Java AirPlay

• Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (1280×720 @ 24 fps)
• Windows laptop (1920×1080 @ 30 fps)

• AirPlay audio and screen mirroring (FairPlay decrypt)
• HLS video playback
• Volume control
• Two native playback backends: GStreamer and FFmpeg (ffplay)
• Optional session dump (protocol + decrypted media) for debugging
• System tray with cast picker (discover LAN receivers and send a stream)

• Cast synthetic test A/V (client.video.src=videotest, client.audio.src=audiotest) to another AirPlay receiver from the tray menu — useful for end-to-end send-path checks without a camera or screen capture. AAC audiotest is sent on the legacy FairPlay path; HAP/DataStream sessions are video-only today

git clone https://github.com/serezhka/java-airplay.git
cd java-airplay
./gradlew :app:gstreamer:bootRun

FFmpeg backend: ./gradlew :app:ffmpeg:bootRun.
./gradlew bootJar builds both fat jars.

Download the latest release, then run one backend:

java -jar java-airplay-gstreamer-{version}.jar
java -jar java-airplay-ffmpeg-{version}.jar

On the phone, tablet, or Mac, open Screen Mirroring (or AirPlay from a video app) and pick the advertised name (default: JavaAirPlay).

Each fat jar ships its own application.properties (app/gstreamer, app/ffmpeg). Override by placing application.properties in the working directory:

# Receiver
airplay.server-name=JavaAirPlay
airplay.width=1920
airplay.height=1080
airplay.fps=60
airplay.hls-enabled=true
airplay.mdns-loopback=false
airplay.tray-enabled=true
# Cast sender: videotest|screencapture|none  /  audiotest|none
client.video.src=videotest
client.audio.src=audiotest
# Dump (optional receive-side sidecar)
dump.enabled=false
dump.directory=dumps
dump.protocol=true
dump.video=true
dump.audio=true
dump.playlist=true
dump.artwork=true
dump.videoFps=60

GStreamer and FFmpeg are separate apps. Install the native stack that matches the jar or bootRun task you start.

Install: GStreamer documentation · Downloads

On Windows 11 with Smart App Control enabled, HLS may fail to decode: the official GStreamer runtime ships unsigned plugin DLLs, and SAC blocks them when Java loads them. There is no per-app allowlist. Mirroring may still work if those plugins are already trusted; for HLS on Windows use the FFmpeg backend, turn SAC off or disable hls with airplay.hls-enabled=false

Uses ffplay on PATH.

Install: FFmpeg download

Set dump.enabled=true to record beside the live player under dumps/<timestamp>_<sessionId>/:

• protocol/ — RTSP/HTTP captures
• media/ — decrypted .h264 / remuxed .mp4, audio .caf / .aac
• extras/ — HLS playlists, artwork, DMAP metadata when present

This monorepo unites the former:

• java-airplay-lib
• java-airplay-server
• java-airplay-server-examples

MIT