A while ago, I saw people suggesting Navidrome for self hosted music streaming.

I don’t understand what’s the relationship between Subsonic and Navidrome. Navidrome makes some use of Subsonic API. What does that mean?

Subsonic looks like a proprietary software. How does Navidrome, an open source (MIT) package, use their API? Is the API licensed for this?

Do I expect any Subsonic app to work perfectly with Navidrome? Or is it partial inter-compatibility?

Extra questions:

  • Recommended android app? I would like to have good offline support to select and sync music that will then be available on my phone without network

  • Podcast/audiobook support? Am currently using audiobookshelf, is this compatible at all? Not sure if any benefit even if theoretically possible.

  • Shimitar ( Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu ) English
    7·
    3 months ago

    As far as I get it, subsonic has an open API implemented by navidrome and a few other open source servers. All subsonic compatible apps will work.

    For Android the best is by far Symfonium, but it a paid app (well worth it).

    Otherwise tempus is another valid and open source app.

    And no, subsonic (and navidrome) has nothing to do with audiobooks or podcasts. I selfhost both navidrome and audiobook shelf to cover all cases, and I am pretty comfortable.

      • layzerjeyt ( laserjet@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) OP
        1·
        3 months ago

        I found a few threads where people were loving it but they were from a few years back.

        I installed it but the configuration was not straightforward. Thats why I was wondering if these things are all compatible, because the other client felt totally different… If its still a good choice I’ll need to go back when I have the concentration to read about what it is wanting for set up.

    • fozid ( fozid@feddit.uk ) 
      3·
      3 months ago

      Totally agree with you! It’s not flashy or modern looking, but everything is where it should be and it all just works exactly as I want it to. I keep others installed on my phone to just to look at if an update improves them, but nothing has yet. Currently installed are ultrasonic, tempo and substream. Non are as good, but all looks better than dsub2000.

      • Dessalines ( dessalines@lemmy.ml ) 
        3·
        3 months ago

        Yep. Dsub is pretty much in feature-complete, maintenance-mode, that is years out of date and hasn’t even updated to material 3 UI’s which the others have.

        I check the others every few months or so, but they’re all still either buggy or missing so many features compared to dsub, that I have to switch back.

  • SGH ( sgh@lemmy.ml ) 
    3·
    3 months ago

    Preface: This is what I learnt about Subsonic and such. The informations below may not be fully correct but the core idea is there.

    An API is not a piece of software.

    It is merely a way to define how to make a software “do” an action, like search for a song title or download the song file for streaming/playback.

    Navidrome does not make use of anything from Subsonic, it merely implements (exposes) a Subsonic-compatible API.

    Knowing this information, anyone can run a web request to Navidrome and search for a song, and download/stream it, like they would already do for any other Subsonic-compatible provider:

    You can find a plethora of software that can leverage any Subsonic-compatible API provider to connect to that music library, from dedicated Web UIs to Android and iOS apps, which know how to download and stream songs and play them back.

    This mechanism gives the user the freedom to choose the backend and frontend, and the developers can just implement the part they prefer: for example, the Navidrome team does not have to build an Android or iOS App, whereas App developers don’t need to write a serverside application to manage the “real” music archive, decode tags, or even implement a search algorithm, as all this data can be asked via the API.

    Technically, Navidrome wouldn’t even need a Web UI.

    Over the years, the Subsonic API has been forked into OpenSubsonic API, which as far as I could tell, merely serves as a way to better define, and to further add new features into, an otherwise closed and possibly reverse-engineered API.

  • T (they/she) ( Templa@beehaw.org ) 
    3·
    3 months ago

    I use Tempus on my phone for our Navidrome server. You can download your music to be available offline, I use it a lot.

    Edit: On their repo it says they have podcast support but I never used it so I don’t know how well it works.

  • Freakazoid ( Freakazoid@lemmy.ml ) 
    2·
    3 months ago

    Currently im using Namida which is also great and open-source in contrary to Symfonium.

    Namida supports Local music, Subsonic and Navidrome servers, WebDAV and even YT music if you even need a song that isn’t in your collection yet.

    Another alternative (proprietary) is Symfonium

  • relic4322 ( relic4322@lemmy.ml ) 
    2·
    3 months ago

    Navidrome user here as well. I use feishen as my Linux and windows desktop client. Big fan of both.

    As others have said, api is just the standard, so it gives you a lot of options

  • Dessalines ( dessalines@lemmy.ml ) 
    2·
    3 months ago

    Podcast/audiobook support? Am currently using audiobookshelf, is this compatible at all? Not sure if any benefit even if theoretically possible.

    For this I’d just recommend getting the Voice audiobook app from f-droid, and in audiobookshelf, download any books you’re currently reading locally. There’s nothing better than audiobookshelf for audiobooks anyway.