Vulpo 1.2Updated
Frequently asked questions about Vulpo
Vulpo is a native Home Assistant companion app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. These answers cover what Vulpo is, what it costs, how it connects to Home Assistant, and which features (widgets, Live Activities, Siri, cameras, energy, 3D rooms) it supports as of version 1.2.
What is Vulpo?
Vulpo is a native Home Assistant companion app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. It replaces the web-based dashboard with purpose-built cards, controls, widgets, Live Activities, Siri support and a 3D room view, all built in SwiftUI. Vulpo connects directly to your own Home Assistant server and does not add a cloud service in between.
Does Vulpo require Home Assistant?
Yes. Vulpo is a client for Home Assistant and needs a running Home Assistant installation (Home Assistant OS, Container, Core or Supervised). It works with the standard Home Assistant WebSocket and REST APIs and does not need any custom integration, add-on or HACS component on the server.
Does Vulpo need Nabu Casa or a cloud subscription?
No. Vulpo connects directly to your Home Assistant server over your local network. For remote access it uses whatever external URL you already have: a Nabu Casa Remote UI address, your own domain, a VPN or Tailscale. Vulpo switches between the internal and external URL automatically and never routes traffic through a third-party relay.
Is Vulpo free?
Vulpo is free to download and the core app is free without a time limit: dashboards with 30+ card types, entity control, Glances, Siri, the Apple Watch app, live cameras and iCloud sync. Vulpo Pro is an optional upgrade ($4.99 per month, $24.99 per year or $59.99 one-time) that unlocks Live Activities, 3D rooms, unlimited widgets, Vulpo Labs and more.
Does Vulpo replace the official Home Assistant Companion app?
For everyday control, yes: Vulpo can be the only Home Assistant app on your iPhone. Vulpo registers as a mobile app integration in Home Assistant, so push notifications, notifications with images and opt-in location reporting work without the official app. Actionable notifications and the full set of device sensors remain features of the official app. You can keep both installed; they do not conflict.
Which devices and operating systems does Vulpo support?
Vulpo runs on iPhone and iPad (iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 or newer), Mac (macOS 26 or newer, as a native Mac app, not an iPad port) and Apple Watch (watchOS 26 or newer). The 3D room scan requires an iPhone or iPad with a LiDAR sensor. Android is not supported.
Does Vulpo have an Apple Watch app?
Yes. Since version 1.2 (August 2026) Vulpo includes a native Apple Watch app with Glances, favorites, scenes and pinned cards in pages you arrange from the iPhone. It controls lights, covers, climate, fans, locks, media, vacuums and alarm panels, shows sensor history and offers watch face complications for any entity. The watch app works on its own over Wi-Fi or LTE.
Does Vulpo support widgets and Control Center controls?
Yes. Vulpo offers eight widget types for the Home Screen and Lock Screen (toggle, group, solar, chart, person, camera, lock and cover) and Control Center controls for lights, switches, covers, scenes and scripts. Widgets read live entity state and can toggle entities without opening the app. The free tier includes two widgets; Vulpo Pro removes the limit and adds the Group widget.
What are Live Activities in Vulpo?
Live Activities show a running Home Assistant process on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island: an appliance cycle (dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, oven or any other appliance), a vacuum run, solar production, a thermostat or a person's arrival. They update through push notifications driven by your own Home Assistant automations, and include buttons to pause, resume or stop an appliance or vacuum and to adjust a thermostat without opening the app. Live Activities are part of Vulpo Pro.
Does Vulpo work with Siri?
Yes. Vulpo adds App Intents for Siri and the Shortcuts app. You can ask Siri how many lights are on, whether the doors are locked, what the temperature is or whether there is motion, and you can run scenes and toggle entities from Shortcuts or the Action button.
Can Vulpo show my cameras?
Yes. Vulpo streams cameras with WebRTC and falls back to HLS when WebRTC is not available, shows snapshots in widgets and image notifications, and offers a stills fallback for cameras that cannot stream. Cameras from integrations such as UniFi Protect, Frigate, Reolink or generic RTSP through go2rtc work as long as Home Assistant exposes them as camera entities.
Does Vulpo show the Home Assistant Energy Dashboard?
Yes. The Energy tab (Vulpo Labs, included with Pro) reads the Home Assistant energy configuration and renders consumption, solar production, grid import and export, battery flows, costs and a per-device breakdown. It adds a 3D scene with the sun's real path and live power flows, and derives per-device cost from your grid tariff.
What is Vulpo Lumen?
Vulpo Lumen is the 3D room feature. You scan a room with the LiDAR sensor of an iPhone or iPad, place furniture from a built-in catalog, link objects to Home Assistant entities and then control them inside the 3D scene. Lights render with their real color and brightness. Devices with hardware ray tracing and at least 6 GB of memory use a real-time path tracer, others a hybrid renderer. Lumen is part of Vulpo Pro.
Is my data sent to a cloud service?
No. Vulpo talks only to your Home Assistant server. Dashboards and settings sync between your devices through your private iCloud database, which Vulpo cannot read. Vulpo does not require an account and never receives your entity data. Crash reports and anonymous usage events are on by default, can be switched off in Settings under Privacy and Analytics, and never contain entity names, states, server addresses or locations.
Does Vulpo sync dashboards between iPhone, iPad and Mac?
Yes. Dashboards, card settings, entity renames, custom icons and appearance presets sync through iCloud to every device signed in with the same Apple Account. Server credentials stay in the device Keychain. HomePass additionally lets you export the whole setup as a file or hand it to another person with a scannable boarding pass.
Can I use Vulpo with more than one Home Assistant server?
No. Vulpo connects to one Home Assistant server. That server can have two addresses, an internal URL for your home network and an external URL (Nabu Casa, your own domain or a VPN), and Vulpo switches between them automatically based on the Wi-Fi network you are on. If one address stops answering, the other takes over.
Which Home Assistant version does Vulpo need?
Vulpo works with any current Home Assistant release. It uses the standard WebSocket API for live state, the REST and history APIs for charts, and the mobile_app integration for notifications and sensors. Features that depend on newer Home Assistant capabilities, such as the Energy dashboard or areas and floors, need a Home Assistant version that provides them.
Is Vulpo open source?
No. Vulpo is a closed-source, independently developed app by Joshua Dessol, published by Joshua Dessol Design in Germany. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Open Home Foundation or Nabu Casa, the maintainers of Home Assistant.
Where can I get support for Vulpo?
Support is available at vulpo.app/support and by email at josh@vulpo.app. The developer answers directly. Release notes for every version are published on the changelog page.
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