Home Assistant Install Methods: HAOS, Container, and What Happened to Supervised and Core

Short answer: Home Assistant now supports two install methods: Home Assistant Operating System (HAOS), which it recommends for most people, and Home Assistant Container, which runs in Docker. Home Assistant deprecated the Core and Supervised install methods on May 22, 2025, and said support would end with release 2025.12. They still run, but they’re unsupported. Put HAOS on a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with at least 2 GB of RAM, on a spare x86-64 PC, or in a virtual machine on Proxmox, Windows or macOS. Use Container only if you already manage Docker on Linux.

The Home Assistant install methods today

Home Assistant’s installation page says it “offers two different installation types,” and that Home Assistant Operating System “is the recommended installation type.”

On September 26, 2026, the latest Home Assistant release on GitHub was 2026.9.3, published September 18, 2026. The latest Home Assistant OS release was 18.3, published September 17, 2026. Home Assistant is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.

What Home Assistant said about Core and Supervised

Home Assistant announced the change in a blog post by Franck Nijhof dated May 22, 2025, titled “Deprecating Core and Supervised installation methods, and 32-bit systems.” The key dates, as Home Assistant stated them:

• May 22, 2025: the Core and Supervised installation methods were deprecated.
• From Home Assistant 2025.6: affected systems show a notification after updating, saying support ends in six months, “with release 2025.12.”
• From 2025.12: these methods “become unsupported, which means issue reports will no longer be accepted.”

The post is clear that unsupported doesn’t mean switched off. “If you are using these methods, you can continue to do so (you can even continue to update your system),” it says. Because Core and Supervised are used to develop Home Assistant, “it will still be technically possible to update them.” You just can’t get help from the project if something breaks.

Home Assistant gave usage as the reason. Its opt-in analytics showed Core at 2.5% and Supervised at 3.3% of installations, and falling year on year. The post says these methods are complex to install and maintain, and put “a disproportionate burden” on volunteer support.

32-bit systems were dropped too

The same post deprecated three 32-bit architectures: i386, armhf and armv7. Only 64-bit aarch64 and amd64 stay supported. For these, the consequence is harder: from release 2025.12, Home Assistant said it would “no longer build or release distributions or containers targeting these platforms.” So a 32-bit system gets no more updates.

The post notes that more than half of armv7 systems run on hardware such as the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4, which can run a 64-bit OS. If that’s you, reinstall a 64-bit Home Assistant OS and restore a backup.

How to check which method you run

Go to Settings > System > Repairs, open the three-dot menu, and select System information. The Installation type field shows your method, and CPU architecture shows your architecture. If you see Home Assistant OS or Container, and aarch64 or x86_64, nothing changes for you.

HAOS vs Container: what you give up

Home Assistant’s installation page compares the two supported methods:

Home Assistant defines apps as “additional standalone third-party software packages that can be installed on Home Assistant OS.” The page warns that some integrations, “such as Thread and Z-Wave, are controlled by apps,” and that “there is no out-of-the-box support for these on Container installations.” With Container you also handle updates yourself.

The deprecation post’s migration table sums it up. If you want Home Assistant with add-ons, move from Supervised to Home Assistant OS. If you want a lightweight setup, move from Core to Container.

Route 1: Raspberry Pi

Home Assistant’s Raspberry Pi guide installs HAOS with Raspberry Pi Imager. You need:

• A Raspberry Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 4 with at least 2 GB of RAM, and a proper power supply
• A microSD card and a card reader
• An Ethernet cable, which the guide says is “required for installation”

The guide warns that phone chargers may not supply full power, and that a computer’s USB ports “will not supply enough power and must not be used.”

In Raspberry Pi Imager, choose the Home Assistant OS image for your Pi model and write it to the card. After first boot, open homeassistant.local in a browser (or homeassistant.local:8123 if that doesn’t load). The guide says that on a Pi 4 or 5 the page should appear within a minute, and if it doesn’t show up after 5 minutes, the image may not have been written properly. If writing fails, see our Raspberry Pi Imager errors guide. The Home Assistant guide also suggests trying a different SD card.

Home Assistant Container also runs on a Raspberry Pi 3, 4 or 5, per the installation page, but you give up apps and one-click updates.

Route 2: Proxmox VE or another hypervisor

Home Assistant publishes HAOS as ready-made virtual disks. From its “Alternative” installation page:

Home Assistant’s minimum VM resources are 2 GB of RAM and 2 vCPUs. The VM must boot with UEFI, because “Home Assistant requires UEFI to boot.” Give it a bridged network adapter so it can see devices on your home network.

