Home Assistant HACS Explained + How to Install It
HACS, the Home Assistant Community Store, is a third-party manager that lets you browse, install, and update community-built integrations and dashboard themes from inside Home Assistant. It is not made by Home Assistant's core team and it is not the same as Add-ons. Think of it as a package manager for the unofficial extensions that expand what your setup can do — things the built-in catalog doesn't ship. Below, we explain exactly what HACS is, when you actually need it, and how to install it step by step based on the project's official documentation.
What HACS actually is (and isn't)
Home Assistant already includes hundreds of official integrations you can add from Settings → Devices & Services. HACS covers everything outside that catalog: custom integrations written by the community, plus custom Lovelace dashboard cards and themes. Once installed, it becomes a panel in your sidebar where you can search, install, and — crucially — get notified when those community projects release updates.
The distinction that trips up newcomers is HACS vs. Add-ons. They solve different problems, and you may use both.
| HACS | Add-ons | |
|---|---|---|
| What it installs | Custom integrations, dashboard cards, themes | Separate applications (e.g. Mosquitto, Node-RED) |
| Runs as | Custom components inside Home Assistant | Isolated Docker containers alongside HA |
| Made by | Independent community developers | Official + community, via the Supervisor |
| Where it appears | Sidebar panel you add yourself | Settings → Add-ons (needs Supervisor) |
If you're still fuzzy on the second column, our guide to Home Assistant Add-ons breaks those down separately.
Before you start: requirements
HACS installs itself as a custom integration, so your Home Assistant install must allow custom components. That covers the common paths — Home Assistant OS, Supervised, Container (Docker), and Core. If you followed our beginner install guide or set up Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi, you're on a supported path.
That backup point is not boilerplate. Custom integrations can occasionally break a startup after a Home Assistant update. Set up automatic backups first so a bad component is a five-minute rollback, not a rebuild.
How to install HACS, step by step
The official method downloads the HACS files onto your system, then registers HACS as an integration and links it to GitHub. The exact download step differs slightly depending on your install type.
- Get the HACS files onto your system. On Home Assistant OS or Supervised, the simplest route is to install the community Get HACS helper (via the Add-on store's terminal method or the official one-line download shown in the HACS docs). On a Container or Core install, you download the HACS release into your configuration's
custom_components/hacsfolder using the terminal or your file editor of choice. - Restart Home Assistant. Go to Settings → System and restart so Home Assistant detects the new custom component. Nothing appears until this restart completes.
- Add the HACS integration. Open Settings → Devices & Services, choose Add Integration, and search for HACS. Confirm the acknowledgement checkboxes it presents.
- Authorize with GitHub. HACS shows you a device code and a link to GitHub. Sign in to your GitHub account, paste the code, and approve access. This lets HACS read public repositories to fetch integrations and check for updates.
- Find HACS in your sidebar. After authorization it appears as a new sidebar entry. Give it a minute on first launch — it downloads its index of available projects.
- 1Download the HACS files for your install type
- 2Restart Home Assistant from Settings → System
- 3Add the HACS integration and authorize it with GitHub
Using HACS after installation
Open the HACS panel and you'll see categories for integrations and, for dashboard cards, a Frontend section. Search a project, open it, and click download. For a custom integration you'll typically restart Home Assistant afterward, then add it under Devices & Services like any other. For a custom Lovelace card, you reference it in your dashboard. Popular first installs include advanced cards and integrations that pair well with beginner automations or a more polished energy dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Is HACS safe?
HACS itself is a well-established, open-source project, but it installs code written by others. The risk lives in the individual integrations you choose, not in HACS. Stick to widely used projects with active maintainers, and keep backups current.
Do I need HACS to use Home Assistant?
No. Home Assistant is fully functional without it. You only need HACS when you want a specific community integration or dashboard card that isn't in the official catalog. Many people run for months before installing it.
Why does HACS require a GitHub account?
Community projects are hosted on GitHub, and HACS reads them there to list projects and detect new releases. Authorizing with your account raises GitHub's rate limits so HACS can check many repositories reliably. A free account is enough.
HACS isn't showing in my sidebar — what now?
Confirm the files are in custom_components/hacs, that you restarted Home Assistant, and that you added the integration under Devices & Services. If the integration search returns nothing, the files weren't detected — recheck the folder path and restart again. Our dedicated step-by-step HACS install walkthrough covers each install type in more detail.
