Files
operating-system/README.md
Stefan Agner 4be3dee0b4 Add dev build workflow (#1017)
* Add development build version part to version number

Add third part in the version number to indicate development builds.
Generate a default version number based on the date, e.g.
"5.6.dev20201124".

* Add GitHub Action workflow for development builds

Add another GitHub workflow for development builds. Make it triggered
only for now. The version number is generated by the workflow and
passed to all builds to make sure all builds have the same development
build version.

* Add documentation
2020-11-25 10:52:28 +01:00

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3.1 KiB
Markdown

# Home Assistant Operating System
Home Assistant Operating System (formerly HassOS) is an operating system optimized for hosting [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io) and its [Add-ons](https://www.home-assistant.io/addons/).
Home Assistant Operating System uses Docker as Container engine. It by default deploys the Home Assistant Supervisor as a container. Home Assistant Supervisor in turn uses the Docker container engine to control Home Assistant Core and Add-Ons in separate containers. Home Assistant Operating System is **not** based on a regular Linux distribution like Ubuntu. It is built using [buildroot](https://buildroot.org/) and it is optimized for running Home Assistant, especially on single board compute (SBC) devices like the Pi, ODROID, NUC and Tinker Board (see supported hardware below).
## Features
- Lightweight and memory-efficient
- Minimized I/O
- Over The Air (OTA) updates
- Offline updates
- Modular using Docker
## Supported hardware
- Raspberry Pi
- Hardkernel ODROID
- Intel NUC
- Asus Tinker Board
- Virtual appliances
See the full list and specific models [here](./Documentation/boards/README.md)
## Getting Started
If you just want to use Home Assistant the official [getting started guide](https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/) and [installation instructions](https://www.home-assistant.io/hassio/installation/) take you through how to download Home Assistant Operating System and get it running on your machine.
If you're interested in finding out more about Home Assistant Operating System and how it works read on...
## HassOS components
- **Bootloader:**
- [Barebox](https://barebox.org/) for devices that support EFI
- [U-Boot](https://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot) for devices that don't support EFI
- **Operating System:**
- [Buildroot](https://buildroot.org/) LTS Linux
- **File Systems:**
- [SquashFS](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/filesystems/squashfs.txt) for read-only file systems (using LZ4 compression)
- [ZRAM](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/blockdev/zram.txt) for `/tmp`, `/var` and swap (using LZ4 compression)
- **Container Platform:**
- [Docker Engine](https://docs.docker.com/engine/) for running Home Assistant components in containers
- **Updates:**
- [RAUC](https://rauc.io/) for Over The Air (OTA) and USB updates
- **Security:**
- [AppArmor](https://apparmor.net/) Linux kernel security module
If you don't have experience with these, embedded systems, buildroot or the build process for Linux distributions, then please read up on these topics. The rest of the documentation in this project is for developers and assumes you have experience with embedded systems or a strong understanding of the internal workings of operating systems.
## Developer Documentation
All developer documentation is in the [Documentation](./Documentation) directory.
### Development builds
The Development build GitHub Action Workflow is a manually triggered workflow
which creates Home Assistant OS development builds. The development builds are
available at [os-builds.home-assistant.io](https://os-builds.home-assistant.io/).