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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.
QBZ exists as the player we wish a streaming company would give its users. It exists to fill the gap of an official client on Linux, because we don't like being second class citizens.
But it is just as important to understand what QBZ is not, and never will be. It is not a web wrapper; I did not just package the web player and "Linuxify" it. It is not a download tool, and it never will be. I built QBZ and not TDL, SPTFY or DZR because I believe music belongs to the artists, and Qobuz is, so far, the fairest option and the one with the best quality. That is why QBZ exists.
It will never have a built-in equalizer or DSP, either. The point is to send audio to your DAC untouched, bit for bit, and any processing would break that. If you want an EQ or effects, add them at the system level, for example with EasyEffects on PipeWire or a JACK graph, which make it easy.
You can download songs to listen to them offline, but they carry the same locks as the official client and the same usage window once your membership expires.
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
- 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
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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
QBZ is available on:
- Flathub
- Snap Store
- AUR (Arch Linux)
- Gentoo and Nix / nixpkgs overlays
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GitHub Releases — Linux
.deb,.rpm,.AppImage,.flatpak,.tar.gz(x86_64 + aarch64), standaloneqbzddaemon tarballs, and macOS.dmg(Apple Silicon + Intel)
See the Installation page for detailed instructions.
- Linux (x86_64 or aarch64) or macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel; experimental — see Installation)
- Qobuz account (Studio or Sublime, both stream Hi-Res)
- Audio system: PipeWire (recommended), ALSA, PulseAudio, or JACK
See System Requirements for full details.
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.
QBZ uses the Qobuz API but is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by Qobuz. Qobuz is a trademark of Xandrie SA.