Sign in Subscribe
Homelab & Self Hosting Featured

My First Proxmox VM: Installing Home Assistant OS

Blog_Editor

• 3 min read
My First Proxmox VM: Installing Home Assistant OS

Introduction

Excited to share my journey into virtualized home automation! I recently set up Proxmox on a Lenovo Tiny PC, and the first virtual machine I spun up was the ever-popular Home Assistant OS. Here’s how it went and some tips for fellow Moroccan homelabbers.

Why Home Assistant?

Home Assistant is one of the most flexible, privacy-focused platforms for smart home automation. Here are some reasons why I (and many others) chose it as the centerpiece of my home automation setup:

  • Local Control: Automations run locally, independent of the cloud—faster, private, and secure.
  • Wide Device Support: Integrates with thousands of smart home devices including lights, switches, sensors, thermostats, and more.
  • Free & Open Source: Fully free, constantly improved by a passionate global community.
  • Custom Automations: Powerful routines and scripts—control nearly anything, exactly how you want.
  • Expandable: Add-ons for advanced features—MQTT, Node-RED, Zigbee2MQTT, and more.
  • User-Friendly Dashboards: Beautiful, customizable UI for easy monitoring and control—accessible from any device.
  • Vibrant Community: Large forums, Discord, YouTube channels, and user groups offer help and inspiration.

Step-by-Step: Installing Home Assistant OS on Proxmox

1. Prepare the VM in Proxmox:

  • Log into the Proxmox web interface (usually https://your-proxmox-ip:8006).
  • Click Create VM and name it (e.g. homeassistant).
  • Choose the VM ID (default will be 100 for the first VM).

Photo: Proxmox dashboard with your new VM ("homeassistant") selected.

2. Download the Home Assistant OS Image:

3. Import the Disk & Configure VM:

  • Use Proxmox shell to import the disk (for example: qm importdisk 100 hassos_ova-*.img local-lvm).
  • Set boot order to use the newly added disk, disable unnecessary devices.
  • Assign CPU, RAM (4GB is plenty), and network (virtio recommended).
  • Start the VM!

4. First Boot & Setup:

  • Open http://<VM-IP>:8123 in your browser.
  • Complete initial configuration—set language, location, currency, and create your admin account (walkthrough video).
  • Home Assistant finds loads of smart devices on your network right away!

Initial Impressions

  • Performance: The VM runs snappily even with default settings. No pass-through needed at first—makes future migrations easier.
  • Discoveries: Within minutes, Home Assistant detected my local smart plugs, Solar System Inverter, Smartlocks, Vacuums and even Alexa integrations (see Alexa HA integration).
  • Next Steps: Plan to integrate my EV, create Automations and Dashboards to monitor Power consumption - a LOT more!!!

Why Virtualize Home Assistant?

  • Backups: Leverage Proxmox’s backup tools for full VM snapshots (Proxmox Backup Server).
  • Flexibility: Easily move or scale your HA instance as your homelab grows.
  • Isolation: No risk of home automation tinkering impacting other services.

Final Thoughts & Advice

For Moroccan homelabbers thinking of taking the plunge, this combo is unbeatable. If you run into network, storage, or integration issues, our local community is a great help.

Join the discussion: blog.smarthomes.ma | WhatsApp group links soon!

Additional Resources