Access and levels
Every device and every browser enters the home with its own access. Access is a level, permissions on top of it, a list of open homes and, optionally, an expiry. All of this is checked by the Homer server, not the app: a guest never gets a Home Assistant account at all.
Levels
Each next level includes the previous one.
| Level | What it can do |
|---|---|
| Guest | Walks through the home and sees the lights. Switches nothing; doesn't see sensors or history |
| Lights & outlets | Plus turns on lights and devices, except protected ones |
| Plus protected | Plus protected devices: the electrical panel, the boiler, the fridge outlet |
| Edits home | Plus edits the plan and arrange mode, sees sensors. Can't give out access |
| Owner | Everything, including access, updates and remote support |
You become an owner through Home Assistant admin rights or with a personal invite from another owner; an open link never grants owner. The line between “Edits home” and “Owner” is giving out access: an editor can't give out access, so they can't make themselves the owner.
Permissions
On top of the level. The level says what a person controls, permissions say from where and how.
| Permission | Default | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Remote access | off | Control the home from outside the home network. Walking through the home and talking aren't blocked by this |
| Voice | on | Voice chat in the walk |
| Face | on | A live face from the camera instead of a picture. The person turns it on themselves; this is a ban from above, not a permission from below |
| Demo | on | Home in your pocket: no connection to the home, from a downloaded plan, with made-up sensors |
| App beta builds | off | The device gets the beta when it's newer than the main build. Set when editing access, not in an invite from the app |
Access also has an expiry in days: a “weekend guest” expires by itself. 0 means no expiry. In the app the expiry is set when editing access, in the web version also when inviting.
Revoking doesn't undo downloads
Demo works without a connection. From someone who has already downloaded the home and boarded a plane, you can't take demo away. The ban takes effect as soon as the device reaches the Homer server again.
Protected devices
A device card has a “Not everyone controls it” mark. Such a device can only be switched by “Plus protected” and higher. An attempt from a lower level is rejected and goes into the log. Protected devices aren't given to Alice: she obeys any voice.
As long as no device is marked, “Lights & outlets” and “Plus protected” are no different.
Owner
The first owner appears at installation: the installer prints a QR code, the app scans it in the first-run wizard at the I have an invite step and becomes the owner. The owner key — six groups of five characters — is shown there too; write it down on paper. See Installation.
There can be several owners. A second adult in the home becomes an owner in one of two ways:
- By invite. The owner issues a personal invite with the “Owner” level, or raises an existing access to it when editing. See Invite.
- Through Home Assistant admin rights. You need the address and an administrator token:
- Settings → Home → HA address and token.
- Settings → Access → Homer server → Become owner.
- An owner key appears. Write it down on paper and tap Written down.
The device has already got its own access by then and doesn't need the key anymore. The owner key is used to sign in to the web version (the Owner key tab on the sign-in page) and to get the home back if the app was removed.
The key is shown once
The Homer server keeps only a fingerprint of the key. If you lose it, get a new one the same way, by proving admin rights. The old key stops working, while device access stays.
Invite
Only the owner can give out access.
In the app: Settings → Access → Homer server → Invite device.
- Write whose device it is: “Pete's phone”. You'll revoke by this label later.
- Choose the level and permissions. The “Owner” level is here too: an owner has all homes open, so the home choice is hidden for it.
- If the Homer server has several homes, mark which ones to open.
- Issue. A QR code appears on the screen. Tapping the code copies it to the clipboard.
In the web version: the Access → Invite device page; Invite a guest is the same invite, prefilled as a guest for three days. The code is shown as two QR codes: For browser (a link …/web/join#c=…, sign-in happens by itself) and For the app. Next to them are buttons to copy the code or the link. The app reads both QR codes: in the “For browser” link the home address is the link itself, so one QR code sets up both a browser and a phone. If the home has no external address, the QR code carries the address the owner opened the web version from.
The link leads to where it was issued from: the recipient lands in the same home and the same view — plan, isometric, 3D or walk — not on the plan of their own home. The home in the invite defaults to the one open on screen.
An invite is single-use and lives for a day. Need to invite several people at once — use an open link.
Warn the invited person
Actions on the home are written to the log, and the owner sees the log. Walks, voices and movements aren't there.
Open link
One link for several people, for a while: to bring five people into the walk, one link in a group chat instead of five codes. Only the owner can open one.
In the app: Settings → Access → Homer server → Access, the Open link card → Open a link. In the web version: the Access → Open link page.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Link open for | How long the link accepts new people: from 1 hour to 7 days |
| How many people | Sign-in limit. 0 — any |
| Level, Permissions, Homes | What everyone who joins gets. Owner and support are never granted by a link |
| Term, days | Each access term, from the moment the person joined. 0 — no limit |
| Label | How the joined people are labelled in the access list, “Link guest” by default |
Open link shows a link like …/web/open#c=… and its QR code. The link is shown once — copy it right away. Like an invite, it leads to the home and view it was opened from.
