Continuously Casting Dashboards

Keep your Home Assistant dashboards always visible on Chromecast displays

Installation • Quick Start • Configuration • Troubleshooting

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A Home Assistant integration that automatically casts dashboards to your Chromecast devices and keeps them running. If a dashboard gets interrupted (someone asks Google a question, plays music, etc.), it automatically resumes once the device is idle.

✨ Features

• Auto-resume - Dashboard automatically restarts if interrupted
• Smart detection - Won't interrupt Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, timers, or Google Assistant
• Time windows - Only cast during specified hours (e.g., 7am-11pm)
• Multiple dashboards - Different dashboards at different times on the same device
• Entity control - Start/stop casting based on any Home Assistant entity state
• Speaker group aware - Won't cast if device is part of an active speaker group
• Per-device settings - Volume, time windows, and dashboards configured per device

📋 Requirements

Before installing, ensure you have:

Requirement	Description
HTTPS Access	Home Assistant must be accessible via HTTPS. Use Nabu Casa or set up SSL yourself
Trusted Networks	Chromecast devices must be able to access HA without login (setup guide)
ha-catt-fix	Prevents display timeout after 10 minutes (install via HACS)
Kiosk Mode	Optional - Hides navigation bars for fullscreen display (install via HACS)

📦 Installation

Via HACS (Recommended)

1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
2. Click the three dots (⋮) → Custom repositories
3. Add b0mbays/continuously_casting_dashboards as an Integration
4. Search for "Continuously Casting Dashboards" and click Download
5. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

1. Download the continuously_casting_dashboards folder from this repository
2. Copy it to config/custom_components/
3. Restart Home Assistant

🚀 Quick Start

1. Add the Integration

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click Add Integration
3. Search for "Continuously Casting Dashboards"
4. Follow the setup wizard

2. Configure Your First Device

The wizard will guide you through:

1. Global settings - Logging level, cast delay, default time window
2. Add device - Enter your Chromecast display name (find it in Google Home app or device settings)
3. Dashboard URL - The full URL to your dashboard (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/dashboard?kiosk)

Tip: Use your Home Assistant's local IP address in the dashboard URL, not homeassistant.local

3. Done!

The integration will start casting your dashboard during the configured time window.

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⚙️ Configuration

UI Configuration (Recommended)

All settings can be managed through Settings → Devices & Services → Continuously Casting Dashboards.

Managing device dashboards

• Click Configure on a device to edit its dashboard settings in a single form.
• To add another dashboard, enable “Add another dashboard after saving”.
• If a device has multiple dashboards, use “Edit a different dashboard” to switch which one you’re editing.

YAML Configuration (Legacy)

Note: UI configuration is now the recommended method. YAML configuration is supported for backward compatibility but new features may only be available in the UI.

Add to your configuration.yaml:

continuously_casting_dashboards:
  logging_level: warning    # debug, info, warning, error, critical
  cast_delay: 45            # Seconds between device checks (5-300)
  start_time: "07:00"       # Global start time (HH:MM)
  end_time: "01:00"         # Global end time (HH:MM)

  devices:
    "Living Room Display":  # Device name from Google Home app
      - dashboard_url: "http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/home?kiosk"
        volume: 5           # Optional: 0-100
        start_time: "06:00" # Optional: Override global time
        end_time: "23:00"

    "Kitchen Hub":
      - dashboard_url: "http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/kitchen?kiosk"
        volume: 7

Configuration Options

Option	Required	Default	Description
logging_level	Yes	warning	Log verbosity: debug, info, warning, error, critical
cast_delay	Yes	45	Seconds between checking each device (5-300)
start_time	No	07:00	When to start casting (HH:MM format)
end_time	No	01:00	When to stop casting (HH:MM format)
switch_entity_id	No	-	Entity that controls casting on/off globally
switch_entity_state	No	on	State value that enables casting

Per-Device Options

Option	Required	Default	Description
dashboard_url	Yes	-	Full URL to the dashboard
volume	No	-	Device volume (0-100)
start_time	No	Global	Override the global start time
end_time	No	Global	Override the global end time
switch_entity_id	No	-	Entity that controls this specific device
switch_entity_state	No	on	State value that enables casting for this device
speaker_groups	No	-	Speaker groups to check before casting

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🔧 Advanced Usage

Multiple Dashboards Per Device

Cast different dashboards at different times:

devices:
  "Office Display":
    - dashboard_url: "http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/day?kiosk"
      start_time: "07:00"
      end_time: "18:00"
    - dashboard_url: "http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/night?kiosk"
      start_time: "18:00"
      end_time: "23:59"

Control Casting with Entity State

Control casting globally or per-device using any Home Assistant entity:

# Create a toggle in configuration.yaml
input_boolean:
  enable_dashboard_casting:
    name: "Enable Dashboard Casting"
    initial: on

