ytm-cast_skill

Overview

This skill downloads audio or video from YouTube and YouTube Music and streams it to Chromecast devices via Home Assistant. It bundles a CLI toolset, a lightweight local web server, a setup wizard, and playback controls so you can host and cast media entirely on your network. The workflow focuses on local storage, high-quality audio, and simple integration with Home Assistant.

How this skill works

The tool uses yt-dlp to fetch and extract audio (320K MP3) or produce MP4 videos with album art via ffmpeg. A small Python HTTP server hosts the downloaded files so Home Assistant can access them by URL. Home Assistant’s media_player.play_media API then instructs Chromecast devices to stream the files directly from your machine.

When to use it

• You want local, ad-free playback without subscriptions or cloud services
• You need offline access to your favorite tracks or playlists
• Casting to one or multiple Chromecast devices in your home
• Preparing music or playlists for parties or background audio without buffering
• Converting tracks into simple MP4 videos with album art for display devices

Best practices

• Run cast-setup once to store HA URL, token, server IP and default device
• Use clean, lowercase, hyphenated filenames to avoid URL encoding issues
• Keep yt-dlp and ffmpeg up to date to prevent download/encoding failures
• Start the web server (cast-server start) before attempting to cast
• Use radio mode for hands-off related-track playlists and video mode only when you need visuals

Example use cases

• Morning routine: download a set of tracks and cast them to bedroom and kitchen Chromecasts
• Party mode: pre-download playlists, start server, then queue tracks without phones
• Background audio: host ambient playlists locally to avoid interruptions and ads
• Multi-room sync: run cast-play commands to multiple media_player entities for synchronized playback
• Video mode: create MP4s with album art for TVs or Nest Hub displays