How to Install Home Assistant on a Mac Using VMware Fusion Player

Running Home Assistant on a dedicated Raspberry Pi is my preferred method. However, not everyone has a Raspberry Pi, and some might want to try out Home Assistant on their existing computer. In this guide, I’ll show you how to install and configure Home Assistant on a Mac for free using VMware Fusion Player.

Why VMware Fusion Player?

VMware Fusion Player is a free virtualization tool for personal use. It allows you to run Home Assistant in a virtual machine, which means you can have a computer inside your computer. This method works on Windows too, using VMware Workstation Player instead of Fusion. Note that this guide applies to Intel Macs only; running Home Assistant on Apple Silicon Macs is more complex and will be covered in a future article.

Steps to Install Home Assistant on a Mac

1. Download and Install VMware Fusion Player:

   • Visit VMware's website and register for a free VMware account to obtain a product license key.
   • Download VMware Fusion Player and install it on your Mac.

2. Download Home Assistant Virtual Disk Image:

   • Go to Home Assistant’s download page and download the VMware Workstation image.

3. Create a Virtual Machine in VMware Fusion:

   • Open VMware Fusion and click on the plus button to create a new virtual machine.
   • Choose “Create a custom virtual machine” and select “Other Linux 5.x kernel 64-bit”.
   • Use the virtual disk image you downloaded from Home Assistant’s website.
   • Customize the settings: allocate at least 2GB of RAM, two processor cores, and enable hypervisor applications.
   • Optionally, set the virtual machine to start automatically when VMware Fusion launches.

4. Configure Network and Boot the Virtual Machine:

   • Set the network mode to bridged networking.
   • Start the virtual machine by clicking the play button.

5. Access Home Assistant:

   • Note the IP address and port (8123) displayed on the virtual machine’s console.
   • Open your web browser and enter the URL http://<your-ip-address>:8123.
   • Complete the initial setup by creating a user account and configuring basic settings.

6. Explore Home Assistant Add-ons:

   • Navigate to Settings > Add-ons to access the add-on store and install extensions for Home Assistant.

Final Thoughts

Running Home Assistant in a virtual machine is a great way to get started, but for a more permanent solution, consider using a dedicated computer like a Raspberry Pi. This setup ensures optimal performance and reliability.