FreeNAS 11 Installation using a Jail

Adapted from FreeNAS 9.3 and 9.10 Jail Installation and FreeNAS 9.10 BSD Jail.

1. Create a jail

   • Jails > Add Jail
   • Jail:
     • Jail Name: Homebridge
     • Template: ---
     • IPv4 address: <static_ip>
     • Autostart: Yes
     • VIMAGE: Yes

2. Open a Shell to the Jail

   • SSH into your FreeNas Box

   ssh [email protected]

   • Lookup the jail id of the HomeBridge jail

   $ jls
      JID  IP Address      Hostname                      Path
       17  192.168.0.151   homebridge                    /mnt/Jails/homebridge

3. Login to that jail (optionally specifying a shell)

   $ jexec 17 csh
   root@homebridge$ 

4. Update any packages in that shell (optional, but good practice)

   pkg update && pkg upgrade

5. Install and activate system dependencies

   pkg install -y node npm dbus avahi-libdns gcc
   sysrc dbus_enable="YES"
   sysrc avahi_daemon_enable="YES"
   ln -s /usr/local/include/avahi-compat-libdns_sd/dns_sd.h /usr/include/dns_sd.h
   service dbus start
   service avahi-daemon start

6. Install homebridge itself

   Note the --unsafe-perm, which allows access to /usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge/node_modules/mdns/.node-gyp

   npm install -g --unsafe-perm homebridge
   mkdir ~/.homebridge
   cp /usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge/config-sample.json ~/.homebridge/config.json

7. Install homebridge plugins of your choice

   You can explore all available plugins at the NPM website by searching for the keyword homebridge-plugin.

   For example:

   npm install -g homebridge-nest

8. Modify the config.json with your settings.

   nano ~/.homebridge/config.json

9. Test it's working by running it manually

   $ homebridge
   No plugins found. See the README for information on installing plugins.
   Loaded config.json with 1 accessories and 1 platforms.

   Use CTRL+C to kill homebridge.

   As long as homebridge boots, any errors you see are likely due to your config, check the install instructions of the plugins you added!

10. (Optional) Install a process manager to keep homebridge running (and started on jail boot)

    npm install -g pm2
    pm2 startup rcd
    sysrc pm2_enable="YES"

11. (Optional) Once homebridge is working, set it up to always run using pm2

    pm2 start homebridge -- -D
    pm2 save

Common Errors

gyp WARN EACCES user "root" does not have permission to access the dev dir

Make sure you're using the --unsafe-perm flag

Cannot find module '../build/Release/dns_sd_bindings'

You need to re-insall the mdns dependency:

$ cd /usr/local/lib/node_modules/homebridge
$ npm install --unsafe-perm mdns
$ npm rebuild --unsafe-perm