I constructed a self-hosted jukebox and so do you have to
Internet hosting a celebration at all times seems like a good suggestion — till it’s time to choose the music. Playlists are both too protected or too area of interest. And actually, I’m not thrilled about handing over my telephone each time somebody desires to queue up a observe.
What you actually need is one thing easy that everybody can use. A clear, shared approach to decide the subsequent music with no need a password or hijacking the speaker. One thing like a jukebox. However within the age of streaming, jukeboxes are fairly archaic — until you may modernize the idea with a streaming answer. That’s what I got down to do. I turned to the open-source group, on the lookout for a means so as to add jukebox performance to my House Assistant and Music Assistant setup. It turns on the market’s a undertaking that does precisely that, and it is perhaps excellent in your setup, too.
HAMusicAssistantJukebox is a self-hosted, browser-based interface that brings again the traditional “stroll up and queue a music” expertise. Friends can use their telephones to seek for music, add tracks to the queue, and hold the occasion going — with no single awkward handoff or playlist debate. If you happen to’re solely utilizing music from your personal library, your complete expertise is absolutely native, so that you don’t want to fret about cloud-based hiccups or streaming limits. You’re in charge of the playback, and your friends solely work together with a curated layer of your setup as a substitute of throwing up punk rock in the course of a metropolis pop-themed occasion.
Right here’s the way it works, and why it’s value organising.
A newbie’s information to organising House Assistant
House Assistant is likely one of the greatest methods to tame your good dwelling, and it is free and straightforward to arrange.
Music Assistant is the spine
A streaming-friendly engine in your dwelling setup
Earlier than we get into the jukebox interface, it’s essential to grasp that it runs on high of Music Assistant, which must be put in in your House Assistant setup. Music Assistant is a House Assistant add-on that turns your music assortment or streaming service into a sensible, multi-room audio system. It manages playback, handles queuing, and helps numerous audio codecs and gadgets.
It really works with native information and high-res audio and streams to a number of gadgets throughout your community. It helps Sonos, Google Solid, AirPlay, and any House Assistant-compatible media participant, so you may sync audio between rooms, change output gadgets, and even swap audio system mid-track.
If you happen to’ve already constructed a neighborhood music library, this setup makes probably the most of it. If not, Music Assistant helps a number of streaming providers, together with Spotify, Qobuz, and Tidal—so you need to use no matter you already subscribe to. The jukebox interface merely layers on high, giving friends a straightforward approach to queue music with no need entry to House Assistant or your streaming accounts.
The set up is smoother than you’d anticipate
House Assistant, Music Assistant, and one cloned repo
If you happen to already run House Assistant, you’re greater than midway there. Putting in Music Assistant from the add-on retailer is fast. I pointed it to a shared folder on my community for native information and related my Spotify account. As soon as I confirmed playback by means of Music Assistant, I used to be prepared for the jukebox layer.
The jukebox undertaking lives on GitHub and has easy-to-follow directions. It hooks into House Assistant utilizing helpers, automations, and Music Assistant’s webhooks. As soon as put in, you toggle the jukebox interface utilizing an enter boolean in your House Assistant dashboard. From there, the jukebox opens in a clear, browser-based view. The interface is deliberately minimal — only a search bar and a queue button. You possibly can share the URL with friends or generate a QR code that hyperlinks straight to the interface. The QR code is particularly helpful should you’re internet hosting at scale — simply print it and stick it subsequent to the speaker or on a drinks desk. One scan, and so they’re in. No logins, no hyperlinks, no explaining. It’s quick, easy, and avoids all the same old overhead.
What makes this undertaking shine is how responsive it feels. Friends can search your complete music library, browse albums or artists, and add tracks immediately. There’s no clunky loading display or delay—it feels snappy and real-time. Importantly, it doesn’t expose full playback controls to customers, which avoids unintentional quantity adjustments or speaker switches. The interface can also be kiosk-friendly. Full-screen mode seems to be nice on a pill however works simply as effectively on a telephone or desktop. At a latest gathering, I simply positioned an iPad with the jukebox interface open. Anybody close by might stroll up and queue a observe with out asking for entry or navigating the Music Assistant UI.
You possibly can even create a customized House Assistant automation to allow the jukebox mode mechanically throughout sure hours or each time friends are related to your Wi-Fi. It’s a small contact, nevertheless it makes the entire expertise really feel seamless. The chances are infinite.
A greater approach to play music at your subsequent occasion
I began down this rabbit gap as a result of I used to be bored with friends asking me to alter the music, or worse, asking for my telephone. I didn’t need to share my Spotify login, and I didn’t need to spend the night time managing the queue or fixing participant settings. I simply needed everybody to benefit from the music and really feel like they’d a say.
HAMusicAssistantJukebox made that simple. Now, each occasion runs extra easily, and folks really feel extra engaged with what’s taking part in.
If you happen to already use House Assistant and also you host friends even semi-regularly, this is perhaps one of the rewarding facet initiatives you construct.
