Jukebox mode

Introduction

Navidrome’s Jukebox feature is a built-in functionality that allows users to play music directly to the server’s audio hardware. This essentially turns your server into a jukebox, enabling you to play songs or playlists remotely through a supported Subsonic client. With the Jukebox feature, you can control the audio playback in real-time, just like you would with any other media player. It’s a convenient way to enjoy your music collection without the need for additional hardware or software. Ideal for parties, background music, or personal enjoyment, this feature enhances the versatility of your Navidrome server setup.

Navidrome’s Jukebox mode is based on the OpenSource audio player MPV. MPV is a mature and tested audio/videoplayer that is supported on many platforms. Navidrome’s Jukebox mode uses MPV for audio playback in combination with MPV’s feature to be controlled through IPC.

MPV Installation

MPV must be present on the system where the Navidrome server runs. You might find it already installed or could install it yourself using the methods given on the MPV’s installation page.

The minimal requirement is the IPC support. MPV added IPC support with version 0.7.0 for Linux and macOS and added Windows support with version 0.17.0. Your OS will most probably include newer versions (0.3X) which we recommend. After the installation check the version with:

$ mpv --version

Jukebox mode will use the MPV audio device naming scheme for its configuration. To get an overview about the available audio devices on the system do:

$ mpv --audio-device=help

Here is an example on macOS:

List of detected audio devices:
  'auto' (Autoselect device)
  'coreaudio/AppleGFXHDAEngineOutputDP:10001:0:{D109-7950-00005445}' (BenQ EW3270U)
  'coreaudio/AppleUSBAudioEngine:Cambridge Audio :Cambridge Audio USB Audio 1.0:0000:1' (Cambridge Audio USB 1.0 Audio Out)
  'coreaudio/BuiltInSpeakerDevice' (MacBook Pro-Lautsprecher)

or on Linux:

List of detected audio devices:
  'auto' (Autoselect device)
  'alsa' (Default (alsa))
  'alsa/jack' (JACK Audio Connection Kit)
  'alsa/default:CARD=Headphones' (bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones/Default Audio Device)
   
  ...

  'jack' (Default (jack))
  'sdl' (Default (sdl))
  'sndio' (Default (sndio))

Please use the full device name if you do not want to use MPV’s auto device. For example on macOS:

"coreaudio/AppleUSBAudioEngine:Cambridge Audio :Cambridge Audio USB Audio 1.0:0000:1"

Configuration

Jukebox mode is enabled by setting this option in your configuration file (normally navidrome.toml):

Jukebox.Enabled = true

In most cases, this should be the only config option needed.

The MPV binary should be found automatically on the path. In case this does not work use this configuration option:

MPVPath = "/path/to/mpv"

Jukebox mode will use MPV’s auto device for playback if no device is given.

One can supply an array of multiple devices under Jukebox.Devices:

Jukebox.Devices = [
    # "symbolic name " "device"
    [ "internal",     "coreaudio/BuiltInSpeakerDevice" ],
    [ "dac",          "coreaudio/AppleUSBAudioEngine:Cambridge Audio :Cambridge Audio USB Audio 1.0:0000:1" ]
]

and select one by using Jukebox.Default:

Jukebox.Default = "dac"

Here is one example configuration:

# Enable/Disable Jukebox mode
Jukebox.Enabled = true

# List of registered devices, syntax:
#  "symbolic name " - Symbolic name to be used in UI's
#  "device" - MPV audio device name, do mpv --audio-device=help to get a list

Jukebox.Devices = [
    # "symbolic name " "device"
    [ "internal",     "coreaudio/BuiltInSpeakerDevice" ],
    [ "dac",          "coreaudio/AppleUSBAudioEngine:Cambridge Audio :Cambridge Audio USB Audio 1.0:0000:1" ]
]

# Device to use for Jukebox mode, if there are multiple entries above.
# Using device "auto" if missing
Jukebox.Default = "dac"

Troubleshooting

If Jukebox mode is enabled one should see the message “Starting playback server” in the log. The number of detected audio devices and the device chosen will be given in the log as well:

INFO[0000] Starting playback server
INFO[0000] 4 audio devices found
INFO[0000] Using default audio device: dac

For further troubleshooting, set Navidrome’s loglevel to DEBUG:

LogLevel = 'DEBUG'