About
About SmartHome-AI
An independent project about local, open-source smart homes and automation that works in the real world.
SmartHome-AI started from a common frustration: most smart home content is either product marketing, or so technical that it assumes you already know what an MQTT broker is.
The commitment here is different: explain the why before the how, with examples that work in real homes — including homes with unstable internet, thick walls and people who would rather not think about technology.
Editorial principles#
- Local first. The cloud is a convenience, never a dependency.
- Open source whenever possible. Home Assistant, ESPHome, Zigbee2MQTT, Frigate, Scrypted.
- No sponsored lists. When a product is named, it is because it solves a described problem.
- Plan B matters. Every automation must work — or fail safely — when something goes down.
- Respect for the people living there. Automation that annoys the household is bad automation.
Topics covered#
- Home Assistant — the platform
- ESPHome and ESP32 — devices you build yourself
- Zigbee2MQTT and ZHA and the ZBT-1 / ZBT-2 dongles
- Matter and Thread — the standard that crosses ecosystems
- MQTT — the postal service of the smart home
- Apple HomeKit — iPhone, Siri and Apple TV
- Scrypted, Frigate and cameras and AI cameras
- Claude and MCP and OpenClaw — AI at home
- Hardware, networking and CasaOS / umbrelOS
About the language#
The guide library is written in Brazilian Portuguese and is being translated into English progressively. Configuration files, YAML and command examples are language-neutral, and browser translation handles these pages well in the meantime.
How this site is built#
This is a static site: HTML, CSS and JavaScript with no frameworks, generated by a Python script from Markdown files, versioned on GitHub and published on Cloudflare. No database, no trackers, no ads — it loads fast even on a bad mobile connection.
Who writes it#
Content by Dr. Álvaro Menezes — radiologist, home automation enthusiast, Home Assistant, ESP32 and local systems. The configurations published here run in a real house, with the mistakes already made.
Contact and corrections#
Found an error, have a suggestion or want to request a topic? Corrections are very welcome — this site is maintained in the open and improves with the people who read it.