On Proxmox VE, use the .qcow2 image, set the VM’s firmware to UEFI (OVMF), and attach the image as the VM’s disk. Home Assistant’s KVM instructions specify an OVMF firmware without Secure Boot. If you have a Zigbee or Z-Wave USB stick, pass it through to the VM. Running HAOS as a VM also lets the same Proxmox server host other workloads.

Community scripts can automate the Proxmox setup. They’re not made by Home Assistant or Proxmox, so read our Proxmox helper scripts guide before you run one.

Route 3: Windows or macOS

For Windows and macOS, Home Assistant’s instructions all say the same thing: “Use Home Assistant OS on a VM.” On Windows that means VirtualBox, VMware Workstation or Hyper-V. On a Mac with Apple silicon, the VirtualBox steps use the ARM 64-bit settings.

Two limits to know:

• Hyper-V has no USB support. Home Assistant flags this with a warning. If you use a USB radio for Zigbee or Z-Wave, pick VirtualBox or VMware instead.
• Docker Desktop won’t work for Container. Home Assistant’s Linux page says Container needs Docker Engine 23.0.0 or later, and “Docker Desktop will not work; you must use Docker Engine.”

A VM on your everyday PC only runs while that PC is on. For a smart home that works all day, a Raspberry Pi, a mini PC or a Proxmox server is more practical.

Route 4: Container on Linux

If you already run Docker on a Linux server, Home Assistant’s documentation gives this Compose file:

services:
  homeassistant:
    container_name: homeassistant
    image: "ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable"
    volumes:
      - /PATH_TO_YOUR_CONFIG:/config
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
      - /run/dbus:/run/dbus:ro
    restart: unless-stopped
    stop_grace_period: 60s
    privileged: true
    network_mode: host
    environment:
      TZ: Europe/Amsterdam

Replace the config path and time zone, then run docker compose up -d. Home Assistant is then at http://<host>:8123. The stop_grace_period line gives Home Assistant time to close its database cleanly. To use a USB radio, map the device into the container.

What each method will not do

• HAOS isn’t a general-purpose Linux system. It’s built to run the Home Assistant ecosystem, and extra software runs as apps. Use a VM if you need the hardware for other things.
• Container won’t run apps and won’t update itself. You manage the image and any companion containers.
• Core and Supervised won’t get project support. Since 2025.12, Home Assistant no longer accepts issue reports for them.
• 32-bit hardware won’t get updates. Home Assistant stopped building for i386, armhf and armv7 from 2025.12.

Moving between methods is easier than it used to be. The deprecation post says every installation method now has backups, and a backup from any method can be restored on another, regardless of architecture. Get the official images and hashes from our Home Assistant app page.

Questions

Which Home Assistant install method should I use?

Home Assistant OS, unless you already run Docker on Linux and don’t need apps. Home Assistant recommends HAOS for most users.

Is Home Assistant Supervised deprecated?

Yes. Home Assistant deprecated it on May 22, 2025, and it became unsupported with release 2025.12.

Can I still run Home Assistant Core?

Yes, and you can still update it, but Home Assistant no longer accepts issue reports for it. Its suggested replacement is Container.

Does Home Assistant still support 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS?

No. From 2025.12, Home Assistant stopped building for armhf and armv7. A Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 can run the 64-bit HAOS instead.

What Raspberry Pi do I need for Home Assistant OS?

A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with at least 2 GB of RAM, according to Home Assistant’s installation page.

How much RAM does a Home Assistant VM need?

At least 2 GB, with 2 vCPUs, and UEFI boot.

Can I run Home Assistant on Windows?

Yes, as Home Assistant OS in a VM. Hyper-V works but has no USB support, so VirtualBox or VMware suit USB radios better.

Can I use Docker Desktop for Home Assistant Container?

No. Home Assistant’s docs say Docker Desktop will not work and you must use Docker Engine 23.0.0 or later.

What happened to Home Assistant add-ons?

Home Assistant’s current documentation calls them apps. They’re available only on Home Assistant OS.

How do I move from Supervised to HAOS?

Make a full backup, download it, install HAOS on the new system, and restore the backup during onboarding.

Sources

• Installation (installation types and comparison), Home Assistant, checked September 26, 2026
• Deprecating Core and Supervised installation methods, and 32-bit systems, Home Assistant blog, May 22, 2025
• Install Home Assistant on Raspberry Pi, Home Assistant
• Install Home Assistant on other systems (VM images, Container), Home Assistant
• Install Home Assistant on Windows, Home Assistant
• Install Home Assistant on Linux (Docker Engine requirement), Home Assistant
• Home Assistant Core releases (2026.9.3), GitHub
• Home Assistant Operating System releases (18.3), GitHub