How to Self-Host Navidrome: Music Streaming Server (Spotify Alternative) 2026

TL;DR

Navidrome (GPL 3.0, ~11K GitHub stars, Go) is a self-hosted music streaming server that turns your local music library into a Spotify-like streaming service. It's Subsonic API compatible, which means it works with every Subsonic client — iOS, Android, desktop, web. Stream FLAC, MP3, AAC, and any audio format to any device. Spotify Premium costs $9.99/month and only has what they license; Navidrome streams your own lossless library for free.

Key Takeaways

Navidrome: GPL 3.0, ~11K stars — self-hosted Subsonic music server, all formats
Subsonic API compatible: Works with Symfonium, DSub, Feishin, Foobar2000, and more
All formats: FLAC, MP3, AAC, OGG, OPUS, ALAC — streams lossless to compatible clients
Transcoding: Converts FLAC → MP3 on-the-fly for low-bandwidth connections
Smart playlists: Dynamic playlists based on rules
Multi-user: Each user has their own play count, favorites, playlists

Navidrome vs Funkwhale vs Spotify

Feature	Navidrome	Funkwhale	Spotify
License	GPL 3.0	AGPL 3.0	Proprietary
Cost	Free	Free	$9.99/mo
Lossless (FLAC)	Yes	Yes	No (max 320kbps)
Own library	Yes	Yes	No (their catalog)
Subsonic API	Yes	Yes (partial)	No
Smart playlists	Yes	No	Yes
Social features	No	Yes (federation)	Yes
Transcoding	Yes	Yes	—
iOS apps	Via Subsonic	Via Subsonic	Official
RAM	~50MB	~200MB	—
GitHub Stars	~11K	~1.5K	—

Part 1: Docker Setup

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  navidrome:
    image: deluan/navidrome:latest
    container_name: navidrome
    restart: unless-stopped
    user: "1000:1000"
    ports:
      - "4533:4533"
    volumes:
      - navidrome_data:/data
      - /path/to/music:/music:ro    # Your music library (read-only)
    environment:
      ND_SCANSCHEDULE: "1h"          # Scan for new music every hour
      ND_LOGLEVEL: "info"
      ND_SESSIONTIMEOUT: "24h"
      ND_BASEURL: ""
      ND_SPOTIFY_ID: ""              # Optional: Spotify API for artist images
      ND_SPOTIFY_SECRET: ""
      ND_LASTFM_ENABLED: "true"      # Optional: Last.fm scrobbling
      ND_LASTFM_APIKEY: ""
      ND_LASTFM_SECRET: ""
      ND_ENABLEGRAVATAR: "true"      # User avatars from Gravatar
      ND_DEFAULTLANGUAGE: "en"
      ND_DEFAULTTHEME: "Dark"

volumes:
  navidrome_data:

docker compose up -d

Visit http://your-server:4533 → create admin account.

Part 2: HTTPS with Caddy

music.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:4533
}

Part 3: Music Library Organization

Navidrome follows standard music tagging conventions:

/music/
  Artist Name/
    Album Name (2020)/
      01 - Track Title.flac
      02 - Track Title.flac
      cover.jpg           ← Album art
  Various Artists/
    Compilation (2019)/
      01 - Artist - Track.mp3

Tagging matters: Navidrome reads metadata from ID3 tags (MP3), FLAC tags, etc.

Recommended taggers:

beets (command line, automated)
MusicBrainz Picard (GUI, accurate)
Mp3tag (Windows GUI)

Part 4: Connect Mobile Apps

Android — Symfonium (Recommended)

Symfonium (~$6) is the best Android Navidrome client:

Add media provider → Navidrome / OpenSubsonic
Server URL: https://music.yourdomain.com
Username + password
Downloads for offline, CarPlay support, album art

Android — DSub (Free)

DSub — free, open source:

Server URL: https://music.yourdomain.com
Username + password
Version: Subsonic 1.15 or higher

iOS — Amperfy

Amperfy (free, open source):

Add Navidrome server
URL + credentials
Downloads, queue management, background playback

Desktop — Feishin

Feishin is a beautiful cross-platform desktop app:

# macOS/Linux/Windows:
# Download from GitHub releases

Configure → Navidrome server URL + credentials.

Web Player (Built-in)

Navidrome includes its own web player at https://music.yourdomain.com:

Browse by Artist/Album/Genre
Create playlists
Queue management
Last.fm integration

Part 5: Transcoding

For clients that don't support FLAC or for low-bandwidth connections:

environment:
  ND_TRANSCODINGENABLED: "true"
  # Transcoding is configured per-user in Settings or by format

Per-user transcoding settings:

User → Personal Settings → Max Bit Rate
Set to 128/192/320 kbps — Navidrome transcodes FLAC → MP3 on-the-fly

Or configure globally:

# navidrome.toml
TranscodingCacheSize = "100MiB"

Part 6: Last.fm Scrobbling

Track what you listen to with Last.fm:

Settings → External Integrations → Last.fm
Get API key from last.fm/api
Enable per-user in Personal Settings → Last.fm link

Or use ListenBrainz (open alternative to Last.fm):

environment:
  ND_LISTENBRAINZ_ENABLED: "true"

Part 7: Multi-User Setup

Add users with different permissions:

Settings → Users → New User
Set: username, password, role
Roles:
- Admin: Full access including settings
- Regular: Browse and play only
- Download: Can download tracks

Each user has their own:

Play history and statistics
Playlists
Favorites (starred tracks)
Last.fm/ListenBrainz account

Part 8: Smart Playlists

Create dynamic playlists using the Navidrome query language:

# Recently added albums:
albumDate after -30 days

# 5-star tracks:
starred = true AND rating = 5

# Unplayed music:
playCount = 0

# Jazz released in the 60s:
genre = "Jazz" AND albumDate > 1960 AND albumDate < 1970

# Long tracks (20+ minutes):
duration > 1200

Part 9: Beets Integration (Auto-Tagging)

beets automatically tags and organizes your music from MusicBrainz:

# Install beets:
pip install beets

# config.yaml
directory: /music
library: /data/beets/musiclibrary.db

import:
  copy: yes
  move: no

plugins: fetchart embedart lastgenre

# Import and tag your music collection:
beet import /path/to/untagged/music/

After beets tags everything properly, Navidrome's metadata will be perfect.

Maintenance

# Update Navidrome:
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# Trigger manual library scan:
# Admin → Library → Scan Now

# Logs:
docker compose logs -f navidrome

# Backup (SQLite database):
tar -czf navidrome-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  $(docker volume inspect navidrome_navidrome_data --format '{{.Mountpoint}}')

See all open source music and media tools at OSSAlt.com/categories/media.

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