Thursday, 29 October 2026
Home automation edition
Home Assistant News

Reporting the local stack, from radio to automations.

The Briefing

29 October 2026

Supervisor 2026.10.5 is the new stable Supervisor and fixes a symlink security issue. In beta, Core 2026.11.0b0 turns HACS into a built-in Marketplace and adds Matter 1.5 cameras. Everything Smart Home joins Works with Home Assistant. New explainer: Zigbee vs Z-Wave.

01 · Home Assistant / Supervisor

Supervisor 2026.10.5 closes a symlink hole in app asset serving

What happened: Supervisor 2026.10.5 was released 28 Oct and stable.json now lists it as the stable Supervisor. Its security fix stops the Supervisor following symlinks that lead outside a store repository when it serves app assets (advisory GHSA-74w8-9vgx-wqxg). It also moves to the new URL of the official apps repository, listens for Core on a Unix socket, clears reboot-required issues after a host reboot, and fixes non-UTF-8 Wi-Fi SSIDs being corrupted, partial OS update bundles left behind after a failed download, and an MTU problem (GwPriority). Brotli also gets a security update.

Why it matters: Supervisor updates itself, so most installs will pick this up without action. If you add third-party app repositories, this is the release that limits what a malicious repository can expose through asset paths. Check Settings → System → Updates if you pin Supervisor.

Primary source
supervisor 2026.10.5; stable.json

02 · Home Assistant (beta)

Beta: Core 2026.11.0b0 folds HACS into Home Assistant as the Marketplace

What happened: This is a beta, not a stable release; stable Core is still 2026.10.4. 2026.11.0b0 was tagged 28 Oct. In the work-in-progress release notes, HACS becomes part of Home Assistant as the new Marketplace, under Settings → Marketplace, on every installation type including Container. Admins can browse and install integrations, cards, themes and templates without a GitHub account; a new integration opens its setup flow without a restart, and each installed project gets an update entity. The beta also adds support for Matter 1.5 cameras (live video over WebRTC, directly between browser and camera), a Labs preview of two-way audio for Matter and Reolink cameras (Reolink over RTSP; needs HTTPS for now), and storing backups and media on local drives.

Why it matters: If you rely on HACS, this is the release to test. The project warns that features may change or not make the final release; the release party is scheduled for 4 November. Don't run betas on a house you depend on.

Primary source
core 2026.11.0b0; beta release notes

03 · Works with Home Assistant

Everything Smart Home joins Works with Home Assistant

What happened: On 27 Oct, Home Assistant added Everything Smart Home, the family business behind the YouTube channel run by Lewis Barclay with his father, Dave, to the Works with Home Assistant program. It brings in the Everything Presence sensors (Lite, One and Pro), all built on ESPHome and designed to keep data local.

Why it matters: Presence sensors are one of the most-requested device types for room automations. Works with Home Assistant certification means the Home Assistant team has tested the devices and the maker has committed to supporting them.

Primary source
Home Assistant blog

04 · ESPHome

ESPHome 2026.10.1 is a fix-only patch

What happened: 2026.10.1 (27 Oct) fixes the OTA watchdog timeout on esp32_hosted, resends the MQTT fan state when the first publish fails, orders generated lambda code after user includes, and ignores unhandled BLE key GAP events, among others.

Why it matters: This is a safe update if you're already on 2026.10.0. If not, read yesterday's notes on the four config changes first.

Primary source
esphome 2026.10.1