this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2024
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109
What's the easiest way to host a music colletion (FLAC)? (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I've tried a few options over the years, including SMB and NFS, XBMC as well as HTML with javascript I found online.

I don't have a large collection of music (fewer than 100 albums), so hand coding things was actually one of the quicker options to setup. That's despite then hassle of hand coding the URL to each FLAC file as well as the album art. But sometimes the javascript doesn't handle large collections of FLAC and each implementation I tried had different quirks so I've sunk a lot of time into that in other ways without a satisfactory result.

I've heard of Emby, Jellyfin, Plex, Roon and Servio. I just need something that's simple to set up and access. I don't need fancy features beyond the ability to play the music with a pleasant UI that can be accessed from the web (HTTP, not HTTPS). I'd be running this from a Raspberry Pi 3B which already has the lighttpd server running.

I'm also considering just getting a portable, 128GB FLAC player with a minijack connection and moving on with my life without getting involved in networking at all.

Any recommendations for an uncomplicated way to approach to doing this?

Edit: Thanks so much for the helpful and enthusiastic comments! I tried Navidrome and had it up and running in ten minutes thanks to this tutorial video: https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=7V5UUJlSknY

I had to install docker-compose on the RPi. Then I got an error which turned out to be because I also needed a separate docker daemon which I installed following these instructions: https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/docker-tutorial/raspberry-pi-docker

In just 10+ minutes I had my music collection accessible from all my devices - thanks again!

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 months ago (5 children)

I use Navidrome, it's a single binary and gives you your own Spotify, kinda. It can be use with many other apps, in addition to the web interface, as it supports the subsonic protocol.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I got Navidrome working on the local network quickly with docker compose thanks to this video: https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=7V5UUJlSknY

Once I forwarded the right port on my router I was also able to access the music from the web. Thanks for the recommendation, I'm very happy!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Another tip, please be very careful when exposing ports to the public. With docker you're already mitigating your attack surfaces but an open port allows anyone to make a connection and there are lots of bots out there looking for open ports and vulnerabilities. A good alternative would be to setup wireguard and instead then connect through that or if you like simplicity check out Tailscale.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for that. I'll look into tail scale (since you mentioned the magic word, 'simplicity'). My domain doesn't have any links to the pages on my server, and Navidrome is username and password protected. Would that be safe enough? I am using unencrypted http, though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Unencrypted HTTP can mean that anyone can see your traffic as it passes through their network. Your ISP will see that traffic. If you're streaming pirated music and you're in a country that cares about those things, might not go very well. From a security stand point though, you still wouldn't want to trust the authentication on the open port. A vulnerability may exist that you don't know about. It's always better to keep them closed and add another layer or two between your home computer and the public.

Tailscale let's you tunnel into your home network without opening any ports, and it encrypts the traffic. Much safer way of doing it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks. I really appreciate the insight. I’ll start learning about tailscale as a priority.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Here you go friend, enjoy! 😁

https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks again! Do I understand right that once I:

  1. Run tail scale on each machine
  2. Register those with my account

The machines will be able to see each other, but the machines can not be seen outside of the network of those machines?

Also, my Raspberry Pi is hosting some other publicly exposed services that need to remain that way. Will tail scale take over those too?

I found a nice overview video here for anyone who might want it: https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=Kzyolu9yn0E

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It shouldn't mess with your current routing but if you're running other VPNs you may run into issues.

After you join the machines to the tailnet, each machine gets a new IP address ( only visible to other machines in the tailnet), by default it's a 100.x.y.z you can check the tailnet for the device IP.

Now you can keep the port closed on your router and it will still be accessible over the usual lan ip and port. But when you want to access remotely, turn on tailscale and connect using the tailnet IP.

Another cool thing you can do with this setup is turn your home server into an exit node. By default it will only route things that are in the tailnet (100.x.y.z subnet). But if you turn your home server into an exit node you can funnel all your traffic back through the exit node. Instant free VPN back home!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

That sounds promising, thanks! You say LAN, but I can share this with people over the internet too, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Especially with music, if any of this is plain HTTP (or any other plaintext, non-encrypted protocol) and you live in a lawsuit happy jurisdiction you might end up with piracy letters in the mail.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It is plain HTTP. There's a username and password needed to log in and access the music, though if that helps?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Plain HTTP means anyone between you and the server can see those credentials and gain access.

It it using HTTP Basic Auth by chance? It would be so easy to put nginx (or some other reverse proxy with TLS) in front and just pass the authentication headers.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don’t know what kind of authentication it uses, but it dots appear to be susceptible to brute force https://github.com/navidrome/navidrome/issues/242

But if I add a reverse proxy I would need it to just affect that one service/port. I’m running a publicly facing static (amateur/hobby) website - and other services - from there too and I’d prefer it to remain public.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I saw in your update you mentioned installing docker-compose. Modern docker has "compose" as a verb, and should work as docker compose. I haven't tested this on raspberry pi though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You’re right. It’s just that the package to installed is called docker-compose (if I remember right. I’m on mobile now). So the command to install was: apt install docker-compose, and the command was: docker compose. Thanks man.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

No, thats not how it works now. You used to have to install docker-compose and run docker-compose, but now you don't. Docker comes with compose, but you call it as docker compose rather than the old Python module based way docker-compose

https://www.docker.com/blog/new-docker-compose-v2-and-v1-deprecation/

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

Thanks for clarifying. I might be sent to uninstall that other package in that case. It’s all working nicely anyway. Appreciate it, thanks again for your help!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

Seconding Navidrome. I stream from my Navidrome server to my phone, and then via DLNA from my phone to my HiFiBerry / stereo system. It's very nice.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Plex is probably the easiest and most convenient, I think jellyfin is viable too, but I don't use it.

