Install HOOBS on Your Raspberry Pi in 10 Minutes or Less

I recently set up HOOBS on my Raspberry Pi to handle a few home automation tasks, and honestly, it was better than I expected. The interface feels clean and polished. If you’re curious about running it on your Pi, I’ll show you how to get it up and running quickly.

HOOBS provides repositories for most Debian-based Linux distributions, including Raspberry Pi OS. Once the repository is added, HOOBS can be installed easily by using the Debian package manager: APT. A web interface is then available for the software configuration.

Don’t worry, it’s not complicated, even if you are not used to the command line. And, in this article, I’ll explain all of the steps in detail. Let’s start with a brief introduction about HOOBS to make sure everything is clear.

If you’re new to Raspberry Pi or Linux, I’ve got something that can help you right away!
Download my free Linux commands cheat sheet – it’s a quick reference guide with all the essential commands you’ll need to get things done on your Raspberry Pi. Click here to get it for free!

What is HOOBS?

HOOBS stands for “Homebridge Out of the Box.” It’s software that enables users to easily set up and use Homebridge, an open-source home automation platform that allows users to control a variety of smart home devices using a single interface.

If you’re familiar with Homebridge, it’s the same thing but with a better interface that is easier to use for beginners. The installation is slightly easier, but the main changes are within the interface, as you can set up everything from there using plugins and filling forms from your web browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HibhwIXPQRU

HOOBS can then be used to integrate a wide range of smart home devices and services, including those from Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and many others. As plugins from the community are available, almost any smart device can be linked to your HOOBS interface.

I have an article about Home Assistant on this website that you can check and HOOBS basically does the same thing.

How to Install HOOBS on Raspberry Pi

Here are the required steps to install HOOBS on a Raspberry Pi:

• Download the HOOBS installation image.
• Flash the image onto an SD card and boot it on the Raspberry Pi.
• Open the web interface to link your devices.

Let’s learn how to do all of these steps in detail.

Download HOOBS Image

• Visit the official HOOBS GitHub: here.
• Download the latest “rpi-sdcard” version.
• For example:
  wget https://github.com/hoobs-org/image/releases/download/v5.1.8/hoobs-v5.1.8-rpi-sdcard.xz
  

Quick note: If you find it hard to remember all these commands, I’ve put them all on a one-page cheat sheet. You can download it for free here so you have it handy whenever you're working on a project.

Flash HOOBS Image onto an SD Card

Now that we’ve got the HOOBS image, let’s flash it onto an SD card:

• Launch Raspberry Pi Imager.
  If you don’t have it yet, you can download and install it here.
• Make the following selections.
• Device – Choose your Pi board.
• OS – Select “Use custom” and when prompted, pick the image you downloaded earlier.
• Storage – Select your SD card or media you’d like to write HOOBS on.
• Writing – You’ll see a summary here. Click WRITE to begin.
  

It should be done after a few minutes. Insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi and turn it on.

Note: Make sure that your Pi is connected to your network via a wired connection. HOOBS only supports Ethernet during the initial installation phase.

Getting Started with HOOBS on Raspberry Pi

Once HOOBS is installed on the Raspberry Pi, everything can be done from the web interface.
Let me guide you through the first steps.

Access the Web Interface

Open a web browser on your computer and visit: http://hoobs.local/

If that doesn’t work, you can enter the address manually like this:
http://<IP>

• <IP> is the IP address of the Raspberry Pi.
  You can follow my tutorial to learn how to find the Raspberry Pi IP address.

So, for me, the interface is now available at http://192.168.222.23.

You should get something like the following image the first time you access the interface:

I’ll continue in the browser, so these instructions will work on any operating system. But if you want, you can try the mobile apps or Windows app if you like.

Create the User Account

Click Create Account to continue.
You just need to fill out a form with the username and password:

Use whatever you want, just make sure to respect the basic complexity requirements and avoid obvious usernames and passwords if possible.

Next, log in with the new credentials you created.
You’ll now get access to the main dashboard, which looks like this on my version:

The interface is intuitive, with all the options available in the left menu. You can configure the home page to include your smart devices widgets and other things, but first, let’s do the updates.

