System Bridge is yet another way to integrate Windows with Home Assistant

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I have previously covered IoT Link and HASS Workstation Service as solutions to integrate a Windows laptop or desktop with Home Assistant. Today, I introduce you to yet my favourite option so far: System Bridge from developer Aidan Timson. While I am a Windows user, you don't have to be one to take joy from this article, as System Bridge can be installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

In this explainer, I will be taking a look at System Bridge from a Home Assistant user's perspective. System Bridge does not need Home Assistant to function and has numerous API endpoints that can be reached by other means. However, as this website is for users of Home Assistant, I will not be covering any other functionality.

System Bridge

Contents

What System Bridge can do

System Bridge is not a front-end for Home Assistant. In fact, the goal of system bridge is to have you not notice that it is running in the background. Despite that, it does more than just one thing and covers the following bases:

Gathering information for Home Assistant

There is a whole list of data that System Bridge collects and sends to Home Assistant. It covers battery information, CPU usage, the amount of available RAM and much more. This information can be displayed in the Home Assistant, and you can also use it to trigger automations.

Sending commands from Home Assistant to your computer

Using POST, you can send commands from Home Assistant through System Bridge to your computer. For example, you could set up an automation to open Spotify, or have Visual Studio Code open configuration.yaml when you tell your voice assistant to open the Home Assistant configuration. This functionality also allows you to shut down your computer by executing the shutdown.exe file.

Other commands include the ability to control your computer's volume and to send keystrokes straight from Home Assistant.

System Bridge isn't perfect, but it might be the best we have

As I mentioned in the introduction, System Bridge is currently my favourite application for integrating a Windows computer with Home Assistant. The reasons for this statement are rather simple:

No support for webcam or microphone detection

In the age of the home office, many will be missing the ability for System Bridge to detect whether the webcam or microphone is active. This is a feature HASS Workstation Service supports, and I would hope that System Bridge finds a way of adding it.

If you use a USB webcam, you do have the ability to detect which devices are currently connected to your computer, but those with laptops and internal webcams are out of luck.

The frontend can't render CSS on first load

This is a bug I, along with others, have encountered. After installing System Bridge and opening the settings, I couldn't do anything, as there was clearly a problem with the CSS rendering. It took me way longer than I'd like to admit to just give up and reboot my system. After a reboot, the System Bridge settings loaded correctly. I mention this, as it might confuse potential newcomers.

A screenshot of the Home Assistant integration showing how it integrates with Windows

Not all data can be gathered

It is entirely possible that Windows 11 is the cause of this error. After all, it hasn't been on the market for long, and it is very much an unfinished product. Whoever is at fault, System Bridge doesn't display the current charge of my laptop's battery, which is a metric I would very much like to see.

There's more to come from System Bridge

As I have decided to use System Bridge to integrate my laptop running Windows 11 with Home Assistant, I will be posting guides on how to use the application to its full potential. If you want to be alerted when that happens, I recommend signing up to the Home Assistant Guide Newsletter.

A portrait photo oif Liam Alexander Colman, the author, creator, and owner of Home Assistant Guide wearing a suit.

About Liam Alexander Colman

is an experienced Home Assistant user who has been utilizing the platform for a variety of projects over an extended period. His journey began with a Raspberry Pi, which quickly grew to three Raspberry Pis and eventually a full-fledged server. Liam's current operating system of choice is Unraid, with Home Assistant comfortably running in a Docker container.
With a deep understanding of the intricacies of Home Assistant, Liam has an impressive setup, consisting of various Zigbee devices, and seamless integrations with existing products such as his Android TV box. For those interested in learning more about Liam's experience with Home Assistant, he shares his insights on how he first started using the platform and his subsequent journey.

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