---
id: home-assistant
title: Home Assistant Integration
---

The best way to integrate with Home Assistant is to use the [official integration](https://github.com/blakeblackshear/frigate-hass-integration).

## Installation

### Preparation

The Frigate integration requires the `mqtt` integration to be installed and
manually configured first.

See the [MQTT integration
documentation](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mqtt/) for more
details.

In addition, MQTT must be enabled in your Frigate configuration file and Frigate must be connected to the same MQTT server as Home Assistant for many of the entities created by the integration to function.

### Integration installation

Available via HACS as a default repository. To install:

- Use [HACS](https://hacs.xyz/) to install the integration:

```
Home Assistant > HACS > Integrations > "Explore & Add Integrations" > Frigate
```

- Restart Home Assistant.
- Then add/configure the integration:

```
Home Assistant > Settings > Devices & Services > Add Integration > Frigate
```

Note: You will also need
[media_source](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/media_source/) enabled
in your Home Assistant configuration for the Media Browser to appear.

### (Optional) Lovelace Card Installation

To install the optional companion Lovelace card, please see the [separate
installation instructions](https://github.com/dermotduffy/frigate-hass-card) for
that card.

## Configuration

When configuring the integration, you will be asked for the `URL` of your Frigate instance which is the URL you use to access Frigate in the browser. This may look like `http://<host>:5000/`. If you are using HassOS with the addon, the URL should be one of the following depending on which addon version you are using. Note that if you are using the Proxy Addon, you do NOT point the integration at the proxy URL. Just enter the URL used to access Frigate directly from your network.

| Addon Version                  | URL                                    |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Frigate NVR                    | `http://ccab4aaf-frigate:5000`         |
| Frigate NVR (Full Access)      | `http://ccab4aaf-frigate-fa:5000`      |
| Frigate NVR Beta               | `http://ccab4aaf-frigate-beta:5000`    |
| Frigate NVR Beta (Full Access) | `http://ccab4aaf-frigate-fa-beta:5000` |

<a name="options"></a>

## Options

```
Home Assistant > Configuration > Integrations > Frigate > Options
```

| Option            | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| RTSP URL Template | A [jinja2](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/) template that is used to override the standard RTSP stream URL (e.g. for use with reverse proxies). This option is only shown to users who have [advanced mode](https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2019/07/17/release-96/#advanced-mode) enabled. See [RTSP streams](#streams) below. |

## Entities Provided

| Platform        | Description                                                                       |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `camera`        | Live camera stream (requires RTSP), camera for image of the last detected object. |
| `sensor`        | States to monitor Frigate performance, object counts for all zones and cameras.   |
| `switch`        | Switch entities to toggle detection, recordings and snapshots.                    |
| `binary_sensor` | A "motion" binary sensor entity per camera/zone/object.                           |

## Media Browser Support

The integration provides:

- Browsing event recordings with thumbnails
- Browsing snapshots
- Browsing recordings by month, day, camera, time

This is accessible via "Media Browser" on the left menu panel in Home Assistant.

## Casting Clips To Media Devices

The integration supports casting clips and camera streams to supported media devices.

:::tip
For clips to be castable to media devices, audio is required and may need to be [enabled for recordings](../troubleshooting/faqs.md#audio-in-recordings).

**NOTE: Even if you camera does not support audio, audio will need to be enabled for Casting to be accepted.**

:::

<a name="api"></a>

## Notification API

Many people do not want to expose Frigate to the web, so the integration creates some public API endpoints that can be used for notifications.

To load a thumbnail for an event:

```
https://HA_URL/api/frigate/notifications/<event-id>/thumbnail.jpg
```

To load a snapshot for an event:

```
https://HA_URL/api/frigate/notifications/<event-id>/snapshot.jpg
```

To load a video clip of an event:

```
https://HA_URL/api/frigate/notifications/<event-id>/clip.mp4
```

<a name="streams"></a>

## RTMP stream

RTMP is deprecated and it is recommended to switch to use RTSP restreams.

## RTSP stream

In order for the live streams to function they need to be accessible on the RTSP
port (default: `8554`) at `<frigatehost>:8554`. Home Assistant will directly
connect to that streaming port when the live camera is viewed.

#### RTSP URL Template

For advanced usecases, this behavior can be changed with the [RTSP URL
template](#options) option. When set, this string will override the default stream
address that is derived from the default behavior described above. This option supports
[jinja2 templates](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/) and has the `camera` dict
variables from [Frigate API](api.md)
available for the template. Note that no Home Assistant state is available to the
template, only the camera dict from Frigate.

This is potentially useful when Frigate is behind a reverse proxy, and/or when
the default stream port is otherwise not accessible to Home Assistant (e.g.
firewall rules).

###### RTSP URL Template Examples

Use a different port number:

```
rtsp://<frigate_host>:2000/front_door
```

Use the camera name in the stream URL:

```
rtsp://<frigate_host>:2000/{{ name }}
```

Use the camera name in the stream URL, converting it to lowercase first:

```
rtsp://<frigate_host>:2000/{{ name|lower }}
```

## Multiple Instance Support

The Frigate integration seamlessly supports the use of multiple Frigate servers.

### Requirements for Multiple Instances

In order for multiple Frigate instances to function correctly, the
`topic_prefix` and `client_id` parameters must be set differently per server.
See [MQTT
configuration](mqtt)
for how to set these.

#### API URLs

When multiple Frigate instances are configured, [API](#api) URLs should include an
identifier to tell Home Assistant which Frigate instance to refer to. The
identifier used is the MQTT `client_id` parameter included in the configuration,
and is used like so:

```
https://HA_URL/api/frigate/<client-id>/notifications/<event-id>/thumbnail.jpg
```

```
https://HA_URL/api/frigate/<client-id>/clips/front_door-1624599978.427826-976jaa.mp4
```

#### Default Treatment

When a single Frigate instance is configured, the `client-id` parameter need not
be specified in URLs/identifiers -- that single instance is assumed. When
multiple Frigate instances are configured, the user **must** explicitly specify
which server they are referring to.

## FAQ

#### If I am detecting multiple objects, how do I assign the correct `binary_sensor` to the camera in HomeKit?

The [HomeKit integration](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/) randomly links one of the binary sensors (motion sensor entities) grouped with the camera device in Home Assistant. You can specify a `linked_motion_sensor` in the Home Assistant [HomeKit configuration](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/homekit/#linked_motion_sensor) for each camera.
