FAQ
Straight answers from the project's own docs. Something missing? Ask on GitHub.
What is the easiest way to set it up?
Set up with AI. Claude Code reads the project's own instructions, asks you a few plain questions and does the typing for you. It needs a paid Claude plan. If you'd rather do it yourself, the step by step page is there too, and then you download the app on the tablet.
Does it cost anything?
No. Home hub is free and open source under the MIT licence. If you turn on Claude for questions, those use your own Claude plan. Spotify Premium is needed for some music control.
Which tablet do I need?
Any Android tablet on Android 11 or newer, on the same Wi-Fi as the Mac. The app is a download, with no developer settings needed.
If your AirTouch 5 console is an Android tablet, the app can sit beside the AirTouch app on it, one tap apart.
Can I use an iPad?
Not for the wall app: it's Android only.
Do I need a Mac? Will Windows do?
A Mac that stays on, with macOS 14 or newer. The hub runs on it as a service that starts at login, and it fetches each person's calendar every 10 minutes. If the Mac sleeps or is turned off, the wall screen and the calendars wait until it's back. Windows and Linux aren't supported.
Do I need the aircon, Spotify and TVs?
No. Each part is optional. A device you don't have shows as not answering, and everything else keeps working.
Does it need the internet?
The house runs over your own Wi-Fi. Two things go out, only if you use them: Spotify (to play music) and Claude (questions the simple rules don't cover, if you said yes). Nothing is open to the internet.
Is my voice recorded?
No. The tablet records only while you hold the button, sends it to the Mac, and the Mac turns it into text. No recording is kept or sent anywhere, and the words aren't written to the log.
What does Face ID keep?
Up to 10 lists of 128 numbers per person, in the app's own storage on the tablet. Never a photo or video. Only a name reaches the hub. It's off until each person sets up their own face, and Forget my face removes it.
Worth knowing: the face matching model (MobileFaceNet) was trained on MS-Celeb-1M, a dataset Microsoft withdrew in 2019 over privacy concerns. Only the model's weights are included, no images.
Can someone at the wall see my calendar?
Yes, the titles and times of your events for the next 7 days, by tapping your name. There is no PIN, by design: it's a screen for the people who live there. Places, notes and attendees are never shown.
What does Claude see?
Only if you said yes to Claude: the state of the house (aircon, speakers, TVs) and the words you said. Never names or calendars. It has no tools of its own: it can only choose from the hub's fixed list of actions, at most 5 per question, and each is checked.
My house has different rooms. Will it work?
The device list is set in one file, built for one house (7 aircon rooms, 3 speakers, 3 TVs). A different house changes that file and the settings. An AI agent can do it with you: say so when it asks what you have.
Is it safe on my network?
It's built for a home network you trust. Every device needs its own key, pairing codes work once for 10 minutes, and keys can be taken away at once. The aircon, Cast speakers and Android TVs already accept commands from anything on your Wi-Fi: home hub doesn't make them less open than they are. The details are in the security notes.
The tablet says the hub is not answering.
Check the Mac is on and logged in, and that both are on the same Wi-Fi. If the Mac's address changed, tap Connect to a different hub and pair again. Reserving the tablet's and the Mac's address in your router stops it moving.
How do I update the tablet app?
Download the app again from this site and install it over the top. Android keeps the app's settings, so it stays connected to the hub.
Shout Josh a coffee
Home hub is free and open source. Josh builds it in his own house after work. If it runs yours, a coffee keeps the next thing coming.