After more than three years in beta, Homebridge 2.0 officially launched Monday. And for Apple Home users, it’s one of the most meaningful smart home software updates in years. The new release adds support for the Matter smart home standard, significantly expanding what devices you can use within Apple’s ecosystem.
Homebridge 2.0 adds Matter support
Homebridge is a free, open-source project on GitHub that has been quietly powering Apple Home setups since 2015. Built on Node.js, it runs locally on hardware as modest as a Raspberry Pi or an old Mac and acts as a software bridge connecting smart home gadgets that Apple Home doesn’t officially support.
Unsupported devices include Dyson fans, Ring cameras, Nest thermostats and more. So if a device lacks native Home support, Homebridge has long been the community’s go-to workaround, backed by a library of more than 4,000 plugins. And now “initial groundwork for Matter support” opens up more possibilities, according to a Homebridge 2.0 launch post on Reddit.com.
“A few important things to note on that — this is early days,” the post cautioned. “Matter support will require updates to individual plugins, and not everything will work out of the box on day one. But our goal is a single platform that supports both HomeKit and Matter.”
What’s new in version 2.0?
Photo: Homebridge
The headline addition is support for Matter, the smart-home tech standard that makes it possible for different manufacturers’ devices to work together. Homebridge can now function as a Matter bridge in addition to its longstanding role as an Apple HomeKit bridge. In practical terms, this means devices connected through Homebridge plugins can appear not only in Apple Home but also in Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Home Assistant and Samsung SmartThings.
For Apple users specifically, this matters more than it might initially sound. Apple has begun adopting Matter as the mechanism for bringing new device categories into the Home app.
Robot vacuums are a good example — a category Apple now supports via Matter rather than as a native HomeKit type. Without Homebridge 2.0’s Matter support, vacuum plugins would have shown up in Apple Home as the wrong kind of device, stripping away full functionality. Appliances, cameras and other device categories are expected to follow the same path.
A note on what to expect at launch
Photo: CSA
Matter support in Homebridge 2.0 comes as early-stage groundwork at the moment, the organization said. The team’s Reddit announcement noted individual plugins will need updates before they can take full advantage of the new capabilities. And not everything will work out of the box on day one. Broader interoperability with third-party Matter controllers — such as the Aqara app — is described as a longer-term goal that will roll out gradually.
That said, the foundation is now in place. And the plugin ecosystem has historically moved quickly to adopt major Homebridge changes.
Should you update?
Existing Homebridge users are not required to update immediately — version 2.0 is an optional upgrade path. If your current setup is working well and your plugins haven’t yet been updated for the new release, there’s no urgency. The new version is available now from the Homebridge website and the project’s GitHub repository.
But for anyone setting up Homebridge for the first time, 2.0 is the obvious starting point.
The bigger picture
The launch of Homebridge 2.0 reminds us the smart home standard landscape is still settling. Matter meant to reduce the need for bridging software by making devices universally compatible. But slow manufacturer adoption and Apple’s own gradual rollout of new Matter device categories have kept tools like Homebridge relevant.
For Apple Home users willing to invest a little time in the setup, Homebridge 2.0 offers a more future-proof path to a broader, more capable smart home. And one that isn’t entirely dependent on waiting for Apple to officially support the next device category on the list.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