The person opens the link in a browser, quietly gets their own access and sets up only themselves: Name above your head, Clothes color, the microphone on entry and Walk sounds — then taps Enter. Opening the link again from the same browser doesn't create a second access. A browser already signed in to the home another way asks: Keep current or Join via link.
In the access list, everyone who joined is a separate row tagged via link, revoked on their own. The link itself has two buttons: Close — nobody new can join, those already in stay; Close and revoke all — also revokes what was issued. A closed link with live access keeps Revoke all.
One link accepts at most 20 sign-ins per minute. The owner gets a notification about sign-ins as a summary once a minute, not one message per person.
Above “Guest” — be careful
The link can be forwarded: while the window is open, anyone who gets it receives the chosen level. The form warns about this as soon as the level is above “Guest”.
Install link
Homer installers aren't published openly: a new home is installed with a link from someone who already runs Homer. It isn't access to your home — the recipient brings up their own. Only the owner can issue one, in the web version: the Access → Install link page, next to “Open link”. The app doesn't have this button yet.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Label | Who the link is for: “Pete, summer house”. You'll find the link by it in the list later |
| Valid for | No expiry, 7, 30, 90 or 365 days |
| How many installs | Server install limit. 0 — no limit |
Issue link shows a link like https://<home address>/web/get#t=… and its QR code. They are shown once — Copy right away. The recipient opens it and sees the “Install Homer” page with your invitation and, on it, the command for the home server (Linux or Windows), the Download APK button — the Homer app for Android, the same build your server hands out to your devices — and the Download Homer Node button. What to do with them next — Installation.
Every server install run counts — and uses up the limit. APK downloads are counted separately and don't use the limit. The owner gets a notification about every install from the link.
In the list, each link shows its state (open, closed, expired, used up), “installs N”, “APK: N”, when the last install was, and the expiry. Close — nothing more can be installed or downloaded with the link; homes already installed keep living.
Accepting an invite
Phone and tablet: Settings → Access → Homer server → Accept invite → Scan with camera. The home address comes with the code.
TV: there is no camera, so the code is typed by hand — twenty-two characters from the owner's screen, the Invite code field. The home address is taken from the Home address field above. The easiest way is to copy the code by tapping the QR code on the owner's device and send it over.
Browser: open the invite link or paste the code on the sign-in page, the With an invite tab. There you can also set a name and a face picture for the walk. The browser gets its own access, and the owner sees it in the shared list.
The app's code field also takes the whole invite link (…/web/join#c=…): the home address is taken from it.
Access list
In the app: Settings → Access → Homer server → Access. In the web version: the Access page.
The list shows the label, device model, level, permissions, homes and when the device was last seen; those who joined via an open link are tagged via link. Tapping opens editing: level, permissions, homes, label, expiry. The edit reaches the device right away, without a new invite. Access can be raised to “Owner” by editing too; the level of an existing owner can't be changed by editing — such access is only revoked.
Revoke closes access instantly, including during a walk. Revoked access is shown in a separate list.
Access that hasn't been used for over two months is marked inactive for a while. It doesn't expire by itself: a wall tablet can stay silent for weeks. If a device is lost or a guest has left — revoke it; in the web version the Revoke button is right in the row. You can also set an expiry on access — after it, access expires by itself.
Forget access on the “Homer server” card erases the secret only on this device. The access itself stays in the home until the owner revokes it. You need this when the access has already been revoked but the device keeps presenting it.
Outside the home
The Homer server tells the home entry from the external one by which port the request came to, not by headers. Access without Remote access walks through the home and talks from outside, but doesn't control it. How to set up an external address — Installation.
In the web version, the menu under your name shows the level, the entry (“at home” or “outside”) and what this browser is allowed: voice, camera face, remote control.
Web version address
Invite links and “place in the home” links are built from it. In the app it's on the Homer server card, in the web version it's the first field on the Access page. Empty — the address of the page the link was made on is used.
Log
The owner can see the log: who turned what on — through the app, in Home Assistant itself and with a wall switch. Refusals are recorded just like successes. In the app it's the Journal button on the “Homer server” card, in the web version it's the Journal tab in “Home status”.
Me at home
In the web version: menu under your name → Settings → Me at home.
- Name — the label above your head in the walk.
- Face — your own picture, live from the camera or an empty mask. A live face isn't available if the owner hasn't allowed it.
- Clothes color — to tell who is who in the home.
Task PIN
Anyone in the room can call the Homer speaker. Tasks for the senior model are locked with a PIN or a passphrase: Settings → Speaker → Homer brains → Task PIN. More — Speaker security.
Support technician
A support technician is let in not with an invite but with a session of a few hours. The technician has editor rights without the right to give out access. See Remote support.