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documentation Installation Overview

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Installation Overview

openHAB 2 is based on the Eclipse SmartHome framework and is fully written in Java. As such, it only depends on a Java Virtual Machine, which is available for many platforms. openHAB can be executed on different versions of Mac OS X and Windows and many different variants of Linux (Ubuntu, Raspbian, ...).

Please be aware of the fact, that openHAB 2 is based on a new core and introduces new concepts. Therefore, tutorials and help you may find on the internet for openHAB 1 might be outdated!

Platform Recommendations

  1. You are new to openHAB 2 and want to give it a try? You are in luck:
  • Set up openHAB 2 on your local PC or Mac in just a few steps.
  1. You gained some experience and want to use openHAB to seriously control your home? Typical hardware and software requirements are:
    • 24/7 availability: A dedicated system connected by Ethernet and running continuously.
    • Energy and space efficient: A device capable of performing the task at hand without being exaggerated
    • Extendibility: Your system should be capable of running additional software like an MQTT broker or a persistence and graphing software.
    • Peripherals: Depending on your home automation hardware, you will need additional peripheral devices such as a WiFi interface or a special USB radio module.

Many devices are suited to host a continuous installation of openHAB 2. Experiences with different devices and environments can be found in the community forum hardware section.

The Raspberry Pi as a minimal sufficient device is quite popular, especially as we offer a quick setup with openHABian. A popular alternative is our solution for the Synology DiskStation, which many users already own in their homes.

The previously mentioned openHABian can also be used to kickstart your openHAB 2 experience on existing debian/ubuntu based Linux systems.

Prerequisites

Make sure that you have an up to date Java platform installed on your host system. Zulu is currently the recommended Java platform for openHAB, although Oracle Java is also suitable for most configurations. OpenJDK may be used, but it has some known limitations with openHAB.

Java Platform Advantages Disadvantages
Zulu Completely open source, fully certified Java SE compliant build of OpenJDK, embedded version optimized for ARM devices available here Not available in most default distribution package repositories
Oracle Java Full openHAB support on all platforms Licensing restrictions, manual installation required on many Linux systems: Ubuntu, Mint, and Debian are some examples
OpenJDK Supported by many Linux distributions, packages typically available Performance issues on ARM platforms, compatibility issues with certain bindings and certificates

Make sure to use the 32-bit version of the JVM for ARM platforms, even on 64-bit operating systems. Serial connections won't work with a 64-bit JVM, preventing bindings like Z-Wave from functioning.

As for now, a pre-release Java 9 installation is not recommended and is not yet supported by openHAB 2.

For best compatibility, namely with the openHAB Cloud service myopenhab.org, the minimum recommended Orcacle Java 8 revision is "101". Attention: Most package managers serve an older revision. Check your current Java version by opening a command line console and typing java -version:

java version "1.8.0_121"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_121-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 25.121-b13, mixed mode)

Setup variants

Before you can start, three decisions have to be made:

  1. openHAB 2 is available as a platform independent archive file or through a package repository:
  • Manual setup: Download and extract a platform independent zip archive: Mac OS X, Windows, Linux
  • Package setup: Install though a package repository, including automatic updates. This option is only available for Debian or Ubuntu derivatives and the recommended choice: Linux (apt/deb)
  1. Stable release or cutting edge:

Because openHAB 2 is still under development, it is recommended for experienced users to use the latest snapshot.

Installation

Please follow the instructions in the installation article matching your platform.

Additional Steps

After you got openHAB 2 set up and running, there are a few additional setup steps you should consider:

  • Configure a network share on your openHAB host device and mount it locally: Linux Samba Share, Windows file sharing, ...
  • Install the Eclipse SmartHome Designer on your local machine, to manage your (remote) configuration files. The designer comes with built-in support for the openHAB syntax and elements.

Getting started

With the openHAB 2 distribution up and running, you should now continue with the Demo Tutorial, the Beginner Tutorial or by working on your own configuration.

Help

The very active openHAB Community Forum provides many more details and hints. If you run into any problems, use the search function or open a new thread with your detailed question.