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TheHomebridge Raspberry Pi Image is built on Raspbian Lite and is intended to be used as a "headless" server, meaning there is no need to connect a monitor, keyboard or mouse to your device.
Since theHomebridge Raspberry Pi Image is running Raspbian Linux, if you are trying to figure out how to do something that is not Homebridge specific, you should search for instructions related to recent versions of Raspbian Linux elsewhere. The Homebridge project team does not provide support for issues that may arise while installing third party software.
Important Notice: VNC Server support has been temporarily removed from the Homebridge Raspberry Pi image (December 2025) due to compatibility issues with Debian Trixie. You can still access your Raspberry Pi remotely via SSH or the Homebridge web interface athttp://homebridge.local or your device's IP address.
The Homebridge Raspberry Pi Image usesNetworkManager to manage network connections.
TheHomebridge Wiki contains more generic Homebridge information and help articles.
- How to Add / Remove Homebridge from HomeKit
- Homebridge Config JSON Explained
- How To Enable Debug or Insecure Mode
- How to Backup and Restore Homebridge
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Restart Command | sudo hb-service restart |
| Stop Command | sudo hb-service stop |
| Start Command | sudo hb-service start |
| View Logs Command | sudo hb-service logs |
| Update Node.js | sudo hb-service update-node |
| Manage Homebridge Server | sudo hb-config |
| Default Value | |
|---|---|
| Default Hostname | homebridge.local |
| Default SSH Username | pi |
| Default SSH Password | raspberry |
| Path | |
|---|---|
| Homebridge Config File | /var/lib/homebridge/config.json |
| Homebridge Storage Folder | /var/lib/homebridge |
| Homebridge Systemd Service File | /lib/systemd/system/homebridge.service |
| Homebridge Systemd Override File | /etc/systemd/system/homebridge.service.d/override.conf |
| Homebridge Nginx Config | /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/homebridge.local |
| Homebridge Nginx SSL Key | /etc/nginx/ssl/homebridge.local.key |
| Homebridge Nginx SSL Cert | /etc/nginx/ssl/homebridge.local.crt |
These are the ports that are open / in use on a standard, unmodified installation of theHomebridge Raspberry Pi Image.
| Service | Port |
|---|---|
| SSH | 22 |
| HTTP Nginx -> Homebridge Web UI | 80 |
| HTTPS Nginx -> Homebridge Web UI | 443 |
| HTTP Homebridge Web UI | 8581 |
| Homebridge | 51000-52000 (randomly assigned on first boot) |
| Bonjour | 5353/udp |