Introduction

Music Hub Documentation

Music Hub is a local-first music system built around one desktop hub and one companion phone app.

Today, the public product is:

  • Desktop hubs for your local library
  • Mobile companion apps for iOS and Android
  • Wi-Fi and remote playback from the same hub
  • Public share pages for tracks, albums, artists, and playlists
  • A p2p way to collaborate on playlists with another hub

What Music Hub Does

Music Hub adds a streaming layer over the library you already maintain.

That means:

  • you keep your own folders and files
  • you do not upload your library to a third-party streaming catalog
  • your phone uses the same library the desktop hub already knows about
  • remote access, pairing, and sharing are built on top of that desktop hub

Current Public Availability

  • Desktop hub: current access is handled from music-hub.gordo.design (opens in a new tab)
  • iOS companion: currently distributed through TestFlight
  • Android companion: currently in closed beta through Google Play testing
  • Docker server: available for NAS, Linux server, seedbox, and Docker Desktop setups; currently treated as a testing channel with community feedback via Telegram (opens in a new tab) or WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)
  • Windows / Linux desktop hub: available for source builds; packaged installers are not public yet

Pricing, licensing, and open source

Tape Music Hub is mainly intended as a one-time-purchase app that becomes your opinionated personal music hub. It is a side project I plan to keep pushing for the long term. There is also a monthly plan for testing or short-term remote use, but the product is not meant to be subscription-first.

  • Your files stay yours — there is no subscription to a third-party music catalog.
  • Remote streaming (phone away from home / off the hub’s usual LAN) is gated by a paid desktop license on the hub, sold through the landing site (opens in a new tab).
  • The shipped Desktop apps and Mobile apps are proprietary; they are not licensed as OSS you can repackage or resell. Technical docs and some repository layout may be public for transparency and builds — that does not change the app license.
  • My intention is to open source core modules as soon as they are ready, so the community can build themes and add-ons for personalizing Music Hub.

For the exact legal wording, use the product site: Terms of Service (opens in a new tab).

Quick Links

  • Getting Started — the current public onboarding path
  • Docker Setup — NAS/server setup, LAN pairing, and Docker Desktop networking
  • Features — what each surface does today
  • Pairing & Remote — how Wi-Fi, Tailscale, public remote, and licensing fit together
  • FAQ — current public questions and constraints
  • Architecture — how the desktop, mobile, landing, docs, and relay repos relate
  • Building — source build and release commands
  • Troubleshooting — common failure modes
  • API Reference — desktop hub API surface

Product Shape

Desktop apps (The hub)

  • scans local folders
  • stores metadata and playback state
  • serves the library API
  • handles pairing, remote access, and public share links

Mobile apps companion

  • connects to the desktop hub
  • browses the same library
  • plays on Wi-Fi first, then remote when available

Help

Getting Started