[skgough]

HomeAssistant's dependency requirements are so complex as to make a deployment of it essentially read-only. Trying to mod it with HACS is so hard that I gave up even though I write python for a living. I can't recommend it to anyone that doesn't know how to use linux at an expert level. This detracts from it's mission IMO; I would like to tell my family to use it instead of Google Home or Amazon whatever but it is so fragile that I can't do that in good conscience.

[Spivak]

My install has been essentially maintenance free for years. I don't imagine many casual users that just want an app/gui for their smart outlets will be reaching for HACS. HA even warns you when you install HACS that you're voiding all the warranties.

[justusthane]

HACS is very easy _if_ you’re using the HA OS installation method, in which Home Assistant manages its own containers (requires bare metal or a dedicated VM). I’d have no hesitation recommending it to someone who is just tech savvy enough to operate Home Assistant itself (e.g. setting up automations).

I’ll also echo the sibling commenter re: running it for years with no maintenance besides occasionally installing the updates.