YouTube Music Cast

YouTube music → your Chromecast. Simple, free, works.

Download audio from YouTube or YouTube Music and stream it through Home Assistant to any Cast-enabled device. No subscriptions, no cloud services, just your local network.

Features

• ✅ Free forever — No subscriptions, no premium accounts needed
• ✅ High quality — 320K MP3, crystal clear audio
• ✅ Video mode — Create MP4 videos with album art and text overlays
• ✅ Radio mode — Auto-discover and play related songs
• ✅ Local storage — Your music stays on your machine, no cloud
• ✅ Multi-room — Cast to any Chromecast device in your home
• ✅ Batch download — Download entire playlists, stream anytime
• ✅ Simple CLI — Fast commands, no browser required
• ✅ Works offline — Once downloaded, music is yours to keep

Use Cases

Daily Music

Download your favorite tracks in the morning, cast them throughout the day. No waiting, no buffering.

Party Mode

Download a playlist before guests arrive, then queue up songs without fumbling with phones or apps.

Background Audio

Play ambient music or podcasts while you work without worrying about ads or interruptions.

Multi-Room Sync

Stream the same track to multiple Chromecasts simultaneously (bedroom + living room + kitchen).

Why This Over Premium Services?

Feature	YouTube Music Cast	Spotify Premium	YouTube Premium
Cost	Free forever	$10.99/month	$13.99/month
Quality	320K MP3	Up to 320K	Up to 1080p video
Offline	Yes, forever	Download limit	Download limit
Ads	None	None	None
Platforms	Any Chromecast	Spotify Connect devices	YouTube apps
Privacy	Local only	Cloud-based	Cloud-based

Quick Start

# 1. Setup (one time, takes 2 minutes)
cast-setup

# 2. Download your first song
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

# 3. Start the web server
cast-server start

# 4. Cast it to your default device
cast-play never-gonna-give-you-up.mp3

That's it. Your music is playing through your Chromecast.

What This Does

Three simple steps, one command each:

1. Download

yt-dlp grabs audio from YouTube or YouTube Music, extracts it as MP3 (320K quality).

2. Host

A lightweight Python HTTP server makes your downloaded files accessible over your local network. No setup required — just Python 3.

3. Cast

Home Assistant's media_player.play_media service sends the HTTP URL to your Chromecast, which streams the audio.

Why a Web Server?

Home Assistant's play_media service requires a URL, not a file path. The web server bridges that gap.

# ✅ This works — HA can fetch via HTTP
media_content_id: "http://192.168.1.81:8735/song.mp3"

# ❌ This fails — HA can't read file paths
media_content_id: "/tmp/youtube-music/song.mp3"

Architecture:

YouTube URL → yt-dlp → MP3 file → Python HTTP server → Home Assistant API → Chromecast

Installation

What You Need

• Home Assistant with Google Cast integration
• Chromecast or Cast-enabled device (Nest speakers, Google Home, TV)
• System tools: yt-dlp, Python 3, curl, jq

Step 1: Install Scripts

# Clone or download the skill
cd youtube-music-cast

# Make all scripts executable
chmod +x scripts/*

# Install globally (recommended)
./install.sh --global

# Or install locally
./install.sh

Step 2: Run Setup Wizard

cast-setup

The wizard will ask for:

• Home Assistant URL — e.g., http://homeassistant.local:8123
• Long-Lived Access Token — Generate in HA → Profile → Long-Lived Access Tokens
• Server IP — The machine running these scripts
• Default media player — e.g., media_player.bedroom_display

Step 3: Test Your Setup

# Download a test song
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

# Start the server
cast-server start

# Cast it
cast-play song.mp3

If music plays, you're ready!

