For a long time, Homebridge has been somewhat of a Swiss Army knife for Apple home automation enthusiasts. A tool capable of adding devices to Apple Home that were not officially HomeKit compatible. Very useful for integrating a camera, a robot vacuum, a thermostat, or even an audio system forgotten by Apple.

But Homebridge 2, launched last week, completely changes the game.

With this new major version, the open-source project finally adopts Matter and no longer limits itself to the Apple ecosystem. Now, Homebridge can create virtual Matter bridges capable of exposing devices to Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or even Samsung SmartThings. And honestly, it opens up huge possibilities for anyone juggling multiple voice assistants or smart home platforms.

The most interesting part? No need to replace your entire setup or buy brand-new equipment.

Homebridge 2 no longer only speaks HomeKit

Until now, Homebridge essentially functioned as a HomeKit bridge. The principle was simple: a plugin retrieved the data from a non-Apple Home compatible device, and then Homebridge made Apple believe it was an official HomeKit device.

It was already extremely powerful.

The problem was that this logic remained very focused on Apple. If you were using Google Home, Alexa, or multiple platforms at once, you often had to multiply bridges, integrations, and sometimes even some rather obscure hacks.

With Homebridge 2, the software becomes capable of generating “fake Matter bridges.” In clear terms, it virtually creates Matter-compatible devices from equipment that may not originally support it.

And at this point, everything becomes much more universal.

A Zigbee connected plug controlled via Homebridge can appear in Apple Home, but also in Google Home or Alexa thanks to Matter. The same logic applies to sensors, lights, or certain network equipment.

For fans of Home Assistant, Jeedom, or Node-RED, it becomes particularly interesting, as Homebridge can now serve as an additional compatibility layer between different smart home universes.

Matter completely changes the philosophy of Homebridge

The arrival of Matter is not just an “additional feature.” It truly transforms the role of the software.

Matter was designed to break down the silos between manufacturers and voice assistants. Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and other major names have agreed on a common protocol to avoid the hell of incompatibilities.

On paper, it’s an excellent idea. In reality, the transition remains slow. Many still perfectly functional devices are not Matter compatible. And some manufacturers are frankly slow to update their products.

This is precisely where Homebridge 2 becomes smart.

The software acts like a universal translator. It allows existing equipment to be kept while exposing them via Matter to modern platforms.

A very concrete example: do you have Tuya, Shelly, Sonoff, Ring accessories, or even more exotic devices integrated via Homebridge plugins? They can now become visible in Google Home or Alexa without depending solely on HomeKit.

The same goes for some older local home automation devices that will probably never have official Matter support.

And for avoiding forced obsolescence, that’s excellent news.

Huge compatibility thanks to plugins

The historic strength of Homebridge is its ecosystem of plugins. There are several thousand of them.

IP cameras, audio systems, alarms, NAS, air conditioners, robot vacuum cleaners, Zigbee lights, MQTT equipment… the list is gigantic.

Homebridge 2 obviously retains this philosophy. All these plugins become potentially usable in a Matter environment.

In practical terms, this means that an old device or one completely absent from Matter catalogs can now appear in several modern smart home ecosystems.

For many advanced users, this almost resembles a “universal software Matter.”

Of course, not everything is perfect. Some types of devices remain limited by the categories currently supported by Matter. Complex automations or certain very specific information retrieval may also depend on the plugin used.

But the evolution is impressive.

Simpler installation and modernized architecture

The developers also took advantage of this version 2 to revise the internal architecture of the project.

Homebridge 2 now operates with a more modern technical base, designed to be more stable and more scalable. The support for recent Node.js is improved, and plugin management has been reworked.

The web interface remains as easy to use as ever. This is one of the significant advantages of Homebridge compared to some more technical solutions.

Even someone who is just getting started in home automation can install Homebridge on a Raspberry Pi, a Synology NAS, a mini PC, or a Docker container in just a few minutes.

And honestly, with the arrival of Matter, Homebridge almost becomes an essential gateway for recycling an old home automation setup.

Excellent news for Apple Home users

Even though Homebridge is now opening up to other platforms, Apple Home users are likely the big winners.

Apple still imposes quite strict restrictions on HomeKit. As a result, many devices remain officially incompatible.

Homebridge has long allowed circumventing this limitation. With Matter, the possibilities become even broader.

A user can now:

• keep their old devices
• make them visible in Apple Home
• share them with Google Home or Alexa
• avoid depending entirely on a single ecosystem

And this changes a lot in everyday life.

In a house where several people use different smartphones (iPhones and Androids, for example), Homebridge 2 can finally serve as a truly universal common gateway.

Home automation enthusiasts will love it… geeks too

Let’s be honest: Homebridge 2 does not only target the general public.

Home automation enthusiasts are likely to enjoy the new possibilities offered by Matter.

We can imagine scenarios where Home Assistant controls devices exposed via Homebridge in Matter to Apple Home. Or even Zigbee2MQTT devices visible simultaneously in multiple voice assistants without multiplying physical bridges.

Even some manufacturers might indirectly benefit from this community compatibility to extend the life of their products.

And then there’s another important point: Homebridge remains a local solution. Unlike some proprietary clouds, many integrations work directly on the local network.

For responsiveness, privacy, and stability, that remains a huge advantage.

Homebridge 2 finally shows the true potential of Matter

Since the announcement of Matter, many have been waiting for immediate universal compatibility. The reality has been more complicated. Between delayed updates, absent manufacturers, and sometimes limited features, some users were starting to lose patience.

Homebridge 2 precisely brings something very concrete: an intelligent way to bridge the old world of home automation and the new Matter standard.

And ultimately, this might be exactly what was missing for Matter to become genuinely useful in everyday life.

Because a connected home is not just about buying new equipment every year. It’s also about successfully managing to make different devices coexist, sometimes old, sometimes new, without turning your living room into an experimental laboratory!

If you use Homebridge, feel free to tell us what you think of this new version!