Build Your Own Music Streaming Server: A Complete Guide to Conquering Navidrome! 🎧

Hello, music lovers! 🎶 Are you frustrated with your streaming service? Do you pay a monthly subscription fee but have no control over your library, do the songs you want to listen to suddenly disappear, or are you tired of ads? If so, then Navidrome could change your music life forever!

Navidrome is a powerful tool that lets you build a music empire in the palm of your hand. Today I’m going to tell you all about this awesome open-source personal music server, why you need it, and how you can get started. Are you ready to create your own music kingdom together 🚀?

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🎼 Navidrome, who are you?

Navidrome is a personal music streaming server that you install and run on your own computer, NAS (network storage device), or Raspberry Pi. In short, it’s a system that lets you store your music files on a server and stream them via a web browser or mobile app from anywhere you have an internet connection.

Unlike commercial streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, Navidrome only manages and streams your music files. The best part is that you manage your own servers, so you have complete data sovereignty and privacy. Learn more at 🛡️

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✨ Why choose Navidrome?

With so many music streaming services out there, why should you install and use Navidrome? Let’s take a look at the unique advantages that Navidrome offers.

1. Complete control and privacy 🔒 * Your music data is only on my servers.

   • Your music data exists only on my servers. No company can collect your listening history or preferences or use them for advertising.
   • I can listen to all the music I own at any time, without worrying about songs suddenly disappearing from streaming services.

2. Enjoy an ad-free music experience 🚫

   • The annoying ads of free streaming services are nowhere to be found on Navidrome, so you can focus entirely on the music.

3. Manage and curate your own collection 🎨 * You can organize your own music collection.

   • You can organize and curate your own music collection. Whether it’s decades of rare records or high-quality FLAC files, categorize and manage your precious library the way you want.
   • It’s a pleasure to browse your library, which is neatly organized thanks to accurate ID3 tags and metadata.

4. Your own music library accessible from anywhere 🌐.

   • Easily stream and listen to music stored on your server at home, at work, while traveling, or on the go with your smartphone. All you need is a web browser!

5. Support for various apps (Subsonic API compatible) 📱.

   • Navidrome is based on the Subsonic API, which means that tons of third-party mobile apps (Android, iOS) can work with Navidrome servers to stream music. Even if it’s not an official app, the choice is very wide (e.g. DSub, Ultrasonic, Symfonium, etc.)

6. the power of the open source community 💪**

   • Navidrome is an open source project, meaning it is actively developed and improved by a community of developers around the world. Bug fixes are fast, and new features are constantly being added.

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🌟 Navidrome’s core features include

More than just a streaming server, Navidrome is packed with features to maximize the user experience.

• Clean and intuitive web UI:** 💻

  • A modern, responsive web interface makes it easy to browse and play music on any device, whether it’s a PC, tablet, or smartphone. Visually stunning presentation of album covers, artist photos, tag information, and more.

• Gapless Playback and Automatic Transcoding: 🎧

  • Gapless Playback: Tracks within an album play seamlessly and without gaps. An essential feature when listening to live albums or classical music.
  • Automatic transcoding: Streaming automatically adjusts the sound quality based on your network environment or device type. For example, when using mobile data, we’ll automatically send a lower bitrate file that’s compressed to save bandwidth, while on Wi-Fi, we’ll send a higher quality file for an optimal experience. No worries when streaming high quality files like FLAC.

• Multi-user support: 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

  • Create accounts for family and friends so they can each have their own playlists and listening history. Administrators can also set access rights for each account.

• Last.fm scrobbling: ✍️

  • *You can integrate with your Last.fm account to automatically Scrobble your listening history. This is a useful feature if you like to keep a personal record of your music listening.

• Manage ID3 tags and metadata:** 🏷️

  • Automatically reads ID3 tag information embedded in music files to organize your library. You can organize and search your music using a variety of metadata, including album covers, artist information, genres, and more.

• Supports multiple audio formats:** 📁

  • Supports almost all major audio formats, including MP3, FLAC, OGG, AAC, M4A, WAV, and more.

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🛠️ Installing Navidrome: It’s easier than you think!

There are many ways to install Navidrome, but our favorite is to use Docker. Docker is a technology that allows software to run in isolated environments called containers, and it makes the installation process incredibly simple.

1. Prerequisites:

• A server on which to install Navidrome: Linux-based PC, NAS (Synology, QNAP, etc.), Raspberry Pi, etc. are suitable.
• Docker must be installed (if not, please refer to the official Docker documentation to install it).
• You’ll need a folder where the music files you want to stream are stored.

