The files stay yours
Point the server at local folders or mounted network shares. Kalinka builds its own searchable database without rewriting the source files. Your collection stays on storage you control.
Self-hosted music player · Linux server
Your music library,
Your music library,
on your hardware.
Kalinka plays MP3 and FLAC from storage your Linux server can reach — whether that is a local drive or a NAS elsewhere on your network. Browse the library from Android, Windows, Linux or any browser — without an account, a subscription or a cloud upload.
MP3 + FLAC
Gapless playback
Local-first
Available now
Kalinka at a glance.
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Gapless, bit-perfect playback
Play MP3 and FLAC through your hi-fi, with gapless playback and bit-perfect output.
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UPnP support
Use Kalinka as a UPnP endpoint and play music through it with controllers such as BubbleUPnP.
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Search by mood
Describe a mood, genre or moment. Search runs locally over your collection, with optional Jamendo support.
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Your library, your storage
Play from local drives, a mounted NAS or Jamendo. Keep collections of tracks from different sources stored locally.
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Remote control on your devices
Browse and control playback from Linux, Windows, Android or any browser on your network.
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Runs on your Linux hardware
Install on Debian, Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS, or start with a ready-to-flash image.
The idea
What Kalinka is for
Your music, wherever you keep it. A small Linux box by the amp. A phone in hand. Kalinka brings them together without asking you to copy the collection into somebody else’s cloud.
It is an independent, free and local-first project for listeners who still keep their own records — and want modern search and remote control without giving up ownership.
Why Kalinka
Not another streaming service.
Kalinka is deliberately built around the collection you already have. These are the three decisions that shape the rest of the product.
The music plays where the hi-fi is
A renderer can run on the server itself, on a Raspberry Pi beside an amplifier, or in a browser. Choose an output from the app and move playback between renderers, even while a track is playing.
Search it the way you remember it
Ask for a mood, texture, genre or moment instead of remembering a filename. Mood search runs locally over the indexed collection and can include Jamendo when that optional source is enabled.
Search your music by mood
Find music for the moment.
Describe a mood, an instrument or an activity. Kalinka finds matching music in your collection, with the search running on your own server.
Play the suggestions straight away or add them to your queue. You don’t need a track title in mind to find something to listen to.
Try smart search with Jamendo now
Here, jazz for a cozy evening
brings up You’ve Changed
,
She
and All The Way
from GrayMic’s Jazz Ballads in the local library.
Select a screenshot to enlarge.
A typical setup
Four pieces. One local network.
A Raspberry Pi can run the Kalinka server and renderer beside your amp. Mount your NAS for your own library and add a streaming source such as Jamendo. Control playback with the Kalinka app or a UPnP media controller such as BubbleUPnP.
Your local network · Ethernet / Wi-Fi
Internet
Streaming services
Jamendo via a source plugin
01 · Your library
NAS
Mounted music library
02 · Kalinka
SBC + renderer
Raspberry Pi running Linux
Kalinka serverRendererDAC
03 · Your hi-fi
Amplifier
Connected to your speakers
04 · Media controller
UPnP controller
BubbleUPnP on your phone
[optional]
Bedroom Kalinka
A Pi Zero 2 W and mini amp for your bedroom speakers.
Remote control:Android · Windows · Linux · any browser on the network
Current boundaries
- Native Apple apps macOS and iPhone are not available yet
- Audio formats MP3 and FLAC today
- Initial setup Needs a Linux machine of its own
- Large collections Full indexing can take several hours
