Home · checked 2026-10-19Can I vibecode Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa)?
KINDA· weekend project
Each part of the subscription can be replaced without Nabu Casa, and Home Assistant's own docs describe how: a Tailscale network or a Cloudflare Tunnel for access from outside, restic copying backups to cheap storage, and Whisper and Piper for local speech. An agent writes the compose files and scripts in a sitting. The weekend goes on Alexa and Google Home, which only reach you through a skill or project you register yourself (AWS Lambda for Alexa, a Google Cloud project whose sync can lapse after about a month), and on keeping any public entry point patched.
$6.50/moprice
$78you'd save a year
weekendbuild time
—people replaced it
What you need on hand.
DifficultyAdvanced · Real infrastructure or OAuth work.
TimeA weekend; Alexa and Google linking take most of it
- Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
- Docker and a Home Assistant install you controlHome Assistant OS users replace the compose services with the matching add-ons.
- A Tailscale account or a Cloudflare-managed domainTailscale needs no domain; Cloudflare Tunnel does.
- A backup targetAn S3-compatible bucket or a NAS.
- Amazon and Google developer accountsOnly for the voice assistants, and the prompt leaves them out.
Before you buildHome Assistant Cloud has a 31-day trial with no card. Build the free parts first (private remote access and backups) and keep Cloud only if you rely on Alexa or Google Assistant.
- 1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
- 2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
- 3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.
The prompt
Build me a self-hosting kit to replace Home Assistant Cloud for my Home Assistant install. Requirements: - A repo of plain files, not an app: `compose.yaml`, shell scripts in ./bin, config snippets in ./config-snippets and a README. Target a Linux host running Docker next to Home Assistant Container. - Remote access, default: the `tailscale/tailscale` image (TS_AUTHKEY in .env) so the phone reaches Home Assistant over the tailnet and nothing is exposed publicly. - Remote access, opt-in: a `cloudflared` service behind a compose profile, pointing a tunnel at http://homeassistant:8123 with TUNNEL_TOKEN in .env. Ship `config-snippets/http.yaml` with use_x_forwarded_for and trusted_proxies for the Docker subnet, ready to paste into my config. - Backups: `bin/backup-sync` uses `restic` to copy Home Assistant's /backup folder to an S3-compatible bucket (RESTIC_REPOSITORY and the bucket keys in .env), keeps 7 daily and 4 weekly snapshots, and runs from a systemd timer unit in ./systemd. - `bin/restore-test` restores the latest snapshot into a temp folder, checks every .tar opens, and exits 1 with a plain message if not; the README says to run it monthly. - Voice: compose services for `rhasspy/wyoming-whisper` (port 10300) and `rhasspy/wyoming-piper` (port 10200) with a small model by default, plus the steps to add them through Home Assistant's Wyoming integration. - Every secret lives in .env and `.env.example` is committed. No accounts beyond the ones I create at Tailscale, Cloudflare and my bucket provider; no telemetry. - Out of scope: Alexa and Google Home linking, and camera or music streaming relays. - README: a table mapping each Home Assistant Cloud feature to the part that replaces it or to "not replaced", why Google's sync can lapse after about a month, and a warning to turn on two-factor authentication before any public tunnel exposes the login page.
Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.
Then keep going
Next prompts, same folder.
The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa).
Extend the Home Assistant kit in this folder with an Alexa Smart Home setup guide and tooling. Requirements: - A ./alexa folder with the Lambda function code from Home Assistant's Alexa Smart Home documentation, a `deploy.sh` that uploads it with the AWS CLI, and BASE_URL read from .env. - A checklist script `bin/alexa-check` that confirms the public URL answers on port 443 with a trusted certificate and prints the region the Lambda must be in. - A README section listing every console step: Amazon developer skill, account linking client ID, the in-app Dev skill, and what to do when the token error appears. - Do not store a long-lived access token in Lambda environment variables; use the documented OAuth route. - State plainly that this skill is private to my account.
Add a Google Home watchdog to the Home Assistant kit in this folder. Requirements: - A Home Assistant automation snippet in ./config-snippets that calls `google_assistant.request_sync` every Sunday night. - A script `bin/google-check` that reads the Home Assistant log for sync errors from the last 7 days and exits 1 if it finds any. - A systemd timer that runs the script daily and sends a message through ntfy (NTFY_URL in .env) on failure. - A README section: how to regenerate the draft project when sync lapses.
Extend the restore test in the Home Assistant kit in this folder. Requirements: - `bin/restore-drill` restores the latest snapshot, starts a throwaway Home Assistant container on port 18123 with the restored config, and waits up to 5 minutes for the HTTP check on /manifest.json. - It prints the Home Assistant version found in the backup, the number of integrations in the restored storage and the time taken, then removes the container and the temp folder. - It never touches the live container and refuses to run if port 18123 is busy. - Add a quarterly systemd timer and a README note on what the drill does not prove (devices, add-on data).
