Homey Self-Hosted Server on macOS | Megathread

[Anoniemand]

From earlier in this topic:

Homey Self-Hosted Server on macOS | Megathread

Hm thanks for reporting. Could you send me the log from the ‘Console’ app on your Mac, when searching for Homey Self-Hosted Server?

[Marc_Jurriens]

No. You would need to do redo everything. There is no migration of settings either way.

[Lane_Canada]

I rebooted my MacBook and now the SHS won’t connect to the network for some reason

[Jan_Willem_Horsman]

Nevermind, installed it on Debian nuc and now works flawlessly.

[Drake1]

Hi,

just installed Homey self hosted server on my Mac M2 and it worked fine. But for some reason I got two servers in the account so I removed both and did a new install. But now it does not find it in the phone app and if I type the IP adress in manually it gives me the error code: Not in set up mode then it creates a new SHS on my account that I cannot access. Any ideas on how to fix this?

[Deveron_Dix]

Fixed it!

Deleted the whole application and everything out of my finder folder.
Next I opened finder. selected in the top of my screen: Go → Go to map and paste:
~/Library/Containers/app.homey.shs.Homey-Self-Hosted-Server/Data/Library/Application Support/Homey Self-Hosted Server

Next what I did was deleting the Data folder.

Downloaded the application again and reinstalled it.

Working fine again!

[Nick_Schiffman]

Would greatly appreciate configurable RAM usage, as it stands right now I’m wasting 3+GB of precious Mac RAM . One day I hope to exceed 4GB limit, but right now it would be awesome to claim some RAM back. Also could be cool if it was adjustable via a flow?

[Peter_Kawa]

@Nick_Schiffman

Would greatly appreciate configurable RAM usage

Homey Self-Hosted Server on macOS | Megathread

Find the “config” or “edit” button on the Mac I’d say: . I just found a possible howto: You can do this via the command line. For example, to change the machine to 2cpu/6144MB RAM run: docker-machine stop VBoxManage modifyvm default --cpus 2 VBoxManage modifyvm default --memory 6144 docker-machine start You can then check your settings: VBoxManage showvminfo default | grep Memory VBoxManage showvminfo default | grep CPU And for docker-machine inspect to report the correct state of thing…

[Nick_Schiffman]

Ooo awesome, will definitely be checking this out, thank you! I also realized I was having a weird bug where it would max out RAM usage and quit. Seems stable at only 1.5GB usage now

[Mark_Homie]

Hi,

I’m trying to update my Homey Pro self-hosted server on my Mac Mini with latest MacOS. I’m currently running version 12.11.0 and got a notification that there is a new update last night.

When I click ‘check for updates’ in the Mac app, it says Homey Self-Hosted Server 12.12.0 is now available - you have 12.11.0. Would you like to download it now?

In the release notes I see that there’s also v12.13.0 and v13.0.0 available.

When I click ‘install update’, it will download and then error. Sometimes I get to around 400mb, sometimes it stops at 205,9mb. What’s going on?

Does it perhaps try to download v13.0.0 and expects v12.12.0 and therefore bugs out?

[Anoniemand]

@Mark_Homie

it will download and then error.

What’s the error?

This topic might better be merged with the Homey SHS on MacOS Megathread

[Mark_Homie]

[Anoniemand]

If you’re adventurous you could have a look in the logs (via ‘Console’ app on the Mac and search for “Homey Self-Hosted Server”). Otherwise I would suggest to reach out to homey support for further investigation.

[Mark_Homie]

Cant post it here because I can only reply to 2 people

Tried to open a support ticket, but I can’t:

“As much as we’d love to help, we focus on general support and can’t assist with custom use-cases. For tailored advice, visit the Homey Community forum, where experienced users might be able to help.”

Not having a good time at the moment.

[Anoniemand]

That makes you wonder what’s custom about updating homey selfhosted server.

[Wout_van_den_Dool]

Keep Homey Self-Hosted Server Running 24/7 on macOS (Free, Built-in Solution)

Running Homey Self-Hosted Server on a Mac Mini is great — but the app can unexpectedly quit, leaving your home automations dead until you notice. Here’s how to fix that permanently using launchd, a completely free built-in macOS tool. No third-party apps, no subscriptions.

What it does:

• Automatically restarts Homey within 60 seconds if it quits or crashes
• Starts Homey automatically on every login/reboot
• Runs silently in the background, 24/7

---

Step 1 — Create the LaunchAgents folder (if needed)

Open Terminal and run:

mkdir -p ~/Library/LaunchAgents

---

Step 2 — Create the watchdog config file

nano ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist

Paste this content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.homey.watchdog</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/bin/open</string>
        <string>-W</string>
        <string>/Applications/Homey Self-Hosted Server.app</string>
    </array>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>ThrottleInterval</key>
    <integer>60</integer>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/homey-watchdog.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/homey-watchdog-error.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Save with Ctrl+O → Enter → Ctrl+X

What each key does:

• KeepAlive: true — restarts the app whenever it stops
• RunAtLoad: true — starts the app at login
• ThrottleInterval: 60 — waits 60 seconds before restarting (prevents crash loops)
• StandardOutPath / StandardErrorPath — saves logs to /tmp for debugging

---

Step 3 — Activate the watchdog

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist

That’s it!

