Introduction
Finding your Pi
Basic setup preparations
Install C++14 (Skip if this part if you are on Raspbian Jessie)
Install Node
Node.js manual install
Node.js package manager (apt-get) install
Node.js binaries install
Install Avahi and other Dependencies
Install Homebridge and dependencies
Proceed as Usual
Running Homebridge on Bootup
Running Homebridge on Bootup (systemd)
Configuration
Notes
Running Homebridge on Bootup (init.d)
Running Homebridge on Boot (/etc/rc.local) using Screen
Introduction
Running HomeBridge on a Raspberry Pi is straightforward. These instructions have been tested on a Raspberry Pi 2 with default Raspbian OS installed via NOOBS, and a Raspberry Pi 3 withRaspbian Jessie Lite.
For help installing an operating system like NOOBS on your Pi, check theofficial Raspberry Pi documentation.
For a video (in English), checkthisout.
Finding your Pi
After you install the operating system and connect your Pi to your network (and into power), you'll need to locate it so you cansshinto it and run some commands.
The default "Raspbian" OS will automatically broadcast its presence on your network under the mDNS name "raspberrypi". If you are using Mac or Linux, you can reach your Pi easily:
Note that in SSH is disabled by default in recent version of Raspbian;see this page for instructions to re-enable it.
The default username for Raspbian ispiand the password israspberry.
If you have a different OS installed on your Pi or you can't find it [email protected] you can try connecting to your home router by pointing your web browser at somewhere likehttp://192.168.0.1,http://192.168.1.1,http://10.1.1.1etc. (this depends on the router you're using and your network setup). Once you are logged in, you can usually find a list of devices connected to your network under "DHCP".
Windows does not supportsshon the command line, but you can use a free SSH client likePuttyto connect to your Pi.
Basic setup preparations
Once you're logged into your Pi, you should begin by updating the default system packages (note that these commands may be different if you are not running Raspbian OS).
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
For OSMC or other stripped down Raspberry OS, you may need to install git and make
sudo apt-get install git make
Install C++14 (Skip this part if you are on Raspbian Jessie)
If you are running a version of the Raspbian OS based on Debian Wheezy, it comes with a C++ compiler that is too old for some of the packages Homebridge requires. You'll need tofollow these instructionsto install an updated version of the C++14 compiler.
You should be able to type:
>g++-4.9 -v...gcc version 4.9.2 (Raspbian 4.9.2-10)
Now you have the needed compiler, but it is not yet set to be thedefaultcompiler. You can fix that usingthe instructions here.
In my case I simply did this:
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-4.9 60 --slave /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-4.9
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-4.6 40 --slave /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-4.7
You should be able to now type:
>g++ -v...gcc version 4.9.2 (Raspbian 4.9.2-10)
For OSMC or other stripped down Raspberry OS, you may need to install g++
sudo apt-get install g++
Install Node
Starting with version 4.0.0, NodeJS now supports ARM-based platforms like Raspberry Pi by default.
Node.js package manager install (Easiest, Preferred)
If you are running a newish Raspberry Pi with an ARMv7 chip or better, you can install NodeJS using their apt-get repository.Follow the instructions here.
Example:
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_7.x|sudo -E bash -sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
To check what chip your Raspberry Pi has, type:
uname -a
The response will look something like:
Linux raspberrypi 4.4.50-v7+ 970 SMP Mon Feb 20 19:18:29 GMT 2017 armv7l GNU/Linux
Notice thearmv7lwhich indicates that this method will work.
Node.js binaries install
If you have an older ARM chip, you can grab Node binaries forarmv6fromhere.
Example:
wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v6.9.5/node-v6.9.5-linux-armv6l.tar.xztar xJvf node-v6.9.5-linux-armv6l.tar.xzsudo mkdir -p /opt/nodesudo mv node-v6.9.5-linux-armv6l/*/opt/node/sudo update-alternatives --install"/usr/bin/node""node""/opt/node/bin/node"1sudo update-alternatives --install"/usr/bin/npm""npm""/opt/node/bin/npm"1
Node.js manual install
To manually install Node.js you can follow either of these guides:
Installing Node.js v4.0.0 on a Raspberry Pi (All Models).
Installing Node.js on a Raspberry Pi 3
Following those instructions explicitly will install version 4.0.0. There are many new versions published since then; to install the latest version (or any other version, homebridge now requires a minimal nodejs version of v5.10.0), modify those instructions with the appropriate directory in thenodejs.org repository.
Install Avahi and other Dependencies
This is required by themdnspackage inHAP-NodeJSlibrary.
sudo apt-get install libavahi-compat-libdnssd-dev
Proceed as Usual
Now you can simply follow the instructions in theREADMEto install HomeBridge and start it up.
