Home Assistant is great at bringing all your smart devices together, but if you use Apple devices, you probably want to control those same devices with Siri, the Home app, and HomeKit automations.

The good news is that Home Assistant makes this easy. By using the built-in HomeKit integration, you can expose selected Home Assistant devices to Apple HomeKit and control them just like native HomeKit accessories.

How HomeKit and Home Assistant Work Together

Home Assistant acts as a HomeKit bridge. Instead of pairing each device individually with Apple Home, Home Assistant presents them all through a single virtual bridge.

This approach has some big advantages:

• Only one pairing process
• Non-HomeKit devices can appear in the Apple Home app
• Centralized control over what gets exposed

To Apple Home, Home Assistant looks just like another bridge similar to a Hue or Aqara hub.

What You Can Expose to HomeKit

Most common Home Assistant entities can be shared with HomeKit, including:

• Lights and switches
• Plugs and outlets
• Sensors (temperature, humidity, motion, contact)
• Fans
• Climate devices
• Covers (blinds, shades, garage doors)
• Media players (limited controls)

Nothing is shared automatically you choose exactly what HomeKit can see.

Step 1: Add the HomeKit Integration

In Home Assistant:

1. Go to Settings
2. Select Devices & Services
3. Click Add Integration
4. Search for HomeKit
5. Select it and follow the setup prompts

Home Assistant will create a HomeKit bridge and display a pairing code.

Step 2: Pair Home Assistant with Apple Home

On your iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Home app
2. Tap + → Add Accessory
3. Select More Options
4. Choose Home Assistant Bridge
5. Enter the pairing code shown in Home Assistant

Once paired, your selected devices will appear in the Home app.

Step 3: Choose Which Devices to Expose

During setup (or later), you can control exactly which entities are shared with HomeKit.

This helps you:

• Keep the Home app uncluttered
• Exclude sensors that don’t make sense in HomeKit
• Organize devices more cleanly by room

You can filter by domain, device, or individual entity.

Step 4: Organize Devices in the Apple Home App

After devices appear in Apple Home, you can:

• Assign them to rooms
• Rename them for easy Siri commands
• Add them to scenes and automations

From this point on, they behave just like native HomeKit accessories.

Step 5: Use Siri and HomeKit Automations

With devices exposed, you can:

• Say “Hey Siri, turn on the living room lights”
• Create automations based on time, location, or other accessories
• Control devices from Apple Watch, CarPlay, and Control Center

All commands flow through Home Assistant and back to your devices.

HomeKit Bridge vs. HomeKit Controller

Home Assistant includes two similarly named features:

• HomeKit integration – Exposes Home Assistant devices to Apple Home
• HomeKit Controller – Brings HomeKit-only devices into Home Assistant

They do opposite things but they work great together.

Why Use Home Assistant as Your HomeKit Bridge?

Using Home Assistant as your HomeKit bridge gives you:

• One place to manage all devices
• More powerful automations than HomeKit alone
• Apple’s polished interface with Home Assistant’s flexibility

Start Small, Expand Later

You don’t need to expose everything at once. Start with a few lights or switches, confirm everything works as expected, and add more devices over time.

Once it’s set up, it “just works and that’s exactly what a smart home should feel like.