Commands

Command	Description	Example
cast-setup	Run configuration wizard	cast-setup
cast-download <URL> [options]	Download from YouTube/YouTube Music	cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=... --video
cast-radio <URL> [options]	Start radio mode with related songs	cast-radio https://youtube.com/watch?v=... --count 10
cast-server [start|stop|status]	Manage HTTP server	cast-server start
cast-play <file> [device]	Cast music or video file to device	cast-play song.mp4
cast-stop [device]	Stop playback	cast-stop
cast-status [device]	Show player status	cast-status
cast-devices	List all available media players	cast-devices
cast-list	List downloaded files	cast-list
cast-help	Show help	cast-help

Usage Guide

Your First Song

# Download from YouTube
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

# Rename for cleaner URL (recommended)
mv "/tmp/youtube-music/Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up.mp3" \
   "/tmp/youtube-music/never-gonna-give-you-up.mp3"

# Start the web server
cast-server start

# Cast to your default device
cast-play never-gonna-give-you-up.mp3

Cast to Different Rooms

# Living room TV
cast-play song.mp3 media_player.living_room

# Kitchen speaker
cast-play song.mp3 media_player.kitchen_speaker

# Bedroom Chromecast
cast-play song.mp3 media_player.bedroom_display

# Multiple rooms at once (run multiple commands)
cast-play song.mp3 media_player.living_room & \
cast-play song.mp3 media_player.bedroom_display

Check What's Playing

# Default device
cast-status

# Specific device
cast-status media_player.bedroom_display

Output:

📺 media_player.bedroom_display

State: playing
Friendly Name: Bedroom display
Volume: 22%

Now Playing:
  Title: Never Gonna Give You Up
  Artist: Rick Astley
  Duration: 3:32

App: Default Media Receiver

Stop Playback

# Stop default device
cast-stop

# Stop specific device
cast-stop media_player.living_room

See What You've Downloaded

# List all music files with sizes
cast-list

Output:

🎵 Downloaded Music

boneheads-bank-holiday.mp3                                    9.3M
never-gonna-give-you-up.mp3                                 8.2M
song-for-nary.mp3                                          7.8M

Total: 3 files

See Available Devices

cast-devices

Output:

📺 Available Media Players

media_player.bedroom_display
  Name: Bedroom display
  State: idle
  Supported: play_media, volume_set, volume_mute, ...

media_player.living_room
  Name: Living room TV
  State: off
  Supported: play_media, volume_set, ...

Default device: media_player.bedroom_display

New Features: Radio Mode & Video Mode

📻 Radio Mode

Radio mode automatically discovers and downloads related songs based on YouTube recommendations. After downloading a seed song, it searches for similar tracks and adds them to your queue.

Start radio mode:

# Basic radio (downloads seed + 3 related songs)
cast-radio https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

# Custom number of related songs
cast-radio https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --count 10

# Radio mode with video files
cast-radio https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --video --count 5

Or use cast-download with --radio flag:

# Download with radio mode
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --radio

# Download with custom count
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --radio --radio-count 5

# Radio + video mode combined
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --radio --video

How it works:

1. Downloads the seed song you specify
2. Extracts artist/title from metadata
3. Searches YouTube for similar videos
4. Downloads related songs (prefixed with radio_)
5. Related songs are ready to cast in sequence

Play your radio queue:

# Start server
cast-server start

# Play the first song
cast-play $(ls -t /tmp/youtube-music/*.mp3 | head -n 1 | xargs basename)

# Or play related songs sequentially
cast-play radio_some-song.mp3
cast-play radio_another-song.mp3
# ... etc

Tips:

• Related songs are prefixed with radio_ for easy identification
• The radio mode searches based on the artist name from the seed song
• Use --count to control how many related songs to download
• Combine with --video flag for visual radio mode

🎬 Video Mode with Visuals

Video mode creates MP4 videos instead of plain MP3 files. Each video includes:

• The original audio track
• Album art thumbnail from YouTube
• Text overlay showing song title and artist
• Smooth, high-quality encoding

Download a video:

# Download as MP4 with album art and text
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --video

# Cast the MP4 file
cast-server start
cast-play "Never Gonna Give You Up.mp4"

Radio mode with videos:

# Download seed + related songs as videos
cast-radio https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ --video --count 5

# Cast videos
cast-play "Never Gonna Give You Up.mp4"
cast-play "radio_Together Forever.mp4"
# ... etc

How it works:

