🎵 How to Install Music Assistant for Home Assistant: Your Ultimate Guide

If you're a Home Assistant enthusiast looking to bring seamless music playback into your smart home ecosystem, Music Assistant is a must-have add-on. In this post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get it up and running—from basic installation to a few bonus tips.

🧠 What Is Music Assistant?

Music Assistant is an open-source, powerful audio management system that integrates directly into Home Assistant. It allows you to:

• Stream music to multiple speakers
• Use local or cloud-based media
• Group speakers and control playback zones
• Integrate with services like Spotify, Tidal, and more

And yes, it works beautifully with devices like Google Cast, AirPlay, and DLNA-enabled speakers.

🛠 Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure your setup meets these minimum requirements:

• Home Assistant OS or Supervised installation
• Latest version of Home Assistant
• Internet access
• Speakers connected to your network (Google Cast, DLNA, etc.)

If you're using Home Assistant Container or Core, installation gets more complex and may require advanced configuration. This guide assumes you're using Home Assistant OS or Supervised.

🚀 Step-by-Step Installation Guide

1. Enable Advanced Repositories

1. Go to Settings > Add-ons > Add-on Store.
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select Repositories.
3. Add the Music Assistant repository:arduinoCopyEdithttps://github.com/music-assistant/hassio-addons
   
4. Click Add, then close the dialog.

2. Install the Music Assistant Add-on

1. Search for Music Assistant in the Add-on Store.
2. Click on it and hit Install.
3. Once installed, toggle on:
   • Start on boot
   • Watchdog
   • (Optional) Auto-update
4. Click Start to launch the add-on.

✅ Tip: After starting the add-on, open the web UI from the add-on panel. Music Assistant will automatically start scanning for media sources and speakers.

🎧 Configure Music Assistant

Now that it’s running:

1. Go to the Music Assistant web interface.
2. Add your preferred media sources:
   • Local files
   • Spotify (via Librespot)
   • TuneIn, YouTube, Tidal, etc.
3. Music Assistant will detect compatible audio devices on your network. You can assign them to zones or groups for synchronized playback.

🧩 Optional: Add Lovelace Integration

Want a dashboard card?

1. Go to your Lovelace dashboard.
2. Add a custom card (Manual Card):yamlCopyEdittype: custom:music-assistant-card
entity: media_player.music_assistant
   
3. You can use HACS to install the custom card if needed.

🧪 Troubleshooting Tips

• No audio devices found?
  • Make sure your devices support Google Cast or DLNA and are on the same network as Home Assistant.
• Media not playing?
  • Check your source configuration. Some services like Spotify require authentication.
• Web UI won’t load?
  • Try restarting the add-on and checking the logs under Add-on Details > Log.

💡 Final Thoughts

Music Assistant adds a whole new dimension to your smart home by letting you control your music like never before—from anywhere, using your favorite Home Assistant dashboard. Whether you're setting the mood in the living room or queuing up tunes in the kitchen, it's an automation-friendly, audiophile-approved tool.

Have questions or want to share your Music Assistant setup? Let us know in the comments below!

About the author

Tim Wilkes is a UK-based security architect with over 15 years of experience in electronics, Linux, and Unix systems administration. Since 2021, he's been designing secure systems for a telecom company while indulging his passions for programming, automation, and 3D printing. Tim shares his projects, tinkering adventures, and tech insights here - partly as a personal log, and partly in the hopes that others will find them useful.

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