owntone-server (previously known as forked-daapd) is a DAAP (iTunes), MPD (Music Player Daemon) and RSP (Roku) media server. There’s a web interface that offers playback, trigger manual library rescans, pair with remotes, select speakers, authenticate with Spotify, etc.
It supports AirPlay devices/speakers, Apple Remote (and compatibles), MPD clients, Chromecast, network streaming, internet radio, Spotify and LastFM.
It does not support streaming video by AirPlay nor Chromecast.
DAAP stands for Digital Audio Access Protocol which is the protocol used by iTunes and friends to share/stream media libraries over the network.
forked-daapd is a complete rewrite of mt-daapd (Firefly Media Server).
Supported clients:
- DAAP clients, like iTunes or Rhythmbox.
- Remote clients, like Apple Remote or compatibles for Android/Windows Phone.
- AirPlay devices, like AirPort Express, Shairport and various AirPlay speakers.
- Chromecast devices.
- MPD clients, like mpc.
- MP3 network stream clients, like VLC and almost any other music player.
- RSP clients, like Roku Soundbridge.
Supported formats:
- MPEG4: mp4a, mp4v.
- AAC: alac.
- MP3 (and friends): mpeg.
- FLAC: flac.
- OGG VORBIS: ogg.
- Musepack: mpc.
- WMA: wma (WMA Pro), wmal (WMA Lossless), wmav (WMA video).
- AIFF: aif.
- WAV: wav.
- Monkey’s audio: ape.
There’s also support for M3U and PLS playlists, smart playlists, as well as support for PNG and JPEG artwork.
Website: owntone.github.io/owntone-serverd
Support: GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Espen Jürgensen, Ace Jones, Dustin King, Kai Elwert, Christian Meffert. Firefply Media Server was written by Julien Blache, Ron Pedde and others.
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
Related Software
| Music Servers | |
|---|---|
| Music Player Daemon | Flexible, powerful, server-side application for playing music |
| Jellyfin | Media system to manage and stream media |
| Koel | Personal music streaming server. |
| Navidrome | Web-based music collection server and streamer |
| Icecast | Ogg Vorbis and MP3 streaming media server |
| Ampache | PHP web based audio/video streaming application and file manager |
| owntone-server | DAAP (iTunes), MPD (Music Player Daemon) and RSP (Roku) server |
| mopidy | Extensible music server |
| gonic | Music streaming server with a subsonic server API implementation |
| Gerbera | UPnP media server |
| Euterpe | Self-hosted streaming service for music |
| Funkwhale | Share music and audio within a decentralized, open network |
| Airsonic | Web-based media streamer |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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