Mopidy

Set up your own server · Instructions checked 2026-10-14

1. Choose a computer with audio output and follow the official System packages guide for your operating system to install Mopidy and its dependencies.
2. Run mopidy -v once in a terminal. Note the configuration-file location reported in the startup output, then stop it with Ctrl+C.
3. Open that configuration file in a text editor and set the bundled file backend’s media_dirs to the folders containing your own music, following the file-backend reference.
4. Choose a control client from the official Clients guide. Install a web client, or add mopidy-mpd and use a compatible MPD client, following the corresponding extension instructions.
5. Start Mopidy again and connect your chosen client according to its instructions. Browse the configured files and play a track; audio plays on the Mopidy computer.
6. For automatic startup, follow Running as a service for your platform. On Linux services, use /etc/mopidy/mopidy.conf and ensure the mopidy user can read your music folders.

Clients control the server; they do not receive the audio by default. Streaming audio to another device needs additional configuration such as Icecast or Snapcast. A terminal session and a system service use different configuration locations. PulseAudio or PipeWire may need extra configuration for service playback. The core includes no subscription catalog. Mopidy-Spotify requires Spotify Premium, and its current README warns that third-party access-token streaming has been disabled.