I’m just getting started and I though playing music to my speakers would be a ‘simple first project’ but it is FAR from that. It feels much like any Linux distro where I have to install a range of packages, tweak configurations, and get cookies from the browser using Chrome DevTools! I foolishly thought I could just log in to my music service and hit “play”
I started off connecting YouTube, thinking I could get YouTube music from that, but that was a dead end (videos only) I tried next installing a community player but that involved browser cookie snipping (and much more…). I can do that, but I’m actually trying to think bigger, solve this problem for others. It’s not good enough to hack something together, I want this to be easy for everyone.
Has anyone written up how to play music in HA that doesnt require OAuth keys or browser cookies? I’m intentionally not specifying any specific service as I’m willing to be flexible. There is likely a restraint on how these services expose their API, I get that, but if a community tool could be written that would make this easier, I’m all for jumping in and helping with that. I want to start with “why is this so hard?” and then try to fix it!
P.S. Uploading music files to the HA server isn’t a solution I’m looking for. I’m trying to focus on connecting to streaming services.
Because the streaming services are not interested in thirdparty apps, where they can’t show commercials, track your habits and present you with “offerings”.
You might think that you have an ad-free subscription to a streaming service, but most likely you still get ads shown. They are just not intrusive in your music listening.
This might not be the way you want to go, but it is probably the best way still.
Get MPD or Mopidy installed get it connected to HA, so you can control it and then look into adding your streaming services to those services. Those programs are focused on playing music only, so they are more likely to have an updated plugin that works with your choice of streaming service.
Getting that setup running will also make it possible to have IceCast2 and SnapCast services running to provide even better support for device and synced music.
Look at Volumio. It’s pretty nice and supported in HA. I have two and absolutely love them. A stand-alone installation will require a Rasberry Pi, which are finally available again, and a HiFi hat. Not too expensive. You could build a top notch system with Rpi and Hat for around $65. Or you maybe can run it as a VM. Volumio is free unless you want advanced features.
Isn’t that the unfortunate truth… I’ve been looking for a good way to integrate my whole home audio setup, and so far the best I’ve got is receiver control via ha and media control via plex/chromecasts. I’m testing out music assistant, but it’s still not quite what I’m after.