---
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 needs to be pointed at the internal unauthenticated port (`5000`) for your instance. This may look like `http://<host>:5000/`.

### Docker Compose Examples

If you are running Home Assistant Core and Frigate with Docker Compose on the same device, here are some examples.

#### Home Assistant running with host networking

It is not recommended to run Frigate in host networking mode. In this example, you would use `http://172.17.0.1:5000` when configuring the integration.

```yaml
services:
  homeassistant:
    container_name: hass
    image: ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
    network_mode: host
    ...

  frigate:
    image: ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable
    ...
    ports:
      - "172.17.0.1:5000:5000"
      ...
```

#### Home Assistant _not_ running with host networking or in a separate compose file

In this example, you would use `http://frigate:5000` when configuring the integration. There is no need to map the port for the Frigate container.

```yaml
services:
  homeassistant:
    container_name: hass
    image: ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
    # network_mode: host
    ...

  frigate:
    image: ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable
    ...
    ports:
      # - "172.17.0.1:5000:5000"
      ...
```

### HassOS Addon

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` |

### Frigate running on a separate machine

If you run Frigate on a separate device within your local network, Home Assistant will need access to port 5000.

#### Local network

Use `http://<frigate_device_ip>:5000` as the URL for the integration. If you want to protect access to port 5000, you can use firewall rules to limit access to the device running Home Assistant.

```yaml
services:
  frigate:
    image: ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable
    ...
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
      ...
```

#### Tailscale or other private networking

Use `http://<frigate_device_tailscale_ip>:5000` as the URL for the integration.

```yaml
services:
  frigate:
    image: ghcr.io/blakeblackshear/frigate:stable
    ...
    ports:
      - "<tailscale_ip>:5000:5000"
      ...
```

## 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](#rtsp-stream) below. |

## Entities Provided

| Platform        | Description                                                                     |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `camera`        | Live camera stream (requires RTSP).                                             |
| `image`         | Image of the latest detected object for each camera.                            |
| `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 tracked object 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 a tracked object:

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

To load a snapshot for a tracked object:

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

To load a video clip of a tracked object:

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

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

## 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](#notification-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.
