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Set up port forwarding for Homey Self-Hosted Server

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Port forwarding allows direct access to Homey Self-Hosted Server from outside your home network. This results in faster, more reliable connections by bypassing cloud relays, with a one-time configuration on your router.

After setup, the Homey app for iOS, Android, and Web will prefer port forwarding when you’re not home. If it stops working, our cloud relay will automatically be selected as a backup route.

Security note

Port forwarding opens a port on your router directly to the internet. Anyone scanning for open ports can find and reach it, and any vulnerability in Homey Self-Hosted Server’s exposed service becomes reachable too.

For remote access without exposing Homey Self-Hosted Server to the internet, use a zero-trust tunneling service such as Tailscale or ZeroTier. These connect your devices to your home network without any port forwarding, using an external coordination server and encrypted peer-to-peer tunnels. Once connected, Homey Self-Hosted Server is reachable as if you were on the same Wi-Fi network.

A traditional VPN server on your router (for example WireGuard or OpenVPN) still requires forwarding one port for the VPN protocol itself, but that port accepts only authenticated VPN connections, not direct access to Homey Self-Hosted Server.

1. Assign a static IP address

Sign in to your router and make sure the device running Homey Self-Hosted Server has a static IP address on your local network.

2. Forward a port to Homey Self-Hosted Server

While in your router, create a port forwarding rule:

  • External port: choose a free port
  • Internal IP: the IP address of your server
  • Internal port: 4860
  • Protocol: TCP

3. (Optional) Use a custom HTTPS port

By default, Homey Self-Hosted Server listens on internal HTTPS port 4860. 

If you want Homey Self-Hosted Server to listen on a different HTTPS port, you can override the default port at startup. For example, when running Docker:

-e PORT_SERVER_HTTPS=1337

In that case, forward the external port you chose in step 2 to 1337, and ensure your router matches this configuration.

4. Enable port forwarding in the Homey app

Within the Homey app, go to More (…) → Settings → General → Port Forwarding.

  • First, toggle on Enable Port Forwarding.
  • Next, enter the external port you chose in step 2.
  • Finally, tap Save in the upper-right corner. Homey Self-Hosted Server automatically checks whether the port is forwarded correctly.

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