Navidrome

Run a large multi-user music library even on modest hardware

Navidrome is designed for low resource usage and can run on small systems such as a Raspberry Pi Zero as well as Linux, macOS, Windows, and Docker deployments. It handles large collections and monitors the music library for changes so new files and updated metadata are imported automatically. Multi-user support keeps play counts, playlists, and favorites separate, while multi-library support and per-user access controls make it possible to divide collections between household members or different listening contexts.

Sources: [1][2]

Keep Navidrome as the server while choosing from a wide Subsonic client ecosystem

In addition to its responsive built-in web interface, Navidrome is compatible with Subsonic, Madsonic, and Airsonic-style clients across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android TV, CarPlay, and other platforms. The compatible API covers playlists, ratings, favorites, bookmarks, play queues, transcoding, scrobbling to services such as Last.fm and ListenBrainz, lyrics, radio, and sharing. This makes the client replaceable: you can keep the same server and library while selecting the playback app that best matches each device.

Sources: [1][2]

For people who keep their own music files and want one library available everywhere

Navidrome fits listeners who have ripped CDs, purchased FLAC or MP3 files, or maintained a carefully tagged music library and want to reach it from phones, computers, and home audio devices without depending on a commercial streaming catalog. It is especially attractive when you already use Subsonic-compatible players or want to run the service from a NAS, Raspberry Pi, or other always-on home server. Compared with a broader photo-and-video media server, Navidrome is a focused option when music is the primary workload and low overhead matters.

Sources: [1][2]

Plan around tag-based organization and FFmpeg-backed transcoding

Navidrome is tag-oriented and does not provide native browsing that follows the filesystem folder hierarchy directly. For Subsonic clients it simulates a folder structure from metadata such as album artist, album, and track. Libraries that rely mainly on directory layout should therefore check and clean key tags before migration if they want predictable browsing and grouping.

On-the-fly transcoding is available per user or player, but the implementation depends on FFmpeg; if FFmpeg cannot be found, transcoding will fail. Server sizing and configuration should account for source formats, player codec support, and network bandwidth. The repository is licensed under GNU GPL v3, so distributing modified builds or incorporating and redistributing covered code carries source and licensing obligations that differ from permissive licenses such as MIT.

Sources: [2][3][4]