If you've got the money, Roon or Audirvana are the gold standard of self hosted music

If you want something similar, but free, look into things like volumio or subsonic based solutions.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Seconding Plex / Plexamp if the use case involves streaming remotely. Probably the easiest to get up and running for remote access.

I'm not sure about the capabilities of hosting on a Pi, but it should be straightforward to run a couple different apps in parallel to test and compare features (I'm currently doing exactly that with Plex and Jellyfin)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

If you already have a NAS, (since SMB was mentioned, I’m assuming there’s some sort of NAS setup going) then you may even be able to host Plex directly on the NAS. It likely won’t be powerful enough for things like video transcoding, but just audio should be fine.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I've been very happy with Navidrome. I have it accessible on a subdomain, so I can just use it from wherever I want. Feishin is a great frontend for Linux desktop, and Tempo is a great frontend for Android.

My friend uses Jellyfin instead of Navidrome, and he's also happy with it. Both the frontends that I mentioned work with Jellyfin as well.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Second Navidrome. I use it with the android app Symfonium and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I used Plex for a long time but moved to Jellyfin after reading about the general direction Plex is going (trying to commercialize it, partner up with industry, make it more than just a self hosted media service).

Both have what you're looking for.

I would say Plex is slightly easier and has the benefit of PlexAmp (available for Linux, Windows, and mobile).

That being said, Jellyfin is about the same ease to get set up, but it's just a tad less polished, but in sort of a nice way. It feels more like "yours", if that makes sense.

For both, I recommend hosting them in Docker, using Docker Compose, and using the LinuxServer version. LinuxServer maintains updated software, packaged in an easy to install format and they help you out with sample Docker Compose files and explanations to get things running.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

I use Plex (Plexamp) and I can not complain. I don't really access via the web browser however, I use the app for dedicated music playback.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Currently I use Jellyfin and found it simple enough to setup. My personal setup is https on the public internet using Caddy as a reverse proxy to handle the https part, but you can set it up for local network access only using http.

Jellyfin itself is not the greatest music player ever, (UI is more setup for movies and tv) but there are music-centric apps that use it as a backend that are really good, for most platforms. On my phone and tablet, I really like Finamp, and on the desktop I use Sonixd.

I’m also considering just getting a portable, 128GB FLAC player with a minijack connection and moving on with my life without getting involved in networking at all.

I used this setup for the better part of 20 years. Nothing wrong with it, my music collection simply expanded to the point where it simply wasn't feasible to store all of it on my iPod anymore and from day to day I never really know what I'm going to be in the mood to listen to. Setting up a streaming service made more sense for me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the Web
IP Internet Protocol
NAS Network-Attached Storage
Plex Brand of media server package
SMB Server Message Block protocol for file and printer sharing; Windows-native
VPN Virtual Private Network

[Thread #971 for this sub, first seen 16th Sep 2024, 05:35] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

ReadyMedia (formerly MiniDLNA) works fine for me as a container via podman on a raspberry pi.

podman run -d --name=minidlna \
--net host \
-v dir/to/music:/media/audio \
-e MINIDLNA_MEDIA_DIR_1=A,/media/audio \
-e MINIDLNA_FRIENDLY_NAME=Music \
--restart on-failure:3 \
--platform linux/arm64 \
docker.io/vladgh/minidlna:latest

No http interface though for playback. Still very simple and does the job for me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

That looks quick to get going

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I'm using Jellyfin, but navidrome worked just as well when I tried it

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I'm using a Jellyfin server with Symonium on android. It's almost as good as plexamp, but sadly not available on other platforms. Symfonium will work with any media player that uses subsonic. My current jellyfin implementation is http with a VPN for external use.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I prefer Airsonic-Advanced over Navidrome when using the web interface. Airsonic-Advanced and the Substreamer android app are a nice combo. You can run both severs side by side if you are setting up docker containers.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Jellyfin should work fine for what you're looking for. I haven't run it on a Pi but it should work on that. You'll be able to play music using the web ui as well as mobile apps if that's your thing. It can also transcode on the fly so if your current browser/device/whatever can't play .flac directly it'll automatically transcode the playback to .mp3 or whatever it needs to be.

There are some other self hosted music/streaming projects you could take a look at that are much more built out for music playback specifically. Look into Airsonic-Advanced or Navidrome for example - I've been meaning to check them out myself but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I have a RaspberryPi with a Plex container sitting upstairs. Works like a charm

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Jellyfin or funkwhale

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Plex is moving in the app direction... So Plex is probably moving away from what you want despite being one of the easiest options.

It would probably be helpful to know what you're trying to accomplish beyond "what". Like, why do you want to host your music and play it via a web browser.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Plex was easy enough to set up. I use plexamp on my phone but can access the Plex server via a browser, which includes my music

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Looks like you may have made a decision already, but wanted to give Polaris a mention. Been using that on my home server, has a nice Web-UI and a mobile app on F-Droid as well.

https://github.com/agersant/polaris

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Streaming my own music was the reason I got into self-hosting in the first place and I’ve been satisfied with Navidrome for over a year now. My preference is to stream via an app on my phone but I’ve made accounts for a couple friends and they stream happily on multiple devices using the browser interface.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I'm also considering just getting a portable, 128GB FLAC player with a minijack connection and moving on with my life without getting involved in networking at all.

Yeah, I'd say that this is definitely the way to go. My .mp3 player only has something like 8 gigs of storage, but it takes a MicroSD card. With a 1 tb card, I can carry all the music I want (and realistically, given that your collection is pretty small, you could get away with a whole lot less than that).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Ampache, good web interface and subsonic client support.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Moode maybe.

https://moodeaudio.org/

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