This project is an independent community application and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Home Assistant or the Open Home Foundation.
A lightweight, controller-driven Home Assistant client for Linux-based retro handhelds. Optimized for PortMaster devices (R36S, TrimUI Smart Pro) with a native SDL2 retro UI.
Turn your retro handheld into a smart home command center. HA RetroConsole provides a fast, tactile, and native interface to control your Home Assistant environment without needing a browser or mobile app. It focuses on immediate control of favorites, sensors, switches, lights, scenes, and scripts via the Home Assistant REST API.
- Native SDL2 UI: Lean, controller-optimized interface with stable 30 FPS for maximum battery life.
- Real-time Monitoring: Live status for sensors, WiFi signal strength (0-4 bars), and system statistics.
- Visual Retro Charm: CRT scanline effects, automatic marquee scrolling for long names, and color-coded icons.
- Handheld Integration: Seamless D-Pad navigation, display brightness control, and full-screen camera snapshots.
- PortMaster Ready: Verified on muOS, Spruce, and Knulli (for R36S, TrimUI Smart Pro, and others).
Key milestones reached:
- Phase 4 (Deployable App): Successfully completed with automated build scripts for PortMaster.
- Phase 5 (Device Testing): Completed. Successfully verified on muOS, Spruce, and Knulli distributions for the TrimUI Smart Pro.
- v0.28.0 (Latest): Implemented automatic line-breaking for long URLs and improved UI boundary stability in settings.
For detailed setup instructions, see the Installation & Configuration Guide.
Important: Many handheld Linux distributions (like those used on the R36S or TrimUI Smart Pro) do not support mDNS out of the box.
It is highly recommended to use the IP address of your Home Assistant server (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:8123) in your config.json instead of http://homeassistant.local:8123.
- Copy
config.example.jsontoconfig.json. - Enter your Home Assistant URL and a Long-Lived Access Token.
- Create the token in Home Assistant under your user profile:
Profile -> Security -> Long-lived access tokens.
- Create the token in Home Assistant under your user profile:
- Transfer the
ha-retroconsolefolder and the.shlauncher to your device's/roms/ports/directory as described in the Installation Guide.
The development is structured in several phases. We have reached a stable release candidate.
- Phase 0-5: Core development, connectivity, and device stability (Completed).
- Phase 6: Refinement & Advanced UI Features (Completed).
Detailed progress and future plans can be tracked in docs/ROADMAP.md and CHANGELOG.md.
A big thank you to Remix Icon for providing the excellent open-source icons under the Apache License 2.0.
config.json contains your private Home Assistant token and should not be committed.