2. Easiest way: Docker 🐳

Simply type the command below into your terminal to run the Navidrome server.

docker run -d \
  --name navidrome \
  -p 4533:4533 \
  -v /path/to/your/music:/music \
  -v /path/to/your/data:/data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  deluan/navidrome:latest

Command Description: Β

• docker run -d: Run the container in the background (-d) with the image deluan/navidrome:latest.
• --name navidrome: Name the container ‘navidrome’.
• -p 4533:4533: Connect port 4533 on the host (server) to port 4533 on the container. This is the default port for Navidrome.
• -v /path/to/your/music:/music: Mount (attach) the actual path where your music files are located to the /music folder inside the container.
  • Example: Substitute C:\Users\YourUser\Music (Windows), /volume1/music (Synology NAS), /home/pi/music (Raspberry Pi), etc. for /path/to/your/music.
• -v /path/to/your/data:/data: Mount the physical path where Navidrome’s configuration files, databases, caches, etc. will be stored to the /data folder inside the container. This folder will be created by Navidrome itself, so please specify an empty folder path.
• --restart unless-stopped: Sets the Navidrome container to start automatically when the server reboots or the Docker service restarts.
• deluan/navidrome:latest: The name of the latest Docker image of Navidrome.

Access after installation:

1. run the command and wait a moment.
2. open a web browser and connect to http://서버_IP_주소:4533.
   • Example: http://192.168.1.100:4533 or http://localhost:4533 (if connecting from the server itself).
3. You will be prompted to create an administrator account on your first connection. Set a username and password to create an administrator account.
4. Once logged in, Navidrome will automatically scan your /music folder and start building your library. 🎉 .

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💡 Tips & Tricks for using Navidrome 🍯

Here are some tips to get more out of Navidrome.

• *Importance of organizing your music files:** 📂

  • Navidrome organizes your library based on file system structure and ID3 tags. We recommend organizing your music files in a consistent folder structure, such as artist/albums/tracks.mp3.
  • Example:

    /music
    ├── Coldplay
    │ ├── A Rush of Blood to the Head
    │ │ ├── 01. Politk.mp3
    │ │ └── 02. In My Place.mp3
    │ └── Parachutes
    │ ├── 01. Don't Panic.mp3
    │ └── ...
    └── IU
        ├── LILAC
        │ ├── 01. 라일락.mp3
        │ └── 02. Flu.mp3
        └── ...

• For accurate ID3 tag management: 🏷️

  • Navidrome displays album covers, artist information, and more based on ID3 tags. If your tags are inaccurate, your library can become a jumbled mess.
  • Recommended Tools: Use a professional tag editing program like MusicBrainz Picard, Mp3tag, foobar2000, etc. to keep your tags clean and organized.

• Mobile app integration: 📱.

  • Navidrome does not have its own mobile app, but it can be used in conjunction with third-party apps that support the Subsonic API.
  • Android: DSub, Ultrasonic, Symfonium (Paid)
  • iOS: iSub, play:Sub, Symfonium (paid)
  • In each app, enter the Navidrome server address (http://서버_IP_주소:4533), username, and password to connect.

• Setting up for external access (required!): 🌐 🌐

  • To access Navidrome from outside your home, you will need to port forward port 4533 on your router to the server IP address.
  • For a more secure connection, we recommend setting up HTTPS (SSL/TLS). This usually involves configuring a domain name, a free SSL certificate like Let’s Encrypt, and a Reverse Proxy server like Nginx or Caddy. This may seem a bit daunting for beginners, but it’s a necessary step for security.

• Backups: 💾

  • Navidrome settings and database files are stored in the /data folder. It is recommended that you make regular backups of this folder in case you reinstall your server or something goes wrong.

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🌟 In closing: Build your own music kingdom!

Navidrome goes beyond just streaming music, it gives you complete control and freedom over your precious music collection. Being able to listen to the music you want, the way you want, whenever and wherever you want, in a pleasant, ad-free environment is a huge draw for true music lovers.

Building your first server may seem a bit daunting, but with Docker, it’s easier than you think. Once you’ve got it set up, you’ll never have to worry about monthly subscription fees again, and you’ll be able to enjoy the joy of managing your music to your own taste.

No more relying on someone else’s service. Build your own music kingdom with Navidrome and experience true musical freedom! 🎶✨