diff --git a/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.sh b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1a48bfda5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/helpers/birdnet_to_mqtt.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/usr/bin/with-contenv bashio
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+
+if bashio::services.available 'mqtt'; then
+  echo "Starting service: mqtt publish"
+  "$PYTHON_VIRTUAL_ENV" /usr/bin/birdnet_to_mqtt.py &>/proc/1/fd/1
+fi