Turn Any Raspberry Pi Touchscreen into a Home Assistant Dashboard Panel (Step-by-Step)

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🏠 Turn Raspberry Pi Touch Display into Home Assistant Wall Panel (Kiosk Mode)

If you run Home Assistant on one Raspberry Pi (server) and you have another Raspberry Pi + Touch Display, you can convert it into a beautiful always-on wall panel dashboard.

In this tutorial, we will create a kiosk mode Home Assistant panel that:

✅ Auto boots directly into Home Assistant Dashboard
✅ Fullscreen / Touch friendly
✅ No mouse/keyboard required
✅ No sleep / no screen blank
✅ Works even when IP address changes using homeassistant.local

🔧 Requirements

Hardware:

  • 1 Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant Server

  • 1 Raspberry Pi for Display (Panel Pi)

  • Raspberry Pi Touch Display (official or HDMI display)

  • WiFi or LAN connection

Software:

  • Raspberry Pi OS Lite / Desktop on panel Pi

  • Chromium browser (Kiosk Mode)

🧩 Network Example

Home Assistant Server URL:

http://homeassistant.local:8123

Panel Raspberry Pi:

  • auto opens the above URL in fullscreen

✅ Step 1: Install Required Packages on Panel Pi

Update system:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Install X server + Openbox + Chromium:

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends \
xserver-xorg x11-xserver-utils xinit openbox chromium

✅ Note:
On latest Raspberry Pi OS / Debian, use chromium (not chromium-browser).

✅ Step 2: Create Kiosk Startup Script

Create .xinitrc:

nano ~/.xinitrc

Paste this:

#!/bin/sh

# Disable screen blanking / sleep
xset -dpms
xset s off
xset s noblank

# Start lightweight window manager
openbox-session &

# Launch Home Assistant in Kiosk mode
chromium --kiosk http://homeassistant.local:8123

Save:

  • CTRL + O → Enter

  • CTRL + X

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/.xinitrc

✅ Step 3: Auto Start Kiosk on Boot

Edit bash profile:

nano ~/.bash_profile

Add this:

if [ -z "$DISPLAY" ] && [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
startx -- -nocursor
fi

Save and exit.

✅ Step 4: Enable Console Auto Login (Important)

Run:

sudo raspi-config

Go to:

✅ System Options → Boot / Auto Login → Console Autologin

This ensures after boot, Pi logs in automatically and starts kiosk.

✅ Step 5: Reboot and Test

sudo reboot

After reboot, your panel should open:

✅ Home Assistant dashboard
✅ Fullscreen
✅ Touch working

🔐 Step 6 (Recommended): Disable Username/Password on Wall Panel (Trusted Network)

By default Home Assistant asks for login.
For wall panels, we can enable Trusted Networks so panel auto logs in.

Open Home Assistant terminal:

Install Advanced SSH & Web Terminal Add-on in HA.

Then open terminal and edit:

nano /config/configuration.yaml

Add this block (replace IP with your panel IP):

homeassistant:
auth_providers:
- type: homeassistant
- type: trusted_networks
trusted_networks:
- 192.168.1.84 # Panel Raspberry Pi IP
allow_bypass_login: true

✅ Save and restart Home Assistant:

ha core restart

Now your panel opens dashboard without login screen 🎉

⭐ Extra Tips (Pro Setup)

✅ Use .local URL for stable access

Instead of fixed IP, use:

http://homeassistant.local:8123

So even if IP changes, panel still works.

✅ Rotate Screen (If Portrait Mode)

Edit:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Add one:

Portrait Left:

display_lcd_rotate=1

Portrait Right:

display_lcd_rotate=3

Reboot.

✅ Add Touch Keyboard (Optional)

If you ever need to type:

sudo apt install matchbox-keyboard

Run:

matchbox-keyboard &

✅ Final Result

Now you have a fully working Home Assistant wall panel:

✅ Auto boot kiosk mode
✅ Fullscreen touch dashboard
✅ No sleep / no blank screen
✅ No password required (Trusted Networks)
✅ Works even if Home Assistant IP changes

📌 Conclusion

This is one of the best DIY Home Assistant upgrades for any smart home.
A Raspberry Pi touchscreen wall panel makes your home automation look professional and easy to control.

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