Help test Kalinka with your own music

[madenvel]

Kalinka is a self-hosted player for a local MP3/FLAC collection: a server on a Linux box or a Raspberry Pi, a separate C++ renderer that hands ALSA the samples unchanged, and control from a phone, a desktop app or any browser on the network. There's optional search that works on how a track sounds rather than what it's filed under, and that runs on the device.

I use it every day on my own system. What I don't have is evidence of it working on anyone else's, and that's the gap I'd like to close before building anything more. I'm looking for a few people who'll install it, point it at their own music, and play something through their own hi-fi.

What's actually useful to me, in order:

• What you play your collection with today, and the last time that setup annoyed you. If Kalinka wouldn't fix that particular thing, better we both know before you spend an evening on it.
• Whether you can get from the install instructions to a playing album without asking me anything. If you have to ask, that is the result — tell me where you stopped and I'll fix the instructions or the software.
• What you were listening to a week later. If you went back to what you had before, I'd rather hear that and why than not hear again.

Worth mentioning when you reply: the machine you'd run it on, where the music lives (local disk, NAS, something mounted), and what the sound comes out of. You never need to send me files, or a listing of your library, or anything about what's in it.

Before you spend the evening. 64-bit OS only — arm64 or amd64, so no Pi 1, Pi 2 or original Zero. FLAC and MP3 only: no DSD, no ALAC, no WAV. Gapless doesn't cross a format change. The sound-based search wants 2 GB of RAM and an indexing pass over your library before it's any use, and it's off until you turn it on. Browser playback goes through the browser's audio stack, so no gapless and no bit-perfect claim there.

Quickest route is a flashable image — write it, boot it, open http://<its-ip>:8000 and it plays in the browser, before you commit to installing a renderer anywhere. The installation guide covers the images, the one-line install and the hardware requirements; the first-run setup guide walks through what the setup wizard asks.

Music on a NAS? Since 5.1.0 the server reads an SMB share itself — no mount, just the share name and a login (how). The images still carry 5.0.0; the app offers the upgrade within an hour of the first boot.

Setup questions are welcome in this thread — that's what it's for. If you find something reproducibly broken, an issue is easier for me to act on.

[aandrey8888]

Hello. Why isn't it asking for a username and password when connecting to the NAS?

[madenvel]

Hi @aandrey8888 ,
How do you connect to your NAS?

If that's SMB, the version supporting smb is still being tested and not cut off yet. The user and the password can be specified in the settings, but I am still testing that.

The current stable version (5.0.0) support local mounts only (the path must be a part of local filesystem).

Let me know what your exact scenario is so I can help you.

[aandrey8888]

Yes, SMB

[madenvel]

Okay, that makes sense then. I haven't cut off the version with smb, still have a few tests to finish. Will update you when complete

[aandrey8888]

Ok, thanks 👍

[madenvel]

Hi @aandrey8888, the version with SMB support is out now: Kalinka 5.1.0.

To upgrade, run the installer again on the server:

curl -fsSL https://kalinkaplayer.com/install.sh | sudo bash

Then go to Server settings → Input modules → My Library → Music sources and add a Network share. Enter the NAS's address, then the share name as the NAS shows it, followed by any folder inside it (for example music/Albums); Kalinka can't list the shares for you. Under Sign in, use an account on the NAS, or pick Guest if the share is open to guests. Nothing needs to be mounted. You'll need the Kalinka app 0.11.0 for this, or the browser player at http://<server-ip>:8000, which the installer updates too.

Please give it a try and let me know how it goes, here or in a new issue. If something doesn't work, the NAS model and the exact message Kalinka shows help a lot. Server settings → General → Support → Download server logs gives you a ZIP you can attach; passwords are left out of it.

[aandrey8888]

Updated to version 5.1.1. There are no Music sources. Only Music folders

[madenvel]

@aandrey8888 did you update the client as well?

The 5.x is generally compatible with the 0.10+ but to be sure 0.11.0 is needed.

Also – how did you update – using the installation script or from the app?

If you are using web interface – make sure to reload you browser using Ctrl+Shift+R, it cashes the old page with compiled flutter.

Thanks.

[aandrey8888]

It works. I had to update the Android app.

[madenvel]

Let me know if you have any feedback, what your use-case and whether it was fully covered, highly appreciated.

[aandrey8888]

I couldn't find folder sorting in the library like on the NAS, only artist - album - track

[madenvel]

Glad it's working now, and thanks for trying it!

You're right, there's no folder view at the moment. Kalinka reads the tags and the folder paths and builds the library as Artists → Albums → Tracks. Folders help it work out which tracks belong to which album, but they aren't shown the way the NAS shows them.

To browse with some criteria in place, tap Discover (the crimson button), open My Library and use the filter / search button in the top right. If you've turned on smart search in the settings, you can also type a mood or a name and it will find matching music.

I'm curious what you use the folders for. Are they collections (by genre, by source, compilations), or is it just how the files are arranged on the NAS? If you'd use folder browsing regularly, I'm happy to look at adding it. A short issue describing how you'd use it would help.

[aandrey8888]

An external Fiio Ka11 DAC is connected. The volume is adjustable via hardware. Folder sorting is very useful; I'm used to it that way.

[madenvel]

Thanks, that helps. Good to hear the KA11 works.

Before I build a folder view, I'd like to get it right for how you use it. A few quick questions:

Which app do you use now to browse your folders? I'd like to see what you're used to.
Roughly how are your folders arranged, and how deep do they go? For example Genre / Artist / Album, or Artist / Album / CD1. Just the pattern, no need for real names.
When you open a folder, what do you usually do? Go down to one album and play it, or play everything inside, including subfolders?

[aandrey8888]

I have folders for new releases, sleep music, and other things. Organizing them into playlists isn't convenient. If I switch to a different player, I'll have to create them all over again.

[madenvel]

That makes sense, thanks. So your folders are your own collections, and they stay with you whatever player you use. That's a good reason to have a folder view, and I'll add it.

One last question: inside a folder like "sleep music", do you have album folders, or just tracks directly in it?

Small request: could you use the Reply button under a comment when answering? That keeps our conversation in one thread, so it's easier for others to follow later. Thanks!

[aandrey8888]

It varies. But my folder tree isn't deep. Usually, it's Music - Category - Artist - Album. But sometimes it's Music - Category - Artist - Album - CD1 + CD2.

[aandrey8888]

I also have a Fiio ka15 and Hiby DAC, I can check on Monday...