# Home Assistant Assist / Open Voice OS

A voice assistant on hardware you run. Home Assistant Assist is Apache-2.0; Open Voice OS is Apache-2.0 — Amazon Alexa and Google Home without the vendor speaker cloud.

**Replaces:** Amazon Alexa / Google Home

**Tier:** Medium

## Problem

Amazon Alexa and Google Home are speaker clouds: voice goes to their buildings. You wanted local wake-word and intents on a LAN box. Home Assistant core is Apache-2.0; Assist is the voice layer on that dashboard. Open Voice OS (ovos-core) is Apache-2.0 — the maintained Mycroft-shaped runtime (Mycroft core is archived). openWakeWord is Apache-2.0 for wake-word detection; wyoming-openwakeword is the Wyoming protocol server Home Assistant documents. This is not Alexa Skills, Google Home routines in their cloud, or every smart-speaker SKU. Cameras stay on /replace/ring. Signal-server is not this page.

## Stack

- [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/) — Apache-2.0 automations box; Assist is the local voice layer
- [Open Voice OS](https://openvoiceos.github.io/ovos-core/) — Apache-2.0 Mycroft-shaped voice runtime (ovos-core)
- [openWakeWord](https://github.com/dscripka/openWakeWord) — Apache-2.0 wake-word detection library
- [Wyoming openWakeWord](https://github.com/rhasspy/wyoming-openwakeword) — Apache-2.0 Wyoming protocol server for openWakeWord

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Amazon Alexa / Google Home (household) | $1,200 | Home Assistant Assist or Open Voice OS |

**About $1,200 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

A LAN box is the honest path. USB mics, wake-word, and mDNS do not belong on a random container. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. Cameras stay on /stacks/frigate-nvr.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/home-assistant-voice?from=%2Fstacks%2Fhome-assistant-voice.md)

[Frigate if this is cameras, not voice](https://c17.io/stacks/frigate-nvr)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Amazon Alexa or Google Home with Home Assistant Assist (preferred if you already run HA) or Open Voice OS.

- A LAN box with a mic. Wake-word via openWakeWord / wyoming-openwakeword as HA documents. Do not claim Alexa Skills or Google's speaker catalog.
- Mycroft core is archived — OVOS is the maintained runtime. Cameras stay on /stacks/frigate-nvr. Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### Home Assistant or Open Voice OS?

Home Assistant Assist if the house already runs HA (the published path). Open Voice OS if you want the Mycroft-shaped runtime without the HA dashboard.

### Is this Ring or Nest?

No. Cameras are /replace/wyze and /replace/ring — Frigate. This page is voice.

### Will it speak every Alexa skill?

No. You get local intents you wire. Vendor skill stores stay behind.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/home-assistant-voice