OpenApp + Home Assistant vs HA-only access control
Home Assistant excels at local automations and device drivers. OpenApp adds an org-wide access model: roles, guest invites, virtual intercom, multi-site operations, and a stable HTTP API for integrators. This page helps you choose — or combine them without replacing relays.
Hands-on bridge setup: Bridge Home Assistant entities to OpenApp.
When HA alone is enough
Section titled “When HA alone is enough”- Single home, one or two doors, no guest-invite product requirements
- All automations stay inside HA; no external PMS or mobile app integration
- You do not need centralized audit across multiple sites
When to add OpenApp on top of HA
Section titled “When to add OpenApp on top of HA”| Need | Why OpenApp |
|---|---|
| Guest invites with time bounds | Public portal + invite APIs |
| Apartment building delegation | Building users, directory, intercom |
| Hotel / STR PMS webhooks | API-first invites and entity actions |
| Same API for HA + PalGate + Shelly | Hardware-agnostic control plane |
| Agent / SDK automation | Typed clients + agent guides |
How they work together
Section titled “How they work together”OpenApp’s Home Assistant integration maps HA entity ids to OpenApp entities. Automations can call OpenApp; OpenApp calls HA. HA remains the driver for local protocols you already run.
What OpenApp does not replace
Section titled “What OpenApp does not replace”- HA automations you prefer to keep local (energy, climate, unrelated sensors)
- Certified life-safety hardware design — see Architecture guide