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Home Assistant Marketplace Proposal: What It Could Mean for HACS

A proposed built-in Marketplace could simplify community integration discovery in Home Assistant. Here’s what the proposal describes, what it does not confirm, and how custom integrations differ from official ones.
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A proposed Home Assistant Marketplace could bring HACS-style discovery and management of community integrations into Home Assistant itself. The available information describes a proposal, not a confirmed release: it does not establish that the change has merged, shipped, or been assigned to a particular version. A built-in catalog would make community software easier to find; it would not automatically make that software official, vetted, or supported by Home Assistant.

What the proposed Marketplace would change

A September 28, 2026 Home Assistant Community forum search result describes a pull request for a built-in Marketplace based on HACS-style community-content management. In that proposal, a system integration would be set up by default. Users could browse the catalog before accepting a first-run warning, but installing or updating items would require accepting it. The described catalog operations would not require a GitHub account. These are proposed behaviors, not confirmed features. Community forum result, September 28, 2026

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The proposal points toward a simpler route to finding community work without leaving Home Assistant. It does not, in the available description, establish the final Marketplace name, release timing, catalog contents, screening rules, compatibility notices, or how it would handle repositories beyond those represented in HACS today.

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Marketplace access would not make an integration official

Home Assistant distinguishes community-developed custom integrations from integrations included in official releases. Its developer documentation says custom integrations are outside official releases and may be installed manually or through HACS. The same guidance states: “The Home Assistant project does not review, security audit, maintain, or support third-party custom integrations.” Home Assistant Integration quality scale

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That distinction remains important even if discovery moves into a first-party interface. A listing or installation path alone is not evidence that Home Assistant has reviewed the code, guarantees its security, or will resolve problems with it. Responsibility for maintenance and support remains with the project author and the user unless Home Assistant separately accepts an integration into Core.

There is a separate path for community integrations to become Core integrations: Home Assistant’s developer process allows eligible contributions to Core subject to quality and maturity requirements. Simply appearing in a Marketplace would not demonstrate that an integration has completed that process. Home Assistant integration development documentation

HACS already has a repository process

HACS is the Home Assistant Community Store, used to manage community-created integrations and other custom elements. Its default-repository process is not an unrestricted listing of anything submitted: a repository owner or major contributor must request inclusion, projects must pass checks including the HACS action, and integrations must also pass Home Assistant’s hassfest checks. HACS says some integrations that test or override Core integrations are not accepted as defaults, though they can still be used as custom repositories. HACS default repository documentation

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The available proposal summary does not say whether the Marketplace would preserve these exact categories, checks, or custom-repository options. It is therefore too early to say that the change would either loosen or strengthen the existing discovery process.

What to check before installing a community integration

  • Who maintains it: Check the project’s documentation, issue tracker, and recent activity. A convenient catalog does not substitute for an accountable maintainer.
  • Compatibility: Confirm that the integration supports your installed Home Assistant version. A custom integration may lag behind a Home Assistant release or conflict with another custom integration.
  • Security and trust: Read available source code and community feedback where you can. Home Assistant advises caution because third-party custom integrations are not reviewed or security-audited by the project. Home Assistant Integration quality scale
  • Recovery: Make sure you have a backup you can restore if an update causes problems.

If a custom integration breaks after an update

Home Assistant says almost all dependency problems arise from custom integrations installed outside the official integration store, including those installed through HACS. A problem can result from an integration that does not yet support a new Home Assistant release or from a conflict with another custom integration. Its troubleshooting guidance recommends restarting Home Assistant and checking the logs, looking for an integration update, and consulting the project’s issue tracker. If the problem began after an update and an automatic backup is available, restoring it is one option while waiting for a fix. Home Assistant dependency problems FAQ

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Why the warning matters: a dated security example

Home Assistant’s January 22, 2021 security disclosure described vulnerabilities in multiple third-party custom integrations, including an unauthenticated directory-traversal issue in an older HACS version. The disclosure said HACS was fixed in version 1.10.0 and that Core 2021.1.3 added protections against reaching the vulnerable code. It advised affected users to upgrade integrations or remove them and update credentials where appropriate. This is historical context about the versions and issues named in that disclosure; it is not evidence that current HACS or the proposed Marketplace is vulnerable. Home Assistant security disclosure, January 22, 2021

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Is HACS going away?

The available proposal summary is not enough to establish whether HACS will remain a separate option, be replaced, or change in another way. It describes a Marketplace intended to bring HACS-like community-content management into Home Assistant, but does not provide a confirmed transition plan. Until Home Assistant publishes a merged change and release information, users should treat claims about HACS being discontinued or about Marketplace availability as unconfirmed.

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What remains unconfirmed

The proposal summary supports a limited set of design details: default setup of a system integration, browsing before warning acknowledgement, install and update gated on acceptance, and catalog use without a GitHub account. It does not establish the final feature set or release. Before relying on those details as current product behavior, check the pull request’s status and Home Assistant’s official release notes.

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