Third release candidate. Almost all of this fork's fixes are now merged upstream, and this release brings in upstream's final versions of them. It's a pre-release so it can get some real-world testing before it's marked stable. In HACS, enable "Show beta versions" for this repository to see it.
Back in sync with upstream
Nimrod has reviewed and merged nimroddolev#362 through nimroddolev#369, which covers the target fallback, Cast volume spike, temp folder, Sonos settle, tempo, cache, FFmpeg and Squeezebox fixes. nimroddolev#370 (the configuration.yaml write) is still in review. Where the fork and upstream both had a fix, this release uses upstream's version, so switching back to upstream later won't change behaviour for those.
I hope to get us back to upstream for good and work out an arrangement where I can contribute directly when the owner is away for extended periods. Until then this fork stays in sync with upstream.
Changes since rc2
- Targets: speaker groups (
group.*) used as targets now expand to their members on Home Assistant releases that lack the newer target helper, including nested groups. - Sonos: if the volume change before an announcement fails, or only some speakers start playing, the speakers are still restored afterwards (volume, paused media, grouping). Before, a failure could leave them at announcement volume or joined.
- Cache: a cached file that can't be decoded and only has a public copy is now removed for good, instead of being retried on every call.
- Google Cast: a Cast speaker that is still buffering a stream is stopped before the volume rises, the same as one that is playing.
- FFmpeg failures: now uses upstream's handling: the original audio is used if the Alexa or cover-art conversion fails.
Still fork-only
The Google Cast lead-in, clearing uncached say_url audio from the www folder (nimroddolev#342), the external chime download limits, the Cast buffering check and the panel security fixes. Everything listed in the rc2 notes still applies.
Behaviour change (carried over from rc1)
repeat counts additional plays, so repeat: 2 plays the audio three times. The fork's cast_delay field is gone; use initial_delay instead.
Testing
All changes are covered by the test suite on Home Assistant 2026.6 and 2025.1. I'm testing the Sonos path on my own doorbell announcements. The Cast and Squeezebox changes are covered only by tests, so reports from anyone with those speakers are very welcome.
Install (HACS custom repository)
- HACS > three dots > Custom repositories.
- Add
https://github.com/derekcentrico/chime_tts, category Integration. - Enable "Show beta versions" for Chime TTS, install, and restart Home Assistant.