Run gpsd inside a Home Assistant OS container, exposing GPS data over TCP port 2947 for any client on your LAN.

Any USB GPS receiver that presents a serial port. Common chipsets:

• u-blox (e.g. VK-162, BN-220)
• SiRF Star (e.g. GlobalSat BU-353)
• MediaTek (e.g. Adafruit Ultimate GPS)
• Silicon Labs CP2102N USB-to-UART bridges

The device typically appears as /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyACM0.

1. In Home Assistant, go to Settings → Add-ons → Add-on Store.
2. Click the ⋮ menu (top-right) → Repositories.
3. Add the repository URL:

   https://github.com/febu93/ha-addon-gpsd
   

4. Find GPSD in the store and click Install.
5. Configure the add-on (see below) and click Start.

Option 1 — HA UI (easiest):

1. Go to Settings → System → Hardware
2. Click All Hardware (bottom of the page)
3. Search for your GPS device (e.g. CP2102, ttyUSB, or ttyACM)
4. Copy the /dev/serial/by-id/... path

Option 2 — Terminal / SSH:

ls -l /dev/serial/by-id/

Always prefer the /dev/serial/by-id/... path — it is stable across reboots and doesn't change if you plug in other USB devices.

device: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Silicon_Labs_CP2102N_USB_to_UART_Bridge_Controller_2c109c3eadf4ef118da5c41b6d9880ab-if00-port0
baud: 9600
gpsd_options: "-n"

From another machine on the same network (install clients first: Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt install gpsd-clients, macOS brew install gpsd, Fedora sudo dnf install gpsd-clients):

# Interactive GPS monitor
cgps -s <HA-IP>:2947

# Raw NMEA/JSON stream (5 sentences)
gpspipe -w -n 5 <HA-IP>:2947

Replace <HA-IP> with the host only — the same address you use in the browser to open Home Assistant (no http://, no path). For example, if the UI is at http://192.168.1.2/8123/..., use 192.168.1.2. That is also the value to use as Host in the GPSd integration below.

• Verify the device is plugged in and detected: ls /dev/ttyUSB* /dev/ttyACM*
• Try the /dev/serial/by-id/ path instead
• Check the add-on configuration for typos in the device path

• The Supervisor only passes through host devices listed in the add-on manifest (devices: in gpsd/config.yaml). This repository includes /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyACM0 (many u-blox modules use ttyACM0).
• If your receiver is on ttyACM0, set the add-on device option to /dev/ttyACM0 after updating to the latest add-on version, or use your /dev/serial/by-id/... path if it resolves correctly inside the container.
• If you still see permission errors, confirm you are on the latest add-on build (rebuild or reinstall after a repo update) so the new devices: list is applied.

• Make sure the antenna has a clear view of the sky
• Some receivers need a cold-start time of 30–60 seconds
• Check baud rate matches your receiver (most default to 9600)
• Look at the add-on logs for gpsd output

Once the add-on is running, you can connect it to the built-in GPSd integration to get GPS entities in Home Assistant (latitude, longitude, fix mode, etc.).

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration
2. Search for GPSd and select it
3. Enter the following:
   • Host: your Home Assistant machine’s LAN IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.50), not 127.0.0.1. Home Assistant Core runs in its own container; localhost there is not the gpsd add-on. On Home Assistant OS / Supervised, use the same IP you use in the browser to open HA. (Community note)
   • Port: 2947
4. Click Submit

If entities stay empty or mode stays Unknown, wait for a satellite fix near a window or outside (often 30–60+ seconds). Unknown is normal until gpsd reports a fix.

The integration will create a sensor.gpsd entity with attributes including:

• Latitude / Longitude
• Altitude
• Speed
• Fix mode (no fix, 2D, 3D)

You can use these in automations, device trackers, or dashboards.

MIT – see LICENSE.