1. Downloads the audio track (320K MP3 quality)
2. Downloads the album art thumbnail from YouTube
3. Uses ffmpeg to create an MP4 video with:
   • Looping album art background
   • Audio track encoded as AAC
   • Text overlay (song title and artist name) at bottom
4. Cast the MP4 to your Chromecast (TVs with video support)

Video output:

• Codec: H.264 (libx264)
• Audio: AAC (192K)
• Resolution: Same as thumbnail (usually 480p or 720p)
• Text: White text with semi-transparent black box
• Compatible with all Chromecast devices with video support

Notes:

• Videos take more space than MP3s (~2-3x larger)
• Requires ffmpeg to be installed on your system
• Text overlay uses DejaVu Sans Bold font (included on most Linux systems)
• Chromecast audio devices (like Google Home Mini) will play audio only
• Chromecast with displays (TVs, Google Nest Hub) will show the full video

Requirements for video mode:

• ffmpeg must be installed on your system

  # Debian/Ubuntu
  sudo apt install ffmpeg
  
  # macOS
  brew install ffmpeg

Mixed MP3 and MP4

cast-play automatically detects the file type:

• .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .m4a, .flac → music
• .mp4, .mkv, .webm, .mov → video

You can mix both formats in the same directory:

# Download some as MP3
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_1

# Download some as MP4
cast-download https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_2 --video

# Play both - cast-play handles the difference
cast-play song.mp3
cast-play video.mp4

Configuration

Config file: ~/.youtube-music-cast/config.sh

# Home Assistant
HA_URL="http://homeassistant.local:8123"
HA_TOKEN="your-long-lived-access-token-here"

# Web Server
SERVER_IP="192.168.1.81"
SERVER_PORT="8735"

# Default Device (override per command)
DEFAULT_DEVICE="media_player.bedroom_display"

# Directories
DOWNLOAD_DIR="/tmp/youtube-music"
CAST_DIR="$HOME/.youtube-music-cast"

Edit the file directly or re-run cast-setup to update.

File Naming Best Practices

Keep URLs clean. Simple filenames save you from headaches later.

The Problem

❌ Bad filenames:

http://192.168.1.81:8735/Bonehead's%20Bank%20Holiday%20(Remastered).mp3

This URL is messy, hard to type, and prone to encoding errors.

The Solution

✅ Good filenames:

http://192.168.1.81:8735/boneheads-bank-holiday.mp3

Clean, easy to type, no issues.

Practical Tips

# After download, rename immediately
mv "Oasis - Bonehead's Bank Holiday (Remastered 1995).mp3" \
   "oasis-boneheads-bank-holiday.mp3"

# Use lowercase, hyphens only
mv "My Awesome Song.mp3" "my-awesome-song.mp3"

# No special characters
mv "song@remix#.mp3" "song-remix.mp3"

Rule of thumb:

• Lowercase
• Hyphens instead of spaces
• No special characters (@, #, ?, etc.)
• Keep it short

Troubleshooting

Chromecast Not in Home Assistant

Problem: cast-devices shows no Chromecast devices.

Solution: Add Google Cast integration

1. Home Assistant → Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click "+ Add Integration"
3. Search "Google Cast" → Select it
4. Follow the discovery wizard

If discovery fails:

• Ensure Chromecast and Home Assistant are on the same network
• Try adding manually with Chromecast IP address

Server Won't Start

Problem: cast-server start fails or says "port in use".

Solution:

# Check if port 8735 is in use
netstat -tlnp | grep 8735
# or
ss -tlnp | grep 8735

# Stop any existing server
cast-server stop

# Try starting manually to see error
cd /tmp/youtube-music
python3 -m http.server 8735

If port is in use by another process: Edit ~/.youtube-music-cast/config.sh:

SERVER_PORT="8736"  # Change to something else

"File Not Found" Error

Problem: cast-play song.mp3 says file not found.

