Home Assistant REST API

Open-source home automation platform REST API for controlling smart home devices, querying entity states, firing events, and triggering automations across 3000+ integrations (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Philips Hue, Google Home, etc.).

Evaluated Mar 10, 2026 (3d ago) v2024.x
Homepage ↗ Repo ↗ Developer Tools home-assistant smart-home iot open-source home-automation zigbee z-wave matter
⚙ Agent Friendliness
78
/ 100
Can an agent use this?
🔒 Security
78
/ 100
Is it safe for agents?
⚡ Reliability
79
/ 100
Does it work consistently?

Score Breakdown

⚙ Agent Friendliness

MCP Quality
78
Documentation
85
Error Messages
78
Auth Simplicity
80
Rate Limits
72

🔒 Security

TLS Enforcement
88
Auth Strength
78
Scope Granularity
65
Dep. Hygiene
82
Secret Handling
80

Apache 2.0 open-source with strong community security review. Local network only by default (no external exposure without explicit configuration). Long-lived tokens without expiry is a risk — consider rotation. HTTPS configurable.

⚡ Reliability

Uptime/SLA
78
Version Stability
82
Breaking Changes
78
Error Recovery
78
AF Security Reliability

Best When

An agent controls a self-hosted smart home environment and needs access to 3000+ device integrations through a single, well-documented local REST API.

Avoid When

You need a fully managed smart home platform without self-hosting — use vendor-native APIs instead.

Use Cases

  • Querying and controlling smart home devices (lights, thermostats, locks) programmatically
  • Triggering home automations and scripts via REST API for agent workflows
  • Reading sensor data (temperature, humidity, motion) for environmental monitoring agents
  • Integrating home automation events with external systems via webhooks
  • Building voice/LLM agents that control physical home devices

Not For

  • Commercial building automation without significant customization
  • Users without technical ability to self-host Home Assistant
  • Cloud-only deployments without local hardware (Raspberry Pi or HA dedicated hardware)

Interface

REST API
Yes
GraphQL
No
gRPC
No
MCP Server
Yes
SDK
No
Webhooks
Yes

Authentication

Methods: bearer_token
OAuth: Yes Scopes: No

Long-lived access tokens from Home Assistant user profile. Local API for direct access to home network. Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa) enables remote access. WebSocket API for real-time state changes.

Pricing

Model: open-source
Free tier: Yes
Requires CC: No

Core platform is free open-source. Nabu Casa subscription optional for remote access and cloud features. Supports community and strong ecosystem. Most popular home automation platform globally.

Agent Metadata

Pagination
none
Idempotent
Full
Retry Guidance
Not documented

Known Gotchas

  • Local-only by default — remote access requires Nabu Casa or self-configured VPN/tunnel
  • Entity IDs are human-defined and can change — agents should query by friendly_name or attributes
  • Device availability depends on underlying integration health — devices may be unavailable
  • REST API is synchronous but device commands may be async — state polling confirms execution

Alternatives

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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-10.

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