Getting Started¶
Going from a spare device to a working Home Assistant dashboard takes four steps. Follow them in order and you'll be up and running without a terminal or a weekend of tinkering.
1. Flash the image¶
Write one image to an SD card or SSD, pop it into your tablet, mini-PC or single-board computer, and power on. The Flash guide walks through downloading the latest image and writing it to your target disk.
2. Get it on your network¶
On Ethernet there is nothing to do. On Wi-Fi, the display shows a QR code: scan it with your phone, and a page opens where you enter your network name and password. See Wi-Fi setup. If you are setting up several devices, a seed file does this ahead of time instead.
3. Pair with Home Assistant¶
Once online, the device shows an "add me" screen. Install the Dashboard Assistant integration — a HACS custom repository, added in a couple of clicks — and Home Assistant discovers the panel over mDNS, so it shows up as a device you can see, control and automate. There is no token to type. The Connect to Home Assistant guide walks through it.
4. Use it day to day¶
Once it's up, you control it in two places: on the screen itself and from Home Assistant. The Usage guide covers the on-device controls, the integration's entities, one-tap OS updates and rolling back if an update ever misbehaves. If something looks off, the admin page is where you roll back or reset the device.
Need a hand?¶
Check Hardware Support for the current state of your board, or ask on GitHub discussions.