Alternate Installation (Untested)
If the "proceed as usual" section above didn't work for you, you might try these instructions which another user posted (but I have not verified because the simplenpm install -g homebridgeworked for me):
Only try these if normal way doesn't work!
sudo npm install -g --unsafe-perm homebridge hap-nodejs node-gypcd/usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge/sudo npm install --unsafe-perm bignumcd/usr/local/lib/node_modules/hap-nodejs/node_modules/mdnssudo node-gyp BUILDTYPE=Release rebuild
(note that/usr/local/libshould be replaced with/usr/lib/if you installed node using apt-get method above or with/opt/node/lib/if binary method used)
Running Homebridge on Bootup
Note that you should first make sure you can successfully run HomeBridge manually as described in the mainREADME
If you are new to Linux and the Raspberry Pi, it is recommended you read the instructions for all three methods before implementing your chosen method.
Running Homebridge on Bootup (systemd)
Follow thisGuide
On newer Raspberry Pi and Debian systems (Jessie +), managing of services withinit.dis (transparently) replaced withsystemd. If you wish to usesystemdfor running Homebridge on boot, you can find instructions in a Gist underjohannrichard/homebridge. As you can see, the service definition is much shorter than a comparable init.d script.
Download the two files and placehomebridgeunder/etc/defaultandhomebridge.serviceunder/etc/systemd/systemon your Raspberry Pi.
Configuration
In order to use the systemd service as is, the following folders and user have to exists:
A system user namedhomebridge. You can easily create this user withuseradd --system homebridgeor choose a different name
A directory called/var/lib/homebridge, writable by the user created above, and a correspondingconfig.jsonfile in that directory. Homebridge by default looks for its configuration in/home//.homebridge. This is unsuitable for services and the-U /var/lib/homebridgeflag ensures the config is read from a different place.
Then Enable and run the service (first time) with the following commands:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable homebridge
systemctl start homebridge
You can check the status of the service by calling
systemctl status homebridge
On subsequent reboots, it should start automatically, if not, use thejournalctl -u homebridgeto check the error cause.
Notes
The service will restart after 10 seconds if it fails for any reason (or if you kill it for example withkill -s SIGSEGV )
You might also try the tips in thisTutorial.
Running Homebridge on Bootup (init.d)
If you would like your Pi to start up Homebridge automatically on reboot, you will need to install an "init script". This freeinit script templateis a great place to start.
For example, first go to theraw template fileand select the whole page and copy it to your clipboard. Then connect to your pi:
sudo nano /etc/init.d/homebridge
[paste clipboard contents]
Now you'll need to modify the top of the file. Here's an example:
#!/bin/sh### BEGIN INIT INFO#Provides: homebridge#Required-Start: $network $remote_fs $syslog#Required-Stop: $remote_fs $syslog#Default-Start: 2 3 4 5#Default-Stop: 0 1 6#Short-Description: Start daemon at boot time#Description: Enable service provided by daemon.### END INIT INFOdir="/home/pi"cmd="DEBUG=* /usr/local/bin/homebridge"user="pi"
This assumes you have installed Homebridge globally viasudo npm install -g homebridge.
Now type CTRL+o to save, then enter, then CTRL+x to exit. Now change the file permissions and "install" the script:
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/homebridge
sudo update-rc.d homebridge defaults
It should now run when your Pi reboots. You can also start it up manually like this:
sudo /etc/init.d/homebridge start
To view the running logs, you cantailthe output log or error log:
tail -f /var/log/homebridge.log
tail -f /var/log/homebridge.err
Running Homebridge on Boot (/etc/rc.local) using Screen
If you would like your Pi to start up HomeBridge automatically in a Screen session on reboot, you need to install Screen and edit the Pi's/etc/rc.localfile.
Install Screen
sudo apt-get install screen
Edit/etc/rc.local
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
Add this line before theexit 0line:
su -c"screen -dmS homebridge homebridge"-s /bin/sh pi
Hit Ctrl+X, Y to save and exit.
Usingrc.localis similar to adding things to your Login items on macOS or putting things in your Startup folder on Windows. The command is run once when you boot the Pi.
The example above will open HomeBridge using Screen. Screen acts like a separate terminal session that is run on the server rather than on your local computer. The advantage of this is that you can disconnect from the server without disrupting whatever was running in the Screen session. Typically when you open a terminal session session from one computer to another, when you exit (or get disconnected) everything running in the session at that time would be stopped (read more here:https://www.rackaid.com/blog/linux-screen-tutorial-and-how-to/).
Unless you are familiar with Screen or have a specific reason for using Screen, it is recommended that you set up HomeBridge as a Service usingsystemdorinit.d. If running Jessie or above then ideallysystemd(especially if you are new to Linux)
Whilst it would get HomeBridge running on boot, using Screen does add an extra layer of complexity. Using a Service is considered the "correct" way and has other advantages notably self restarting after a fail.