@luana free software that connects to almost every smart home device with simple ways to automate stuff and a nice frontend, too https://www.home-assistant.io

@noiob So it’s like an alternative to the Home app that supports more stuff, not a way to connect unsupported devices to HomeKit like HomeBridge is right?

@luana it can expose devices to homekit

@noiob Does it work with remote access tho? Like HomeKit lets you access stuff remotely if you have an AppleTV, does Home Assistant have anything like that?

@luana it should work like any homekit device

@noiob Oh wait Home Assistant requires HomeKit?

Oh then I can just keep HomeBridge, the point is substitute homekit if I leave iPhone (hence why I mentioned Matter)

@luana no, Home Assistant is standalone software

it just has an integration that creates virtual HomeKit devices so they show up in iOS

@noiob Oh, so it’s a bigger software that just happens to have this feature overlap with homebridge?

@luana yeah it can do a lot. I recommend checking it out, you might find it useful, I've been running it for a while now

My dashboard looks like this

@luana you can control devices connected with Home Assistant with any device that has a web browser or their app, or Google Home, or a remote connected to Home Assistant.

@noiob Seems nice
They seem to have a WOL extension too so it’d fit my needs on that part

I asked “homebridge but for Matter” bc I’d my WOL my PC via Matter instead of via HomeKit (which I currently do via HomeBridge) so I could use some Linux Matter controller app for that if I migrated to Linux Mobile. But Home Assistant seems to work for that then.

Can Home Assistant be controlled from outside my local network like HomeKit can?

@noiob Apparently only with VPN or port forwarding and static ip and stuff, damn

@luana or you pay Nabu Casa (the ppl who run it)

@luana you can set up HA with a certificate and a domain, yeah