openHAB Cloud

April 26, 2026 · View on GitHub

openHAB Cloud is a companion cloud service for openHAB, the open-source home automation platform. It provides:

  • Secure Remote Access - Access your openHAB instance from anywhere
  • Push Notifications - Receive notifications on iOS and Android devices
  • OAuth2 Provider - Enable third-party applications to access openHAB

Technology Stack

  • Runtime: Node.js 22+ with TypeScript
  • Web Framework: Express.js
  • Database: MongoDB 6+
  • Cache/Sessions: Redis 7+
  • Real-time: Socket.IO
  • Reverse Proxy: Nginx (production)

Quick Start

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 22 or higher
  • MongoDB 6+
  • Redis 7+

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/openhab/openhab-cloud.git
cd openhab-cloud

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Copy and configure settings
cp config-production.json config.json
# Edit config.json with your settings

# Start the server
npm start

The server will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Configuration

Edit config.json to configure:

  • MongoDB connection settings
  • Redis connection settings
  • System host, port, and protocol
  • Mail SMTP settings for notifications
  • Push notifications (Firebase, APNs)
  • OAuth2 client settings

See config-production.json for all available options.

Proxy hostnames

openHAB Cloud can expose each user's openHAB UI through two separate hostnames, tuned for two different clients:

  • system.proxyHost — the hostname used by the openHAB mobile apps (iOS/Android). Unauthenticated requests receive an HTTP 401 WWW-Authenticate: Basic challenge; the app WebViews intercept that challenge and supply stored credentials automatically. Example: home.myopenhab.org.
  • system.browserProxyHost (optional) — a hostname intended for desktop browsers. Unauthenticated GET requests are redirected to {system.host}/login?returnTo=… and bounced back to the original URL after sign-in, avoiding the native Basic-auth dialog. Example: connect.myopenhab.org.

Both hostnames proxy to the same underlying openHAB instance — only the unauthenticated behavior differs. In config.json:

{
  "system": {
    "host": "myopenhab.org",
    "proxyHost": "home.myopenhab.org",
    "browserProxyHost": "connect.myopenhab.org",
    "subDomainCookies": true
  }
}

For Docker Compose deployments using deployment/docker-compose/, these fields are driven by environment variables via config.json.template expansion at container startup. Set them in your .env file:

DOMAIN_NAME=myopenhab.org
PROXY_HOST=home.myopenhab.org
BROWSER_PROXY_HOST=connect.myopenhab.org
SUBDOMAIN_COOKIES=true

See deployment/docker-compose/README.md for the full env-var list.

Requirements for the browser flow:

  1. system.host, system.proxyHost, and system.browserProxyHost must share a common parent domain (e.g. all under myopenhab.org).
  2. system.subDomainCookies must be enabled (the default) so the session cookie set on system.host is also sent to browserProxyHost.
  3. Each hostname needs its own DNS record and TLS SAN entry at the reverse proxy, all routed to the openHAB Cloud backend.

If browserProxyHost is omitted, only proxyHost is active and behavior is unchanged from previous releases.

Docker Deployment

Using Pre-built Image

Official Docker images are available on Docker Hub:

docker pull openhab/openhab-cloud

See openhab/openhab-cloud for available tags and usage instructions.

Using Docker Compose

# Start all services (MongoDB, Redis, App, Nginx)
docker compose up -d

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

See deployment/docker-compose/README.md for detailed instructions.

Development

See DEVELOPMENT.md for the full development guide, including project structure, architecture, all npm scripts, testing, and where to add new code.

API Documentation

REST API

  • GET /api/v1/notifications - Get user notifications
  • POST /api/v1/notifications - Send a notification
  • GET /api/v1/settings/notifications - Get notification settings

WebSocket Events

openHAB instances connect via Socket.IO and communicate using:

  • request / response* - HTTP proxy requests
  • notification / broadcastnotification - Push notifications
  • command - Item commands

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch
  3. Write tests for new functionality
  4. Ensure all tests pass: npm test
  5. Submit a pull request

License

Eclipse Public License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.