Heyho,
I am an absolutely beginner when it comes to Smart Homes, but have some knowledge when it comes to coding, Linux, Docker and Co.
So, I decided to make my home smart and bought some stuff and hopefully I am now able to connect it somehow, but I am missing a good explanation/tutorial.
If I understand correctly then I should install some software on my minipc, connect it to my ZBT-2 which then form a Matter Controller which then can be somehow connected to the Matter lightbulbs. Is that general notion correct or am I already off? If it is correct, does anyone know a good tutorial for it? When I try to google Matter Controller I often find ready made ones and nothing on how to set it up on my own.
I bought the MiniPC because I want to set up a small home server, too, but that is largely unrelated.
It’s pretty simple: Spin up a VM or container with HAOS; do the initial Home Assistant config; and ensure that the ZBT-2 is assigned to it via USB passthrough. HA will detect the ZBT-2, and offer to add it to your instance with a card in the Devices & services settings. (I think it’s more obvious these days, but they’ve made some changes recently, and I haven’t added anything since then to see.)
Once it’s added, you can then pair Matter devices with HA. That’s most easily done with the Home Assistant app on a phone or tablet, but can be done through the web interface using the Add device button on the Matter page in settings.