wtf is masterbuilt-smoker-esphome?

This project lets you connect a Bluetooth enabled Masterbuilt electric smoker to Home Assistant using a cheap ESP32 microcontroller and the ESPHome firmware platform, without needing the manufacturer's cloud service, phone app, or an account of any kind. The ESP32 talks directly to the smoker over Bluetooth and exposes chamber temperature, target temperature, cook time, time remaining, and up to four meat probe readings as normal Home Assistant sensors. It can also, if you choose to enable it, control the smoker the same way the official phone app does. It is built specifically for the older Masterbuilt digital electric smokers that pair with the original Masterbuilt phone app over Bluetooth, using a particular Bluetooth Low Energy chip and a documented two step pairing handshake. It has been confirmed working on the 30 inch digital electric vertical model and will likely work on similar models that use the same phone app, though it is not built for the newer Wi-Fi or Gravity series smokers, which use a completely different app and protocol. Setup involves copying an example ESPHome configuration file, adding your Wi-Fi details, and flashing an ESP32 board over USB. The smoker only needs to be put into its normal pairing mode once, after which the ESP32 remembers it and reconnects automatically on every reboot or power cycle. Because the smoker only accepts one Bluetooth connection at a time, the ESP32 and the original phone app cannot both be connected at once. The project includes an optional dashboard card for Home Assistant that combines all the sensors and controls into a single visual panel, and it supports some smoker variations such as a cabinet light or extra meat probes as optional additions. The author is clear that the Bluetooth connection itself is not encrypted and that Home Assistant should never be treated as a safety interlock in place of watching the smoker directly.