Home Assistant DOOM: Because Apparently We Haven’t Automated Enough Yet
There are two types of Home Assistant users.
The first group uses Home Assistant to control lights, heating, energy consumption, and security systems.
The second group uses Home Assistant to play DOOM.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re in the second group.
Recently, Home Assistant community legend Frenck released an integration called Home Assistant DOOM, and it answers a question that absolutely nobody asked:
“Can I play DOOM inside Home Assistant?”
The answer, thankfully, is yes.
Because if a smart refrigerator can run DOOM, why shouldn’t your home automation dashboard?
What Is Home Assistant DOOM?
Home Assistant DOOM is a custom integration that embeds the classic 1993 DOOM game directly into your Home Assistant dashboard.
Not a video.
Not screenshots.
The actual game.
This means you can launch DOOM from your Lovelace dashboard and spend your afternoon fighting demons instead of creating yet another automation to notify you that the dishwasher finished three minutes ago.
The project can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/frenck/home-assistant-doom
As expected from anything Frenck touches, installation is surprisingly straightforward.
Why Does This Exist?
Let’s be honest.
Home Assistant users are tinkerers.
Once you’ve automated your lights, heating, solar production, EV charging, garden irrigation, coffee machine, and probably your Christmas decorations, you eventually reach a point where you start looking for new challenges.
Some people build voice assistants.
Some people create AI-powered automations.
Others decide that a first-person shooter from 1993 belongs inside a home automation platform.
And frankly, that’s beautiful.
The Components
Even though this project is mostly for fun, it’s built using several interesting components.
Home Assistant
The foundation of everything.
Home Assistant provides the dashboard, frontend, authentication, and integration framework required to host the game.
Without Home Assistant, you’d simply be playing DOOM normally, and where’s the fun in that?
The DOOM Engine
The integration uses a WebAssembly-based version of the classic DOOM engine.
WebAssembly allows software originally written in languages like C to run efficiently inside modern web browsers.
In other words, your browser does the heavy lifting while Home Assistant provides the interface.
Lovelace Dashboard
The game appears as a dashboard card.
This means you can place it anywhere you want:
- Next to your energy dashboard
- Below your weather forecast
- Between your security cameras and your EV charging controls
Nothing says “smart home” quite like monitoring electricity consumption while simultaneously fighting demons from Hell.
HACS
Most users will install Home Assistant DOOM through HACS (Home Assistant Community Store).
HACS has become the unofficial app store for Home Assistant enthusiasts and contains thousands of custom integrations.
Without HACS, many Home Assistant users would suddenly discover they have free evenings again.
Installation
The installation process is refreshingly simple:
- Install HACS if you don’t already have it.
- Add the Home Assistant DOOM repository.
- Download the integration.
- Restart Home Assistant.
- Add the DOOM card to your dashboard.
- Pretend you’re testing something important when your family walks by.
That’s it.
No soldering.
No ESP32.
No YAML-induced emotional damage.
Does It Affect Performance?
Surprisingly little.
Modern hardware is massively overpowered for a game released more than 30 years ago.
Even a modest Home Assistant system can usually handle the integration without noticeable impact.
After all, DOOM originally ran on computers that had less processing power than today’s smart light bulbs.
The Most Important Question: Can It Be Automated?
This is Home Assistant.
Of course it can.
The real question is whether it should be.
The answer is also yes.
A Useful Automation Example
Imagine you’ve been working from home all day.
Your energy consumption has been low.
The solar panels have produced more energy than expected.
The house battery is fully charged.
Electricity prices are low.
You’ve completed all your chores.
At that point, Home Assistant should recognize that you’ve earned a break.
Why not send a notification suggesting a quick game of DOOM?
The automation below sends a notification when:
- House battery exceeds 95%
- Solar production exceeds 20 kWh for the day
- Indoor temperature is comfortable above 21°C
This is probably the most important automation you’ll create all year.
alias: You've Earned Some DOOM
description: Notify when conditions are perfect for demon hunting
trigger:
- platform: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.home_battery_level
above: 95
condition:
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.daily_solar_production
above: 20
- condition: numeric_state
entity_id: sensor.living_room_temperature
above: 21
action:
- service: notify.mobile_app_phone
data:
title: Mission Accomplished
message: >
The battery is full, solar production exceeded
20 kWh today, and the house is a pleasant 21°C+.
You have earned 15 minutes of DOOM.
mode: single
Will this improve your home?
No.
Will it improve your day?
Almost certainly.
Other Completely Sensible Ideas
Once you start thinking about it, the possibilities become endless.
Play DOOM During Power Price Spikes
If electricity prices become expensive, perhaps the best solution is simply to stop looking at the energy dashboard and play DOOM instead.
Unlock DOOM After Completing Chores
Imagine creating helper entities for household tasks.
Vacuuming completed?
One point.
Laundry completed?
Another point.
When enough points are collected, Home Assistant reveals the DOOM dashboard card.
Gamification at its finest.
Security Camera Alert
Motion detected at 03:00?
Launch the camera feed.
If it’s only the neighbor’s cat, reward yourself with a level of DOOM.
Achievement System
Create Home Assistant achievements:
- Saved 100 kWh this month
- Reduced heating consumption
- Charged the EV using only solar energy
- Survived E1M1
One of these achievements is clearly more important than the others.
Why This Matters
Projects like Home Assistant DOOM highlight one of the greatest strengths of the Home Assistant community.
People build things not only because they are useful, but because they are interesting.
Many of the innovations we use every day started as experiments, side projects, or jokes.
While DOOM itself may not improve your heating efficiency or reduce your electricity bill, it demonstrates how flexible Home Assistant has become.
The platform is no longer just a smart home controller.
It’s a playground for creativity.
And sometimes creativity means building a sophisticated energy management system.
Sometimes it means displaying beautiful dashboards.
And sometimes it means running a 1993 first-person shooter from inside a home automation platform.
All of these are valid.
Final Thoughts
Home Assistant DOOM is completely unnecessary.
It is also completely wonderful.
In a world increasingly focused on optimization, efficiency, and productivity, there is something refreshing about a project whose primary purpose is simply making people smile.
If you’ve ever wondered whether Home Assistant can run DOOM, you now have your answer.
More importantly, if someone asks why you’re playing DOOM inside your smart home dashboard, you can confidently reply:
“It’s for testing purposes.”
No further explanation is required.
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