Playback Modes

Choose how and where your music plays — in the browser, cast to devices, or output from the server itself.

Available Modes

Web Player (default)

The standard mode. Audio streams from the server to your browser and plays locally through your device's speakers or headphones. This is what you get out of the box — no configuration needed.

Client Cast

Cast audio from the web player to AirPlay or Chromecast devices on your network. The browser acts as the controller while audio plays on the target device.

Supported targets:

• AirPlay — Apple TV, HomePod, AirPlay-compatible speakers
• Chromecast — Chromecast dongles, Google Home, Chromecast-enabled speakers and TVs

To cast:

1. Start playing a track in the web player
2. Click the cast icon in the player controls (bottom of the screen)
3. Select your target device from the list
4. Audio will switch to the selected device

The web player continues showing playback controls — you can skip tracks, adjust volume, and manage the queue while casting.

Server Playback

In this mode, the server itself outputs audio to devices connected directly to it (USB DAC, HDMI, 3.5mm jack). Useful if your server is connected to a stereo system and you want to control it remotely from any browser.

With server playback:

• Audio is decoded and output on the server, not in your browser
• The web player becomes a remote control
• Multiple users can see and control the same playback session

Source Preference

When the same track is available from multiple sources (local libraries, shared remote libraries), you can choose which source to prefer for playback:

• Local first — always play from your own server when possible, falling back to remote sources only if the track isn't available locally
• Highest quality — compare the bitrate and format of all available copies and play the best one, regardless of source

This setting is per-user and configured in your playback preferences.

Network Considerations

Mode	Audio travels from	Works remotely?
Web Player	Server → your browser	Yes
Client Cast	Server → browser → cast device	Partial (cast device must be local)
Server Playback	Server → server's audio output	Yes (control only)