In current Home Assistant versions, add-ons are called apps. On Home Assistant OS, manually install one by adding its Git repository in Settings → Apps → App store → ⋮ → Repositories, then installing the app from the new repository section. Home Assistant Container and Core users do not have the Supervisor-managed Apps store; they must run the underlying service separately.
First, identify your Home Assistant installation
The installation method determines whether you can use Home Assistant apps at all:
| Installation method | Supervisor-managed apps? | Correct approach |
|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant OS | Yes | Install through Settings → Apps. |
| Home Assistant Supervised | Historically yes, where the Supervisor is available | Check the current support status and use the Supervisor interface if your installation provides it. |
| Home Assistant Container | No | Run the software separately, such as in another Docker container. |
| Home Assistant Core | No | Install and run the service separately using its own documentation. |
Home Assistant’s current documentation limits apps to Home Assistant OS. The Supervised installation is an advanced, version-sensitive option; its installer documentation also contains current support warnings, including a warning relating to Home Assistant OS 2025.12.0. Do not assume that every Supervised installation is supported indefinitely.
If you are using Container or Core and cannot find an Apps menu, that is expected—not an interface problem. See Home Assistant’s app overview for the installation-method distinction.
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What “manually install an add-on” can mean
People usually mean one of three different things:
- Add an app from a third-party repository: the normal method for an app that is not shown in the default store.
- Install a custom app from local files: a developer or tester copies a valid app into
/addons. - Run the equivalent service outside Home Assistant: the required method for Container and Core installations.
A fourth possibility is that you actually need a HACS integration, frontend card, theme, or custom component. HACS and the Home Assistant App store are separate systems.
Before you install
- Confirm that you are running Home Assistant OS, if you intend to use the Apps store.
- Create a Home Assistant backup and store a copy somewhere outside the device running Home Assistant. This is particularly important before installing software that changes networking, storage, databases, or security settings. See the official Home Assistant OS guidance.
- Obtain the project’s official HTTPS Git repository URL. This is usually a URL such as
https://github.com/example/project, not a link to a single file, folder, release page, or ZIP download. - Read the project documentation for supported CPU architectures, ports, hardware access, host-network or privileged permissions, configuration options, and maintenance status.
- Enable Advanced Mode in your Home Assistant user profile if the app is documented as an advanced app and does not appear in the store.
Install an app from a third-party repository
This is the correct workflow for most users who have found an app in a GitHub project or community guide.
1. Add the repository
- Open Home Assistant.
- Go to Settings → Apps.
- Open App store.
- Select the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
- Select Repositories.
- Paste the repository’s HTTPS clone URL.
- Select Add.
Home Assistant should load the repository and create a new section in the App store. A repository may contain several apps; adding the repository does not install all of them.
For reference, Home Assistant’s documentation uses this example repository:
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https://github.com/home-assistant/hassio-addons-exampleIt demonstrates the repository mechanism but is an example project, not a recommendation for a useful production app.
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2. Install and start the app
- Find the new repository section in the App store.
- Open the app you want to use.
- Read its documentation and review its requested permissions, ports, devices, and configuration.
- Select Install.
- Wait for the image to download or build.
- Configure any required options.
- Select Start.
- Open the app’s Logs tab and confirm that the service starts normally.
“Installed” and “running” are separate states. An app can finish installing successfully but stop immediately because of an invalid option, a port conflict, an unsupported architecture, or a missing device.
Install a custom or local app from /addons
Use a local app repository when you are developing an app, testing a change before publishing it, building from source, or using an app version that is not available in a public repository. This is not a way to drop an arbitrary Docker Compose project, executable, or ZIP file into Home Assistant and have it become an app.
A local app must follow Home Assistant’s app structure and include the required metadata and build/runtime files. Its directory normally includes a valid config.yaml. Review the app repository structure and configuration documentation before copying files.
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Copy the files to the Home Assistant host
On Home Assistant OS, you can access the host’s app directory by installing and configuring the official Samba app, then copying the app folder into the shared addons directory. An SSH app can also be used to transfer the files.
The target structure should be:
/addons/<your-app-folder>The app folder must be directly inside /addons. Avoid an extra level created by extracting an archive, such as:
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/addons/project-main/your-app-folderCopy the complete app source, not just its config.yaml. The directory must contain everything required by its build and runtime configuration.
Make the local app appear
- Open Settings → Apps → App store.
- Open the three-dot menu.
- Select Check for updates to reload app information.
- Refresh the browser page if necessary.
