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vicrodh edited this page Jul 24, 2026 · 8 revisions

QBZ — Native Qobuz Client for Linux

QBZ is a free, open-source, native desktop client for Qobuz, built for Linux (and macOS) by audiophiles who care about how audio actually reaches their hardware.

Since 2.0, QBZ is a single native Rust process with a Slint UI — no webview, no browser engine, no npm. Version 2.0.2 is the current release.

Unlike browser-based players or web wrappers, QBZ uses a native audio pipeline with direct ALSA and PipeWire integration, delivering bit-perfect playback, exclusive device access, and per-track sample-rate switching — something no browser can do.

Browsers resample everything to 48 kHz through the system mixer. QBZ bypasses that entirely, sending audio straight to your DAC at its native sample rate — up to 24-bit / 192 kHz, including DSD.

Why QBZ Instead of a Web Wrapper?

Web wrappers QBZ
Audio pipeline WebAudio (browser) — capped at 48 kHz Native ALSA/PipeWire — up to 192 kHz
Bit-perfect No (system mixer resamples) Yes (DAC passthrough, exclusive mode)
Sample rate switching No (fixed at system rate) Yes (per-track, automatic)
DAC control None Full (exclusive mode, hardware volume)
System integration Limited MPRIS, notifications, media keys
Offline playback No Yes (local cache + local library)
Resource usage Full browser engine Lightweight native app

Key Features

Audio

  • Bit-perfect playback with DAC passthrough and exclusive device mode
  • 5 audio backends: PipeWire (default), ALSA, ALSA Direct (hw: bypass), PulseAudio, and JACK (pro-audio routing; not bit-perfect)
  • Per-track sample rate switching — automatic, from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz
  • DSD playback (DoP / native, where the DAC supports it)
  • DAC Setup Wizard for guided configuration of USB DACs
  • Gapless playback for uninterrupted listening
  • Loudness normalization (EBU R128 / ReplayGain)
  • Truthful quality reporting — the badge shows the delivered quality and names any downgrade cause (device cap, cast tier, source)

Library and Playback

  • Local library with directory scanning, metadata reading, and CUE sheet support
  • Selectable album grouping — group the local Albums view by metadata or by folder, switched live, no rescan
  • Library "All" — a mixed feed of tracks, albums, playlists and artists across Qobuz and your local files (with genre and sort controls)
  • Tag editor for local files
  • Mixtapes and Collections for local, Qobuz, and Plex music organization inside QBZ
  • Queue management — shuffle, repeat, history
  • Offline mode with automatic reconnection and playback cache
  • Playlist import from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Deezer (fuzzy matching)

Integrations

  • Last.fm scrobbling (with offline queue)
  • ListenBrainz listen submissions
  • MusicBrainz credits and personnel data
  • Discogs alternative artwork
  • MPRIS media controls and desktop integration
  • Chromecast and DLNA/UPnP casting

Interface

  • 30+ theme options including Catppuccin (Latte / Frappé / Macchiato), OLED, desktop-inspired themes, WCAG accessibility themes, High Contrast, and Colorblind — with a searchable theme picker
  • Auto-theme generated from your system colors, wallpaper, or a custom image
  • App-wide dynamic background — an album-art / ambient-shader backdrop behind the whole shell (GPU-accelerated, opt-in)
  • UI in 8 languages — English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Dutch
  • Immersive player with 15+ visualization panels (spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, coverflow, vinyl, and more)
  • Synchronized lyrics display, with optional translation
  • Musician pages, label pages, album credits
  • Pinned Home / For You section and a Most Played Albums rail fed by your own play counts

Ways to run it

  • Desktop app (qbz) — the full native Slint interface on Wayland/X11 (Linux) or Metal (macOS)
  • Headless daemon (qbzd) — a windowless binary that plays to your DAC, shows up as a Qobuz Connect device, and is driven from the terminal, over SSH, or via MPRIS. Built for an always-on box (Raspberry Pi, NUC, LXC, headless server). See Headless Daemon.
  • Kiosk mode (QBZ_PROFILE=kiosk) — a touch-first interface for touchscreens and small panels

Install

QBZ is available on:

  • Flathub (recommended)
  • Snap Store
  • AUR (Arch Linux)
  • Gentoo and Nix / nixpkgs overlays
  • GitHub Releases — Linux .deb, .rpm, .AppImage, .flatpak, .tar.gz (x86_64 + aarch64), standalone qbzd daemon tarballs, and macOS .dmg (Apple Silicon + Intel)

See the Installation page for detailed instructions.

Requirements

  • Linux (x86_64 or aarch64) or macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel; experimental — see Installation)
  • Qobuz account (any plan — Studio or Sublime recommended for Hi-Res)
  • Audio system: PipeWire (recommended), ALSA, PulseAudio, or JACK

See System Requirements for full details.

Getting Started

New to QBZ? Start with the Getting Started guide.

Want to set up your DAC for bit-perfect playback? See Audio Configuration.

Have a local music collection? See Local Library.

Want to organize albums, tracks, playlists, local files, and Plex music together? See Mixtapes and Collections.

Screenshots

SCREENSHOT #1 NEEDED: QBZ 2.0.2 desktop main window on the Home view — sidebar visible, a carousel of album art, the Now Playing bar at the bottom, with the dynamic album-art background enabled

SCREENSHOT #2 NEEDED: The Immersive Player full-screen — large cover art, a visualization panel (spectrum analyzer), and synchronized lyrics

Links

QBZ uses the Qobuz API but is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by Qobuz. Qobuz is a trademark of Xandrie SA.

Website | GitHub | Issues | Flathub

QBZ Wiki

Getting Started

Audio

Appearance

My QBZ

Features

Help

Clone this wiki locally