Updates

If you just installed the system, there might not be many updates to do.
Here’s how to check for updates to HOOBS:

• On the bottom-left, click the gear icon, and go to System.
• On this page, it will give you a list with all the updates available.
  I think there are packages related to HOOBS, but also all system updates and security patches.
• Click on the “Update” button to install all the new package versions available.

After a few minutes, your system is up-to-date, and you can start integrating HOOBS with your smart devices.

Install Plugins

The HOOBS interface is almost empty by default. It works with plugins, meaning you need to add a plugin for each device (or brand) you want to connect to your HOOBS dashboard.

The most popular plugins are featured directly in the interface, so you can install them easily.
Go to the Home tab > Add Accessory > Install a Plugin to see a list:

But you can also check the website here for more options. Anyone can upload a plugin on this website, which is great because almost any device will be compatible with HOOBS.
The issue is that not all of them are perfect or will work properly.

At the time I’m writing this, over 3000 plugins are listed on the website. Only half of them have a visual configuration tool, and I guess most of them don’t work, aren’t updated and aren’t compatible with the latest HOOBS or devices versions.

So, even if HOOBS is a good upgrade to HomeBridge, it doesn’t mean everything will be easy to set up. If you are lucky, your devices are supported and the plugin is kept up-to-date, but it wasn’t my experience for all of them.

Anyway, let’s take an example with one of the featured plugins to see the main steps to connect to a smart device.

Bridges

HOOBS creates bridges between the web interface and the smart device. In most cases, a plugin is required to create this connection. Once done, the device will be listed in the “bridges” menu on the left and can be controlled from there.

Install the Corresponding Plugin

The first step is to find and install the corresponding plugin. I’m trying the Hue plugin for this tutorial.

Philips Hue is a set of smart lights that you can install at home (check the starter kit on Amazon).
It works with a bridge connected to your network, and then the bulbs are connected to it, so you can control them from the smartphone app (or use the API, as explained in my tutorial here).

To control your lights with HOOBS, you first need to install the corresponding plugin.
It’s in the “Featured plugins” list I showed you previously, so you’ll find it easily on the web interface:

Click “Install” to add it to HOOBS.
After that you can accept the default options to install it:

Plugin Configuration

Once installation is complete, you’ll find your plugin under the Bridges tab on the main menu.
You’ll want to configure this plugin (e.g., Philips Hue).

For each plugin, there is a presentation page on the HOOBS website.
I find that it often helps to get started, as not all plugins are intuitive enough to understand directly what you should do.

For example, with the Hue plugin, you have to press the button on the Philips bridge, check the HOOBS log file to get the username and add it to the configuration. You won’t guess this procedure without reading the instructions on the plugin’s page here.

The instructions are not up-to-date for this plugin, but I still understood the procedure, got my user credentials in the log file, and added it to the Hue plugin’s configuration:

Once done, my Philips Hue lights were connected to HOOBS and could be controlled from there (a restart is required). You can either keep the controls under the bridges page, where you’ll have all your devices connected, or add widgets to your main dashboard, to add the actions you’ll use most of the time.

Overall, I won’t say that HOOBS is perfect, as you still have to figure out some of the steps, and not all plugins work the same way, so each device configuration is different. But overall, it’s easier to use than Homebridge (which is the goal).

I think I still prefer Home Assistant over HOOBS, but it’s not that far. Home Assistant detected all the devices on my network and guided me for the installation, while HOOBS requires more manual configuration.

Check my Home Assistant guide here if you want to give it a try. We also have a guide on easy home automation projects you can try on Raspberry Pi.

Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:

Test Your Raspberry Pi Level (Free): Not sure why everything takes so long on your Raspberry Pi? Take this free 3-minute assessment and see what’s causing the problems.

The RaspberryTips Community: Need help or want to discuss your Raspberry Pi projects with others who actually get it? Join the RaspberryTips Community and get access to private forums, exclusive lessons, and direct help.

Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.

Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.

You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.