What you lose
- One-click Alexa and Google Home linking: the DIY route is an Alexa skill on AWS Lambda and a Google Cloud project you must keep alive
- A remote address with no open ports and no domain of your own, built and updated by Nabu Casa
- A cloud backup that is one switch in Settings
- Cloud voices and languages for Assist without running a speech server
- Camera and music streaming relayed through Nabu Casa's servers
Why people still pay
Many subscribers pay mostly to fund Home Assistant: Nabu Casa says purchases pay for development and that most of its profit goes to the foundation behind the project. The rest is time, since remote access, voice linking and backups work after one login with no ports, certificates or skills to maintain.
Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa) or your own copy?
Over
Your usage
12h ×$/h
Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa), 1 yr$78
Your own copy, 1 yr$26running + build session
You keep$53pays for itself in 2 months
Estimate · Tailscale or a Cloudflare Tunnel is free for one household at this scale; backups in an object bucket cost cents a month. Lambda's free tier covers one home's Alexa traffic if you add it. The build is token usage on your agent plan.
Take your data, then cancel.
1 · Take your data out of Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa)
- 1Backups: in Home Assistant open Settings, System, Backups and download the latest backup. The cloud backup is also stored on your Nabu Casa account, but only the latest one, up to 5 GB.
- 2Keep the backup emergency kit: cloud backups are encrypted and the key in that kit is the only way to open them.
- 3Voice and linking settings do not export: write down the Alexa and Google Home routines, device names and Assist pipelines you rely on.
- 4Disconnect the Alexa and Google Assistant skills inside their apps before you cancel.
2 · Cancel Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa)
- 1Sign in to your Nabu Casa account and open Plan management.
- 2Choose Cancel plan; the page shows the date the subscription ends.
- 3Remote access, voice integrations and cloud backup storage stop after that date.
- 4To delete the account, cancel the subscription first; deleting early schedules the account for deletion when the paid time runs out.
- If you turn the cloud backup location off in Backup settings, the last cloud backup stays available until you delete it.
- Home Assistant keeps working locally after you cancel; only remote access and the voice integrations stop, so set up your replacement before the end date.
- Home Assistant Cloud becomes Home Assistant Link on December 2nd, 2026, with the same subscription, so help pages may use either name.
- Nabu Casa's support site blocked our automated reads, so the cancel steps come from Nabu Casa's own support pages as indexed in search; check them in your account.
Checked 2026-10-19 against Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa)'s docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
The escape hatch
Don't feel like building it? These are already free.
TailscaleFreeWireGuard-based private network with a free personal plan; the client is BSD-3-Clause and the Home Assistant docs name it for remote access.★ 38k · active Oct 2026 · they host it
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗HeadscaleOpen sourceBSD-3-Clause, self-hosted version of Tailscale's control server, so the network is entirely yours.★ 45k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Linux, CLIVisit ↗Cloudflared add-onOpen sourceMIT add-on that connects Home Assistant to Cloudflare Tunnel, so you open no ports; needs a domain on Cloudflare.★ 1.6k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
LinuxVisit ↗
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗HeadscaleOpen sourceBSD-3-Clause, self-hosted version of Tailscale's control server, so the network is entirely yours.★ 45k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Linux, CLIVisit ↗Cloudflared add-onOpen sourceMIT add-on that connects Home Assistant to Cloudflare Tunnel, so you open no ports; needs a domain on Cloudflare.★ 1.6k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
LinuxVisit ↗
The numbers
Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa) pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud (becoming Link) | $6.50 | $5.42 | Remote access, offsite backup of the latest backup (up to 5 GB), Alexa and Google Home voice control, speech-to-text and text-to-speech for Assist, better camera and music streaming, and support for Cloud features. |
- Free tier
- No cloud features without a subscription; Home Assistant's local features are unrestricted.
- Billing
- Monthly, or annual for the price of ten months. A 31-day trial needs no card details. USD and CAD prices exclude tax; EUR and GBP prices include it. Cancelling stops access after the paid period; the account has to be cancelled before it can be deleted.
- Hidden costs
- No add-ons are listed. Support covers the Cloud features only, not general Home Assistant questions.
- Source
- www.nabucasa.com
Also on the list
Related apps
Questions
Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa), briefly
Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.
Ask a question ›Home Assistant itself is free and runs locally; only the cloud features need the subscription. A 31-day trial needs no card.
Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: One-click Alexa and Google Home linking: the DIY route is an Alexa skill on AWS Lambda and a Google Cloud project you must keep alive, A remote address with no open ports and no domain of your own, built and updated by Nabu Casa.
About $6.50 a month on the Cloud subscription plan, $78 a year (checked 2026-10-19).
One-click Alexa and Google Home linking: the DIY route is an Alexa skill on AWS Lambda and a Google Cloud project you must keep alive; A remote address with no open ports and no domain of your own, built and updated by Nabu Casa; A cloud backup that is one switch in Settings; Cloud voices and languages for Assist without running a speech server; Camera and music streaming relayed through Nabu Casa's servers. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.
Yes: Tailscale (free), Headscale (open source), Cloudflared add-on (open source).