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Open source media streaming - audio streaming

Audio streaming tools and software. 28 self-hosted audio streaming tools are listed here, ordered purely by a repository health score that Repoly recomputes nightly. Navidrome Music Server leads at 98/100 with 215 commits in the last 90 days and 24k stars, followed by Audiobookshelf (97) and LMS (93). 18 of the 28 score 70 or above, 13 publish a Docker image, and the median health is 81. GPL-3.0 is the most common licence, carried by 9 of them. Between them they stand in for Spotify, Kindle, SoundCloud, Podbean and Audible. The score weighs commits in the last 90 days, release recency, stars, archive status and Docker support; a low number means low measurable activity, not low quality, so a finished, stable tool can legitimately sit lower down.

updated Oct 2026 28 tools ★ 130k stars 13 with Docker median 81

Best for…

  • Most starred

    Navidrome Music Server

    24,438 stars on GitHub, the largest community in the category.

  • Most active

    Ampache

    1,260 commits in the last 90 days, the fastest-moving codebase here.

  • Most permissive

    multi-scrobbler

    MIT licence with health 92/100: the strongest option if you need to embed or fork commercially.

Ranked by health

Table view

How the audio streaming tools compare

Navidrome Music Server edges Audiobookshelf 98 to 97. Navidrome Music Server also has the largest following, at 24k stars.

The most recent release is mStream v6.32.1, published today. Lyrion Music Server and mpd publish no tagged releases, which costs up to 25 of the 100 points. musikcube and Stretto score under 40, so check recent activity before adopting them. By stack, Python (7), C++ (4) and Nodejs (4) are the most common. multi-scrobbler, Beets, koel and 10 more are permissively licensed; Navidrome Music Server, Audiobookshelf, LMS and 11 more are copyleft. Väinö is source-available rather than open source, which limits commercial reuse. Funkwhale and Väinö are not hosted on a forge Repoly can read, so they have no measured score yet.

Media Streaming - Audio Streaming: common questions

What is the best open source audio streaming tool?

By Repoly's GitHub health score, Navidrome Music Server at 98/100 (215 commits in 90 days, v0.64.2 from 1 month ago). Audiobookshelf is next at 97. The score measures maintenance, not features, so shortlist the top few and try them.

Which audio streaming tools are the most actively developed?

Ampache (1,260 commits in 90 days), mStream (934 commits in 90 days) and multi-scrobbler (702 commits in 90 days). Commit activity is 35 of the 100 health points, the largest single term.

Which audio streaming tools can I run in Docker?

13 of 28 publish a Docker image or Compose file, led by Navidrome Music Server, Audiobookshelf, LMS, multi-scrobbler, Pinepods and 8 more.

Which audio streaming tools have a permissive licence?

13 of 28: multi-scrobbler (MIT), Beets (MIT), koel (MIT), Mopidy (Apache-2.0), vod2pod-rss (MIT) and 8 more. 14 are copyleft.

Which paid products can open source audio streaming tools replace?

Spotify (LMS ranks highest here), Kindle (Audiobookshelf ranks highest here), SoundCloud (koel ranks highest here), Podbean (Audiobookshelf ranks highest here) and Audible (Audiobookshelf ranks highest here).