The new Media Browser in Home Assistant 0.115 looks amazing

Get ready because Home Assistant 0.115 is just around the corner, and it's bringing some serious heat! The community has been buzzing about a new feature that was recently unveiled in a Reddit post by user /u/basnijholt. And let me tell you, it is something I have been eagerly anticipating: the long-awaited Media Browser has finally arrived in Home Assistant!

How the Media Browser in Home Assistant 0.115 works

Home Assistant 0.115 will introduce a new feature where you can click on any media card and see a folder icon, as shown in the screenshot. Clicking on the folder icon will open a simple but practical media browser. As demonstrated in an example shared on Reddit, this feature works well with Spotify.

The Media Browser icon in Home Assistant

This new feature will be handy if you want to choose music directly from the Lovelace interface. The Media Browser will be included with each media card you set up, and no additional configuration is required. Keep in mind that to use this feature with Spotify, you will need a Spotify Premium account.

Selecting music using the Media Browser in Home Assistant

Which services will the Home Assistant Media Browser support?

So far, it appears that the Media Browser will work with Spotify, Roku, and Kodi. This information is taken from the changelogs of the beta version on GitHub. I, personally, haven’t tried this yet, as I don’t run the beta version of Home Assistant (yet?). The Media Browser will obviously also be able to play locally stored music.

About Liam Alexander Colman

Liam Alexander Colman is an experienced Home Assistant user who has been utilizing the platform for a variety of projects over an extended period. His journey began with a Raspberry Pi, which quickly grew to three Raspberry Pis and eventually a full-fledged server. Liam's current operating system of choice is Unraid, with Home Assistant comfortably running in a Docker container.

With a deep understanding of the intricacies of Home Assistant, Liam has an impressive setup, consisting of various Zigbee devices, and seamless integrations with existing products such as his Android TV box. For those interested in learning more about Liam's experience with Home Assistant, he shares his insights on how he first started using the platform and his subsequent journey.