2. Includes, no excludes - only include specified entities
3. Excludes, no includes - only exclude specified entities
4. Both includes and excludes:
   • Include domain specified
     • if domain is included, and entity not excluded, pass
     • if domain is not included, and entity not included, fail
   • Exclude domain specified
     • if domain is excluded, and entity not included, fail
     • if domain is not excluded, and entity not excluded, pass
     • if both include and exclude domains specified, the exclude domains are ignored
   • Neither include or exclude domain specified
     • if entity is included, pass (as #2 above)
     • if entity include and exclude, the entity exclude is ignored

{% linkable_title Supported Components %}

The following components are currently supported:

Component	Type Name	Description
alarm_control_panel	SecuritySystem	All security systems.
climate	Thermostat	All climate devices.
cover	WindowCovering	All covers that support set_cover_position.
light	Light	Support for on / off, brightness and rgb_color.
sensor	TemperatureSensor	All sensors that have Celsius and Fahrenheit as their unit_of_measurement.
sensor	HumiditySensor	All sensors that have % as their unit_of_measurement
switch / remote / input_boolean / script	Switch	All represented as switches.

{% linkable_title Error reporting %}

If you encounter any issues or bug and want to report them on GitHub, please follow these steps to make it easier for others to help and get your issue solved.

1. Enable debugging mode:

logger:
  default: warning
  logs:
       homeassistant.components.homekit: debug
       pyhap: debug

2. Reproduce the bug / problem you have encountered.
3. Stop Home Assistant and copy the log from the log file. That is necessary since some errors only get logged, when Home Assistant is being shutdown.
4. Follow this link: [home-assistant/issues/new](https://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant/issues/new?labels=component: homekit) and open a new issue.
5. Fill out all fields and especially include the following information:
   • The configuration entries for homekit and the component that is causing the issue.
   • The log / traceback you have generated before.
   • Screenshots of the failing entity in the states panel.