Solution:

# List what's actually there
cast-list

# Check exact spelling (case-sensitive!)
cast-play "Exact-Filename.mp3"  # Not "exact-filename.mp3"

# Verify server is running
cast-server status

Common mistakes:

• Wrong case: Song.mp3 vs song.mp3
• Wrong extension: song.MP3 vs song.mp3
• File in wrong directory: Check DOWNLOAD_DIR in config

Download Fails

Problem: cast-download errors or hangs.

Solution:

# Update yt-dlp (YouTube changes often)
pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

# Check version
yt-dlp --version

# Try verbose output to see what's wrong
yt-dlp --verbose "URL"

# Try different URL format
# YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
# YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

If it's a geo-blocked video: Use a VPN or find an alternative upload of the same track.

Home Assistant Connection Error

Problem: curl errors when contacting HA.

Solution:

# Test your HA token manually
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     "http://homeassistant.local:8123/api/states"

# If you see JSON → token is good
# If 401 Unauthorized → token is wrong or expired
# If connection refused → URL is wrong or HA is down

Regenerate token if needed: HA → Profile → Scroll down → Long-Lived Access Tokens → Generate new

Video Mode Issues

Problem: cast-download --video fails with "ffmpeg not found" or similar error.

Solution:

# Check if ffmpeg is installed
ffmpeg -version

# If not found, install it
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg

Problem: Video creation is slow or takes too long.

Solution:

• Video encoding is CPU-intensive. First-time creation may take 10-30 seconds per song.
• Use MP3 mode (cast-download without --video) for faster downloads.
• Consider lowering video quality in the script (edit cast-download and change -preset ultrafast to -preset fast for better quality but slower encoding).

Problem: Text overlay doesn't appear or looks wrong.

Solution:

• The script uses DejaVu Sans Bold font. If it's not installed, text won't appear.

• Install the font:

  # Debian/Ubuntu
  sudo apt install fonts-dejavu
  
  # macOS (usually pre-installed)

• Or edit the script to use a different font path.

Problem: Chromecast audio device plays video without visuals.

Solution:

• This is expected behavior. Audio-only Chromecast devices (Google Home Mini, Chromecast Audio) will play the audio track from MP4 files but cannot display video.
• Use MP3 mode for audio-only devices to save bandwidth and storage.

Problem: MP4 files are too large.

Solution:

• Videos are larger than MP3s (typically 2-3x the size).
• Reduce video bitrate by editing cast-download and changing -b:a 192k to -b:a 128k for audio, or adjust video codec settings.
• Use MP3 mode if storage is a concern.

Radio Mode Issues

Problem: Radio mode downloads unrelated songs.

Solution:

• Radio mode searches YouTube using the artist name from the seed song.
• Sometimes the search may return mixed results due to ambiguous artist names.
• Try using a different seed song with a clearer artist name.
• The radio_ prefix makes it easy to identify and remove unwanted downloads.

Problem: Radio mode doesn't find any related songs.

Solution:

• Ensure you have a stable internet connection.
• Check that the seed song has proper metadata (title/uploader).
• Try a different seed song — some videos have limited search results.
• Increase the count with --radio-count 10 to get more results.

Problem: Related songs don't play in sequence automatically.

Solution:

• Radio mode downloads the songs but doesn't auto-play them in sequence.
• You need to manually play each related song, or create a simple playlist script:

  # Play all radio songs in sequence
  for file in /tmp/youtube-music/radio_*.mp3; do
      cast-play "$(basename "$file")"
      sleep 5  # Wait between songs
  done

Cast Commands Hang

Problem: cast-play doesn't return or music never starts.

Common causes:

1. Media player is offline — Check cast-devices for state
2. Server isn't accessible from HA — Verify SERVER_IP in config matches current IP
3. Chromecast network issue — Restart Chromecast
4. Wrong device ID — Copy exact ID from cast-devices output

Quick fix:

