Is pyatv free to use?

pyatv is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What is pyatv written in?

pyatv is primarily written in Python. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/postlund/pyatv, and it has 1,175 GitHub stars.

pyatv: Open Source Automation — 1.2K★ on GitHub

pyatv is a free, open source automation project written in Python and released under MIT. It has 1,175 GitHub stars, 145 forks and 258 open issues, and was last pushed 1 months ago. On this registry it ranks #64 of 96 tracked projects in Automation, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

A client library for Apple TV and AirPlay devices

This is an asyncio python library for interacting with Apple TV and AirPlay devices. It mainly targets Apple TVs (all generations, including tvOS 15 and later), but also supports audio streaming via AirPlay to receivers like the HomePod, AirPort Express and third-party speakers. It can act as remote control to the Music app/iTunes in macOS.

All the documentation you need is available at pyatv.dev.

What can it do?

Some examples include:

Remote control commands
Metadata retrieval with push updates
Stream files via AirPlay
List and launch installed apps
List and switch user accounts
Add, remove or set audio output devices (e.g. HomePods)
Keyboard support
Persistent storage of credentials and settings

...and lots more! A complete list is available here.

Great, but how do I use it?

All documentation (especially for developers) are available at pyatv.dev. It is however possible to install with pip and set up a new device atvremote:

$ pip install pyatv
$ atvremote wizard
Looking for devices...
Found the following devices:
    Name                      Model                    Address
--  ------------------------  -----------------------  -----------
 1  Receiver+                 airupnp                  10.0.10.200
 2  Receiver                  RX-V773                  10.0.10.82
 3  Pierre's AirPort Express  AirPort Express (gen 2)  10.0.10.168
 4  FakeATV                   Unknown                  10.0.10.254
 5  Vardagsrum                Apple TV 4K              10.0.10.81
 6  Apple TV                  Apple TV 3               10.0.10.83
Enter index of device to set up (q to quit): 4
Starting to set up FakeATV
Starting to pair Protocol.MRP
Enter PIN on screen: 1111
Successfully paired Protocol.MRP, moving on...
Pairing finished, trying to connect and get some metadata...
Currently playing:
  Media type: Music
Device state: Playing
       Title: Never Gonna Give You Up
      Artist: Rick Astley
    Position: 1/213s (0.0%)
      Repeat: Off
     Shuffle: Off
Device is now set up!

After setting up a new device, other commands can be run directly:

$ atvremote -s 10.0.10.254 playing
  Media type: Music
Device state: Playing
       Title: Never Gonna Give You Up
      Artist: Rick Astley
    Position: 1/213s (0.0%)
      Repeat: Off
     Shuffle: Off
$ atvremote -s 10.0.10.254 pause
$ atvremote -n FakeATV play

You can also run it inside a container (x86_64, aarch64, armv7):

docker run -it --rm --network=host ghcr.io/postlund/pyatv:0.14.0 atvremote scan

The master tag points to latest commit on the master branch and latest points to the latest release.

I need to change something?

Want to help out with pyatv? Press the button below to get a fully prepared development environment and get started right away!

Shortcuts to the good stuff

To save you some time, here are some shortcuts: