HomeTunnel exists for people whose Home Assistant setup spans more than one property. Its mission is to make service-scoped, zero-trust networking approachable without requiring users to configure NetBird, open router ports, or maintain DNS records.
Conventional remote access often becomes harder as a second or third property is added. HomeTunnel is built around a different unit: each home has its own isolated NetBird resources, routing device, authorization, and explicitly assigned services.
The Portal automates those resources so a family caregiver, property manager, homelab user, or privacy-conscious owner can focus on the homes—not on mesh-network administration.
HomeTunnel was built by a smart-home enthusiast who ran into a gap while managing devices across multiple Home Assistant homes — and wanted to build a solution for other homeowners who prioritize security and simple connectivity.
I come from a systems-engineering background, with experience building secure greenfield environments for clients who prefer simplicity and efficiency over complexity.
HomeTunnel is a control plane built on NetBird's open-source zero-trust network. Its components are deliberately simple: a secure platform anchored to a known and trusted identity provider, controlling isolation and network access policies through NetBird's core infrastructure to offer isolated peer-to-peer connectivity between homeowners and their homes — with an end-to-end encrypted relay fallback when a direct path isn't possible.
The platform's backend is built on zero-trust networking and validation: every route is created through that home's layered access controls, making each path explicit, narrowly scoped, and isolated to its home.
I'm a firm believer that transparency and product vision build trust in the community. Every component of HomeTunnel is built with a security-first outlook, because our homes are our personal safe ground.
For a single home, the official Nabu Casa Home Assistant Cloud is the best turnkey experience. It includes voice-assistant integrations, and subscriptions directly fund Home Assistant development.
HomeTunnel complements that work by focusing on multi-home management and isolated network policies for each property.