# Restart everything
cast-server stop
cast-server start
cast-play song.mp3

# Check device is online
cast-devices

# Try casting from HA UI to isolate issue

Project Structure

youtube-music-cast/
├── scripts/
│   ├── cast-setup      # Configuration wizard (interactive)
│   ├── cast-download   # Download from YouTube (uses yt-dlp)
│   ├── cast-server     # HTTP server manager (start/stop/status)
│   ├── cast-play       # Cast to device (HA API)
│   ├── cast-stop       # Stop playback
│   ├── cast-status     # Player status query
│   ├── cast-devices    # List all HA media players
│   ├── cast-list       # List downloaded files
│   └── cast-help       # Help documentation
├── install.sh          # Installation script (--global, --help)
├── SKILL.md           # This file (ClawdHub skill definition)
├── README.md          # User-facing documentation
├── CHANGELOG.md       # Version history
├── LICENSE            # MIT license
├── .gitignore        # Protects secrets and state
└── .clawdhub/
    └── origin.json    # ClawdHub metadata

~/.youtube-music-cast/
└── config.sh         # Your configuration (don't commit to Git)

/tmp/youtube-music/
└── *.mp3            # Downloaded music files

Requirements

yt-dlp (YouTube downloader)

pip install yt-dlp

Update regularly: pip install --upgrade yt-dlp

Python 3 (HTTP server)

# Check version (usually pre-installed)
python3 --version

curl (HTTP client for HA API)

# Check version (usually pre-installed)
curl --version

jq (JSON processor)

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install jq

# macOS
brew install jq

ffmpeg (Video mode - optional)

Required for --video flag to create MP4 videos with album art and text overlays.

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg

Check installation:

ffmpeg -version

Note: Video mode is optional. If you only download MP3s, you don't need ffmpeg.

Performance Tips

1. Batch Downloads

Download multiple tracks or entire playlists at once:

# Download playlist
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 320K \
  -o "/tmp/youtube-music/%(playlist_index)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" \
  "https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID"

# Then cast them without waiting
cast-play 01-song.mp3
cast-play 02-song.mp3
cast-play 03-song.mp3

2. Keep Server Running

The HTTP server is lightweight (~5MB RAM). No need to stop/start between casts:

# Start once
cast-server start

# Cast as many songs as you want
cast-play song1.mp3
cast-play song2.mp3
# ... etc

3. Use Default Device

Set DEFAULT_DEVICE in config to avoid typing it every time:

# In ~/.youtube-music-cast/config.sh
DEFAULT_DEVICE="media_player.bedroom_display"

# Now just cast
cast-play song.mp3  # Automatically uses bedroom_display

4. Clean Up Occasionally

Files in /tmp/ are cleared on reboot by design, but you can manually clean:

# List all files with sizes
cast-list

# Remove old files
rm /tmp/youtube-music/*.mp3

5. WiFi Matters

If streaming glitches:

• Move Chromecast to 5GHz WiFi
• Reduce distance between Chromecast and server
• Check for WiFi interference

6. Alias Commands

Add shell aliases for faster access:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias cs='cast-server'
alias cd='cast-download'
alias cp='cast-play'
alias cl='cast-list'
alias cst='cast-status'

# Now just type
cs      # Start server
cd URL   # Download
cp song  # Cast
cl       # List

Notes

• Files are stored in /tmp/youtube-music/ — cleared on reboot (by design)
• Web server runs in background, persists across sessions
• Keep filenames simple: lowercase, hyphens, no spaces/special chars
• Server and Chromecast must be on same network
• HA token is stored locally in config.sh — don't commit to Git
• Quality is 320K MP3 — good balance of quality and file size
• No cloud services, no subscriptions, no tracking

Comparison: This vs Alternatives

Feature	YouTube Music Cast	Spotify Free	YouTube Premium
Cost	Free	Free (with ads)	$13.99/month
Ads	None	Yes, every few songs	None
Offline	Yes, forever	No (premium only)	Yes, with limit
Quality	320K MP3	160K (variable)	Up to 1080p video
Privacy	Local only	Cloud-based	Cloud-based
Platform	Any Chromecast	Spotify Connect	YouTube apps
Queue management	Manual	Built-in	Built-in
Multi-room	Manual	Premium feature	No

Bottom line: If you value privacy, want to own your music, and don't need cloud features, this is for you.

License

MIT License — use it, modify it, share it.

---

Version: 6.0.0 Author: Wobo License: MIT