This video walks through a beginner Home Assistant hub on a Raspberry Pi 4. The method is flash Home Assistant OS with Raspberry Pi Imager, assemble the board, wait for onboarding at homeassistant.local:8123, then (optionally) pair Zigbee devices and turn on backups.
You do not need a monitor or an HDMI cable. This method reaches the Pi over the LAN. The board in the video is a Pi 4 with 4 GB of RAM. Home Assistant now ships an official Pi 5 image too, but the parts below stay on the Pi 4 kit this video actually uses so ports, power, and the case all match.
What You Need
The kit below is one mutually compatible shopping list, not a mix-and-match catalog. Every item is a real Amazon US listing. The Pi 4 4 GB, the 3.5A USB-C supply, and the microSD are the required core. Ethernet is required for first boot. The Sonoff dongle and USB extension are the optional Zigbee add-on this video uses.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4 GB)
This video's brain. The 4 GB board is the one on camera. A Pi 3 is called out as underpowered. Keep the 4 GB model if you want the same image path and the same USB-C power jack.
CanaKit 3.5A USB-C power supply
The board does not ship with a supply. This video recommends the official-style USB-C brick over a random phone charger. The CanaKit 3.5A unit is the supply Home Assistant's own Pi 4 shopping list has pointed at, with a noise filter and an 18 AWG cable.
SanDisk Extreme 64 GB microSD (A2)
This video flashes a 32 GB card and says that is the cheaper way to start. It also says Home Assistant is hard on cards and they often die in a year or two. The 64 GB Extreme A2 card is still a beginner flash target, with more headroom than 32 GB and the IOPS rating you want for a database that writes all day.
Cable Matters Cat 6 Ethernet (10 ft)
This video treats a wired link to the router as required for first boot and worth keeping after. Wi-Fi can be added later. One 10 ft Cat 6 run is enough. The 5-pack is the tagged catalog pick if you want spares.
SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus
This video calls the Zigbee radio optional and says you can add it later. The on-camera pick is a Sonoff dongle. Conbee II and SkyConnect are named as alternatives. The Plus-P (CC2652P) is pre-flashed for ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT.
Amazon Basics USB-A extension (3.3 ft)
This video is blunt: plug the dongle straight into the Pi and you get interference. The extension is the cheap fix. Any short USB-A male-to-female cable works. This 3.3 ft Basics cord is the one to view on Amazon if you do not already have a spare.
| Item | Role in this method | Approx. street price |
|---|---|---|
| Pi 4 4 GB | Hub | about $124 |
| CanaKit 3.5A USB-C | Power | about $10 |
| SanDisk Extreme 64 GB | Boot + data | about $30 |
| Cat 6 10 ft | First-boot LAN | about $20 for the 5-pack |
| SONOFF Zigbee Plus | Optional radio | about $32 |
| USB-A extension | Dongle spacing | a few dollars |
You still need a Pi 4 case (this video uses the official one) and a card reader if your computer has no slot. Those are not in the tagged list because a verified standalone case listing was not in this kit pull.
What It Costs
About $210 as of writing for the six tagged items, before a case. This video's $150 ballpark assumed a cheaper Pi 4 4 GB. The board is the line that moved. Drop the Zigbee pair and you are closer to $165 for the core four.
Step-by-Step Setup
1. Flash Home Assistant OS with Raspberry Pi Imager
This method uses the official Imager from raspberrypi.com/software. Insert the64 GB Extreme card (or any reader-equipped card). Choose Raspberry Pi 4, then Other specific-purpose OS, Home assistants and home automation, Home Assistant. Pick the card as storage, confirm you have the right target, and write. Skip Imager's username and Wi-Fi customization. Home Assistant OS handles that itself.
2. Assemble the Pi and boot it on Ethernet
This video's assembly order is: board in the case, card seated,Cat 6 cable to the router, then power. If you are adding Zigbee on day one, plug theUSB-A extension first and hang theSonoff dongle off that cable. Last step is the3.5A USB-C supply. The Pi boots on its own.
3. Finish onboarding in the browser
On any computer on the same LAN, open http://homeassistant.local:8123. This video says the first boot spends about 20 minutes preparing itself. Create the account and write the credentials down. This method has no password recovery at that screen. Set location for weather and sun automations, then assign any discovered Wi-Fi gadgets to rooms. After that you are on the dashboard.
If .local does not resolve, use the Pi's DHCP address from the router instead of hunting for a display cable.
4. Pair Zigbee devices (skip if you have no dongle)
This video's path is Settings, Devices and Services. The dongle should appear under Discovered. Configure, Submit, Finish. Then Add Integration, Add Zigbee Device, and put each end device in pairing mode. Name it and assign a room. If the dongle is missing, reseat the extension and restart Home Assistant before you assume the stick is dead.
5. Use the dashboard, then turn on backups
This method treats the install as done once Overview can toggle the paired devices. Automations and custom dashboards are left for later. The last required habit in the video is backups, because the SD card is the part that fails. Home Assistant's built-in backup/restore is the recovery path. The video installs a Google Drive add-on from a third-party repository so copies live off the card. You can also keep local backups and copy them to a NAS using a 3-2-1 backup layout.
Home Assistant Cloud is optional in this video ($6.50 a month or $65 a year after a 30-day trial) for remote access plus Alexa or Google Assistant. HomeKit has a free integration if that is your voice stack. Skip Cloud if you do not need remote access.
