Audio & video
Why I built three self-hosted libraries instead of one
Navidrome for my music, Audiobookshelf for listening and Calibre-Web Automated for ebooks. The setup, the messy metadata and the mistakes that shaped it.
The full storyNavidrome: self-hosted music streaming
Navidrome serves an existing music collection through a web player and Subsonic-compatible clients while leaving the source files in place.
ACCESS AND VALUE
Free open-source software under the GPL-3.0 licence
How I use Navidrome
I run Navidrome in my self-hosted media stack for streaming my music library.
What makes it different?
It serves an existing music collection through a web player and Subsonic-compatible clients without replacing the source files.
Competitors
Product source checked 2026-09-22.
Who it is for
Streaming a personal music library from a self-hosted server.
Who can claim it?
The software is publicly available. A server, storage and a legally obtained music library are required.
What the free software includes, and what costs extra
The operator is responsible for the server, storage, metadata, backups and remote access. The software does not include music.
Billing and renewal
There is no recurring software charge; server and storage costs remain separate.
- Tax basis
- Not applicable to the free software or plan
- Card required
- Provider’s signup terms
- Expiry
- No fixed availability end date is listed.
- Public research date
- 22 Sept 2026
- Source checked
- 22 Sept 2026