---

Verify it’s working

launchctl list | grep homey

You should see two lines like this:
87287 0 com.homey.watchdog
87288 0 application.app.homey.shs.Homey-Self-Hosted-Server.10025487.10025611

As long as the first column shows a number (not a -), both the watchdog and Homey are running.

In System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, you’ll see Athom B.V. listed — that’s Homey Self-Hosted Server. Athom is the company behind Homey, so this is correct.

---

Quick Reference — All Commands

Action	Command
Check status	launchctl list | grep homey
View output log	cat /tmp/homey-watchdog.log
View error log	cat /tmp/homey-watchdog-error.log
Pause watchdog (for updates)	launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist
Resume watchdog	launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist
View plist file	cat ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist

---

Pausing for Updates or Maintenance

When updating Homey, unload the watchdog first — otherwise it will immediately relaunch the app after you quit it.

Pause:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist

Resume after update:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homey.watchdog.plist

Typical update workflow:

1. Unload the watchdog (command above)
2. Quit Homey Self-Hosted Server
3. Perform your update
4. Reload the watchdog (command above)
5. Verify: launchctl list | grep homey

---

After a Reboot

Nothing manual needed. macOS loads the watchdog automatically at every login.

Make sure:

• Auto-login is on: System Settings > Users & Groups > Automatically log in as
• Sleep is off: System Settings > Energy > Prevent automatic sleeping when display is off

---

Summary

Free — uses macOS built-in launchd
Automatic restart within 60 seconds of any crash
Starts on every login/reboot
Easy to pause for updates and resume
No third-party apps needed

Hope this helps MacOS Homey Self-Hosted users! Like it does for me, finally can start using the Homey Self Hosted Server

[scull122]

How is the experience running Homey SHS on a Mac Mini now? Are there still RAM limitations? Stability issues? I have a 2023 Homey Pro with lots of devices and automations and sometimes those automations don’t always run reliably. I’m suspecting my 2gb of RAM might be to blame. So my solution is to move to a SHS set up. I have a TrueNAS sever right now and will soon be adding an M4 Mac Mini. The thinking is keep my media streaming and heavy data back-up (Non-Homey related) on the TrueNAS server, and move most of the process-heavy stuff to the Mac Mini, including an instance of Homey SHS and Home Assistant. Homey runs 95% of the automations in my smart so the task of moving everything from the 2023 Pro to a SHS is going to be very time consuming and daunting since there is a not (yet) and option for backing up my Pro and then restoring to the SHS, so needless to say, it’s a thing I only want to do once!

So my question is this: Is the Mac Mini the way to go for hosting Homey? Or would I be better off leaving the 2023 Homey Pro in control? Maybe the 2gb of RAM on my Pro is not the issue? Maybe the issue is more the hobby-grade nature of smart homes? I don’t know. I’m willing to try just about anything. I enjoy this stuff, but the wife’s patience with this are beginning to thin.

Thanks

[Peter_Kawa]

@scull122

so the task of moving everything from the 2023 Pro to a SHS is going to be very time consuming and daunting since there is a not (yet) and option for backing up my Pro and then restoring to the SHS,

[Modding] Migrating Homey Pro data to Homey SHS

Split from Migration of devices from Homey (Pro) to Homey Self-Hosted Server - #35 by Bram_H Here is a workaround for migrating all of your data from Homey Pro to Homey SHS. Flows, devices, apps, insights. The guide is in Danish so use the browsers translate function. Short version: * Install Homey SHS and add it to your Homey account * Shut down the Homey SHS container * Copy the homey-shs/sqlite folder from Docker to a Windows PC * Copy all data from the /User partition on Homey Pro…

.

@scull122

automations don’t always run reliably. I’m suspecting my 2gb of RAM might be to blame

Maybe it’s possible to narrow it down:

• Is it app related?
• • Disable a few RAM hungry, less important apps for a while
• • Dynamically enable apps only when needed: Like my plant sensors need to report once a day → so I enable the app per flow, for only half an hour at night
• Is it protocol related (like, for example, z-wave or cloud devices)?
• Is it event related (sun, time)?
• Maybe it’s sensor related? Try replacing the batteries, even if Homey “sais” there’s enough juice left (it really is just a gadget, not a battery tester)
• Do you use the Audit app to see what’s (not) happening and when?

.

@scull122

but the wife’s patience with this are beginning to thin.

Sorry to hear mate, we try our best

[scull122]

So, as far as the reliability aspect; I have been chasing it for a while. For example: I have a bunch of Aqara devices with an Aqara Hub M3. I have tried running all the Aqara devices through the M3 hub then importing them into Homey via Matter. I have also tried moving unreliable devices directly into Homey and bypassing the M3 hub. I’ve tried this with several devices like Hue bulbs, Switchbot stuff, etc. Mixed success overall. I’ve also tried moving some stuff over the Home Assistant as a reliability test bed. I’ve tried adjusting the freq bands of my wifi system to account for interference. I’ve restructured flows and even taken some functions out of more complicated flows and made them their own individual flows. I’ve never actually been able to get my smart to be totally reliable. Sure, I’ll admit that the constant fiddling with it is not always helpful, as my wife likes to mention, but I was just curious if others have seen improvements moving to a beefier system.

I will try disabling some apps here and there, though, to see if that nets any positive results. Not a bad idea. I appreciate the advice.

[JMDPC]

Are you also using Apple Home?