I built a small add-on to solve a specific problem: Music Assistant’s Local Audio Out provider can’t target a Bluetooth PulseAudio sink directly, since the audio output picker on HAOS add-ons only lists physical hardware (headphone jack / HDMI), never dynamically paired Bluetooth devices.
This add-on runs a small MPD (Music Player Daemon) server whose output is forced to a Bluetooth speaker already paired with the host. Music Assistant then connects to it over the standard MPD protocol, using its built-in “MPD Players” provider. No custom integration needed.
What it does:
Connects to a Bluetooth speaker by MAC address and keeps it connected, with an automatic reconnect loop (configurable interval) for when it drops (sleep mode, out of range, etc.)
Exposes a standard MPD server on port 6600 for Music Assistant to use
The README has a full walkthrough for pairing a speaker for the first time if you haven’t done that yet, plus the usual install, config, and troubleshooting steps. MIT licensed, free to use and adapt. Feedback and reports from other hardware setups are welcome, especially if you try it on something other than a Pi 4.
Small update (v2.0.1): fixed a real bug hit in actual use.
If the speaker lost its Bluetooth connection for a while (e.g. low battery), sound could fail to come back even after it reconnected: Bluetooth reported the connection as stable, but PulseAudio’s audio profile stayed stuck on “off” instead of switching back to “a2dp_sink” — no audio sink left for MPD to use, with no visible error on the Bluetooth side.
The add-on now detects this automatically and forces the right profile back, no manual fix needed.
Thanks for flagging this! You’re right, Home Assistant renamed “Add-ons” to “Apps” in the UI. I’ve updated the README (install steps and terminal setup) to use the current terminology, with a note for anyone still on an older version where it’s still labelled “Add-ons”. The install path itself didn’t change, just the menu labels. Let me know if you hit anything else.
Update v2.1.0: the project is now Bluetooth Audio Bridge
The project has grown past its original scope (the MPD bridge for Music Assistant), so it’s getting a rename to match: Bluetooth Speaker MPD Bridge is now Bluetooth Audio Bridge.
What’s new: the Bluetooth speaker is now exposed as a native media_player entity in Home Assistant (via DLNA/UPnP), usable directly from automations, scripts, or any integration, no MPD or Music Assistant required. The MPD server (the original use case) is now optional (enable_mpd), still on by default so nothing breaks for existing users. Both outputs can run at the same time on the same speaker.
Worth knowing before installing: this new capability requires host_network: true (broader network access, needed for automatic SSDP discovery). The README covers exactly what that means, in its own section before the installation steps.
As always, this is free and maintained on my own time. Feedback (and reports from hardware other than a Pi 4) is the most helpful thing you can give me. If you’d also like to support it financially, GitHub Sponsors: Sponsor @dcybeldesign on GitHub Sponsors · GitHub (Buy Me a Coffee is linked in the README too).