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HOOBS and NodeJS

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Dusty Greif edited this page Jun 5, 2026 · 2 revisions

TL;DR

homebridge-ring runs on the Node.js version provided by your Homebridge or HOOBS install. If you see startup, install, or crash errors that mention Node.js, fetch, crypto.hash, unsupported engine, undici, or failed package installs, the runtime is almost always too old. The fix is to update Node.js or contact HOOBS support. This is not something the plugin can fix internally.

Common errors

These usually mean the system running Homebridge is too old for the current plugin version:

Unsupported engine for homebridge-ring
TypeError: crypto.hash is not a function
fetch is not defined

Install failures involving npm, tar, yallist, undici, or ffmpeg-for-homebridge are also typically caused by an outdated Node.js/npm runtime or HOOBS base system, not a plugin bug.

Why this happens

The plugin tracks the supported Homebridge and Node.js ecosystem. As dependencies move forward, they start using APIs (like global fetch, crypto.hash, and newer undici behavior) that only exist in current Node.js releases. On an old HOOBS Node.js build, the plugin can fail before any Ring code runs.

What to do

  1. Check the Node.js Version shown in your Homebridge/HOOBS log.
  2. If it is outdated, update it before opening an issue here. Current homebridge-ring versions are tested against current Node.js LTS releases.
  3. If HOOBS cannot update Node.js through its normal UI, that is a HOOBS issue. Use HOOBS support:

If updating HOOBS is not possible, you can move to a standard Homebridge install on a supported Node.js version, or temporarily pin an older homebridge-ring version. Pinning is short-term only, since old versions stop getting fixes for Ring API, Homebridge, and dependency changes.

When to open an issue here

Only open an issue if you are on a supported Node.js version and a current homebridge-ring version, the error still happens after updating, and you include the full Homebridge startup log (not just the final error line). Issues caused by an outdated HOOBS runtime will be closed with a link back to this page.

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