- Look for the Local apps section.
- Open the app and select Install.
- After installation completes, select Start.
- Check the app’s Logs tab.
For local builds, the developer documentation notes that the image entry may need to be commented out so Home Assistant builds the app locally instead of attempting to pull an upstream image. Whether a local build succeeds depends on the app structure, host architecture, available resources, and build configuration. See the local app testing guide and app tutorial.
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Do not confuse the app source directory with persistent application data. /addons holds local app source; persistent configuration may be mapped elsewhere, often under /addon_configs/..., depending on the app’s map configuration.
Troubleshoot missing apps and failed installations
| Symptom | Likely cause | First action |
|---|---|---|
| No Apps menu | Home Assistant Container or Core | Run the underlying service separately using its vendor documentation. |
| Repository will not load | Wrong URL, inaccessible repository, or invalid metadata | Verify the HTTPS repository URL, reload the store, and inspect Supervisor logs. |
| Repository appears but contains no app | The URL is not the repository root, or the repository structure is invalid | Check the project’s documented repository URL and required metadata. |
| App is missing from the store | Store cache, invalid metadata, or Advanced Mode filtering | Check for updates, refresh the browser, enable Advanced Mode, and inspect logs. |
| Installation fails | Unsupported architecture, unavailable image, dependency, or build error | Read the installation error and the app’s documentation; verify the host architecture. |
| App installs but will not start | Bad configuration, port conflict, missing permission, device mapping, or missing option | Open the app’s Logs tab, then check Supervisor logs. |
| Local app is not detected | Wrong directory depth, missing config.yaml, or store not reloaded |
Confirm /addons/<app-folder>, validate the app structure, reload the store, and refresh the browser. |
If a third-party repository does not appear
- Refresh the browser.
- Return to Settings → Apps → App store and select ⋮ → Check for updates, where available.
- Confirm that you pasted the repository’s HTTPS clone URL, rather than a web page or individual app directory.
- Confirm that the repository is publicly accessible and has not been renamed or removed.
- Go to Settings → System → Logs and select Supervisor as the log source.
- Look for invalid repository metadata or configuration errors.
If the repository itself is invalid, the repository maintainer is the appropriate person to contact. A failure in one repository does not necessarily indicate a problem with Home Assistant.
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If the app will not start
Begin with the app-specific Logs tab. Look for messages about:
- Unsupported CPU architecture, such as an image available only for AMD64 when the host is ARM.
- A port already being used by another service.
- Missing host permissions, devices, or hardware mappings.
- Invalid configuration or missing required environment values.
- An image that cannot be downloaded.
- A local image that fails to build.
- A service that launches and immediately exits.
- Network mode or host-access requirements that were not enabled.
Then inspect Settings → System → Logs → Supervisor. There is no universal command-line fix: the correct remedy depends on the app’s metadata, image, hardware, and documentation.
App store versus HACS
| System | What it installs | Where it is managed |
|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant App store | Supervisor-managed apps, formerly called add-ons | Settings → Apps |
| HACS | Community integrations, frontend cards, themes, and other Home Assistant customizations | HACS |
Adding an integration repository to HACS does not install a Supervisor app. Adding an app repository to the App store does not install a custom integration. Some services require both an app and a Home Assistant integration, but those remain separate components.
What Container and Core users should do instead
Home Assistant Container and Core do not include the Supervisor-managed App store. To use the same underlying software, install and run it independently—for example, as another Docker container, a native Linux service, or a package supplied by the software vendor.
Use the vendor’s own instructions for the container image, volumes, ports, networking, upgrades, and backups. After the service is running, configure the corresponding Home Assistant integration or network endpoint. Do not treat a generic Docker Compose project as a Home Assistant app; an app requires Home Assistant-specific metadata and Supervisor lifecycle configuration.
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- Keep an external backup before major app or system changes.
- Use the project’s official repository URL and documentation.
- Review requested permissions, host access, devices, ports, and network mode.
- Confirm that the app supports your CPU architecture.
- Keep track of the app’s configuration and any required integration.
- Update third-party apps according to the maintainer’s guidance.
- Remove unused apps and repositories to reduce maintenance and attack surface.
- For local apps, maintain the source, build configuration, update process, and recovery copy yourself.
For advanced automation or diagnostics, Home Assistant documents Supervisor API operations for reloading app information, adding repositories, installing or rebuilding local apps, and retrieving logs. Those operations are documented in the Supervisor API reference; the UI is safer for most users.
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