# Reference it in the integration config
continuously_casting_dashboards:
  switch_entity_id: "input_boolean.enable_dashboard_casting"
  # ... rest of config

Default "on" states: on, true, home, open

For custom states, use switch_entity_state:

continuously_casting_dashboards:
  switch_entity_id: "sensor.house_mode"
  switch_entity_state: "occupied"

Speaker Group Handling

Prevent casting when the device is playing in a speaker group:

devices:
  "Kitchen Hub":
    - dashboard_url: "http://192.168.1.100:8123/lovelace/kitchen?kiosk"
      speaker_groups:
        - "Kitchen Speakers"
        - "Whole House Audio"

Runtime Configuration via Services

Adjust settings without restarting using Home Assistant services:

# Change cast delay
service: continuously_casting_dashboards.set_cast_delay
target:
  entity_id: sensor.cast_delay
data:
  value: 60

# Change time window
service: continuously_casting_dashboards.set_start_time
target:
  entity_id: sensor.start_time
data:
  value: "08:00"

# Change logging level
service: continuously_casting_dashboards.set_logging_level
target:
  entity_id: sensor.logging_level
data:
  value: debug

Available services:

• set_cast_delay - Cast interval (5-300 seconds)
• set_logging_level - debug, info, warning, error, critical
• set_start_time - Start time (HH:MM)
• set_end_time - End time (HH:MM)
• set_switch_entity - Global control entity
• set_switch_state - State that enables casting

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🔄 Migrating from YAML to UI

If you're currently using YAML configuration (configuration.yaml), follow these steps to migrate to the new UI-based configuration:

Automatic Migration

1. Update the integration via HACS
2. Restart Home Assistant
3. Your YAML config will be automatically imported into the UI
4. A notification will appear confirming the import
5. Remove the continuously_casting_dashboards: section from your configuration.yaml
6. Restart Home Assistant again

Your devices will continue working. You can now manage everything through the UI.

After Migration

Once migrated, each device appears separately on the integration page:

Settings → Devices & Services → Continuously Casting Dashboards
├── ⚙️ Configure (Global Settings)
├── 📱 Living Room Display → Configure
├── 📱 Kitchen Hub → Configure
└── ➕ Add Device

Click Configure on any device to manage its dashboards individually. Use “Add another dashboard after saving” to add more dashboards for a device, and “Edit a different dashboard” when multiple dashboards exist.

Important: After migration, remove the YAML configuration to avoid conflicts. The integration will show a warning if YAML config is detected alongside UI config.

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📖 Setup Guides

Trusted Networks Setup

Chromecast devices need to access Home Assistant without logging in.

1. Find your Chromecast device IPs (Settings → Device Information → Technical Information on each device)

2. Add to your configuration.yaml:

homeassistant:
  auth_providers:
    - type: trusted_networks
      trusted_networks:
        - 192.168.1.50/32   # Living Room Display
        - 192.168.1.51/32   # Kitchen Hub
      trusted_users:
        192.168.1.50: YOUR_USER_ID
        192.168.1.51: YOUR_USER_ID
      allow_bypass_login: true
    - type: homeassistant    # Keep normal login for other devices

Find your user ID: Go to your profile in Home Assistant and look at the URL - the ID is the long string after /profile/

Install ha-catt-fix

This prevents the dashboard from timing out after 10 minutes.

1. Open HACS → Click three dots (⋮) → Custom repositories
2. Add swiergot/ha-catt-fix as a Dashboard (previously called "Lovelace")
3. Go to Frontend tab → Search "ha-catt-fix" → Download
4. Restart Home Assistant
5. Verify installation: Open your dashboard → Edit → Manage resources → Confirm ha-catt-fix is listed

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❓ Troubleshooting

Dashboard stops after a few seconds

Cause: ha-catt-fix not installed correctly.

Solution:

1. Set logging_level: debug in your config
2. Check Home Assistant logs for status output
3. Look for Title: Dummy in the logs - if missing, reinstall ha-catt-fix

DEBUG Status output for Office display: Title: Dummy 22:27:13 GMT+0000

Device not found

Cause: Device name doesn't match exactly.

Solution:

• Check the exact name in Google Home app or on the device itself
• Try using the device's IP address instead of its name

Dashboard won't cast

Checklist:

• HTTPS is configured for Home Assistant
• Device IP is in trusted networks
• Dashboard URL uses local IP (not homeassistant.local)
• Current time is within the configured time window
• No media is playing on the device

Annoying phone notifications for "DashCast"

Solution: On your Android phone: Settings → Google → Devices & sharing → Cast options → Turn off "Media controls for Cast devices"

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💬 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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_{Tested with Lenovo Smart Display 8 and Google Nest Hub (1st Gen)}