# Raspberry Pi

*Platform / Hardware host*

> Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer used to host smart home software, most often Home Assistant. Raspberry Pi 5 has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE and Ethernet but no Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave radio, so those paths need an added radio such as a USB adapter.[^1][^2][^3]

- Canonical page: https://smarthomecanon.com/platforms/raspberry-pi
- Last checked: 2026-10-13

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Type | Hardware host |
| Capabilities | 5 |
| Devices | 1 |

## Capabilities

**What Raspberry Pi supports**

| Capability | Supported | Since |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wi-Fi with local control | Yes[^1] | unknown |
| Bluetooth Low Energy | Yes[^1] | unknown |
| Runs Home Assistant | withheld | unknown |
| Zigbee | unknown | unknown |
| Thread border router | unknown | unknown |

## What it is

Raspberry Pi 5 has dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 with BLE and Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ through a separate HAT.[^1]

Home Assistant publishes Home Assistant OS images for Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi 4. It suggests a model with at least 2 GB of RAM, a microSD card of at least 32 GB (ideally Application Class 2), a proper power supply rather than a phone charger or a computer's USB port, and Ethernet for installation.[^2]

## Which paths it supports

On its own, a Pi covers Wi-Fi and Ethernet devices with local APIs, and Bluetooth LE devices within range of its radio. The Pi 5 has no Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave radio, so those paths need an added radio, such as Home Assistant's Connect ZBT-1, a USB Zigbee 3.0 adapter that can be switched to Thread.[^1][^3]

Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave and Thread support then come from the software running on the Pi, not from the Pi itself. See the Home Assistant page for what that covers.[^2]

## Local or cloud

Everything runs on the Pi in the home. Whether a given device works without the internet depends on the software and the device's own path, not on the Pi.[^2]

## Limitations

- The Home Assistant images target the Pi 5 and Pi 4 only.[^2]
- Storage is a microSD card in the documented setup, and Home Assistant recommends A2 cards.[^2]
- Home Assistant Yellow is the project's own Pi-based hub, built around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with a Zigbee and Thread module. It is no longer in production but still receives software updates. Home Assistant points to Green instead.[^4]

## Devices that list Raspberry Pi

**Devices that work with Raspberry Pi**

| Device | Path | Support | Integration |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Zooz ZAC93 GPIO Module](https://smarthomecanon.com/devices/zooz-zac93-gpio-module) | Z-Wave | Native[^5] |  |

## Sources

[^1]: Raspberry Pi 5 - Raspberry Pi. https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5/ (manufacturer, checked 2026-10-09)
[^2]: Raspberry Pi - Home Assistant. https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/raspberrypi (platform documentation, checked 2026-10-09)
[^3]: Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1. https://www.home-assistant.io/connectzbt1/ (manufacturer, checked 2026-10-09)
[^4]: Home Assistant Yellow. https://www.home-assistant.io/yellow/ (manufacturer, checked 2026-10-09)
[^5]: Zooz: ZAC93 GPIO Module (product page). https://www.getzooz.com/zac93-gpio-module/ (manufacturer, checked 2026-10-13)