Install HACS

HACS stands for Home Assistant Community Store. It is a tool for downloading and managing custom components for Home Assistant, and is generally recommended for most custom use cases. Fortunately it is quite simple to install.

1. Install ‘Terminal & SSH’ add-on

To do this, follow the instructions in the SSH and file upload article (steps 1 and 2). You can enable the ‘Show in sidebar’ option to quickly access Terminal from the sidebar. Make sure you restart Home Assistant after installing the add-on.

2. Install HACS files

Open Terminal (from the sidebar or via add-on page, ‘Open Web UI’), paste the following code (CTRL + SHIFT + V) and run it with ENTER:

wget -O - https://get.hacs.xyz | bash -

After a while, you should receive ‘Installation complete’ message on the terminal. Restart Home Assistant.

3. Configure HACS

Configuration is done according to the steps in the official HACS documentation. Here’s the short version of required steps:

Navigate to Settings > Devices & services

Clear browser cache or perform a hard-refresh (CTRL+F5)

Add integration ‘HACS’ and accept usage options (if HACS does not show up in the search, you need to clear browser cache again or try a different browser)

Authorize the installation by entering the key into GitHub (you need a GitHub account)

Finish the configuration

4. Done

Now you’re ready to install custom components to your Home Assistant!