How to Self-Host Navidrome with Docker

What Is Navidrome?

Navidrome is a lightweight, open-source music server that streams your personal music collection to any device. It’s compatible with the Subsonic API, meaning you can use dozens of existing music apps (DSub, Symfonium, Ultrasonic, Sublime Music, play:Sub) as clients. Think of it as your own self-hosted Spotify — but for music you actually own.

Prerequisites

• A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed (guide)
• 512 MB of free RAM (minimum)
• Disk space for your music library
• A domain name (optional, for remote access)

Docker Compose Configuration

Create a directory for Navidrome:

mkdir -p /opt/stacks/navidrome
cd /opt/stacks/navidrome

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  navidrome:
    image: deluan/navidrome:0.60.3
    container_name: navidrome
    restart: unless-stopped
    user: "1000:1000"
    ports:
      - "4533:4533"
    environment:
      # Scanner settings
      ND_SCANNER_SCHEDULE: "1h"          # How often to scan for new music (e.g., 1h, 30m, @every 24h)
      ND_LOGLEVEL: "info"                # Log verbosity: error, warn, info, debug, trace
      ND_SESSIONTIMEOUT: "24h"           # How long login sessions last
      ND_BASEURL: ""                     # Set if running behind a reverse proxy subpath (e.g., /music)
      # Transcoding
      ND_ENABLETRANSCODINGCONFIG: "true" # Allow users to configure transcoding in the UI
      ND_DEFAULTLANGUAGE: "en"           # Default UI language
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data                     # Navidrome database and cache
      - /path/to/your/music:/music:ro    # Your music library (read-only)

Important: Change /path/to/your/music to the actual path where your music files are stored. The :ro (read-only) flag is recommended since Navidrome only needs to read your music files, not modify them.

Start the stack:

docker compose up -d

Initial Setup

1. Open http://your-server-ip:4533 in your browser
2. Create an admin account on the first-run screen — this becomes the server owner
3. Navidrome immediately starts scanning your music library
4. Once the scan completes, your music appears in the web UI

The web UI is a full-featured music player. You can browse by artist, album, genre, or playlist. Playback happens directly in the browser.

Configuration

Key Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
ND_SCANNER_SCHEDULE	@every 1m	How often to scan for new files. Set to 1h or 24h for large libraries.
ND_LOGLEVEL	info	Logging level. Use debug for troubleshooting.
ND_SESSIONTIMEOUT	24h	Session duration before requiring re-login.
ND_BASEURL	""	Base URL path if behind a reverse proxy subpath.
ND_ENABLETRANSCODINGCONFIG	true	Allow transcoding configuration in the UI.
ND_ENABLESHARING	false	Allow users to create shareable links to songs/albums.
ND_ENABLESTARRATING	true	Enable star ratings on tracks and albums.
ND_DEFAULTLANGUAGE	en	Default UI language (en, pt, de, es, fr, etc.).
ND_AUTOIMPORTPLAYLISTS	true	Auto-import .m3u playlists found in the music directory.
ND_ENABLEGRAVATAR	false	Use Gravatar for user avatars.

Music Library Organization

Navidrome works best with a well-organized library:

/music/
├── Artist Name/
│   ├── Album Name (Year)/
│   │   ├── 01 - Track Name.flac
│   │   ├── 02 - Track Name.flac
│   │   └── cover.jpg

Navidrome reads metadata (ID3 tags, Vorbis comments) from your files. If your files have good tags, organization doesn’t matter as much — but clean folder structure helps with browsing.

Multi-User Support

Navidrome supports multiple users out of the box. Each user gets their own:

• Play history and statistics
• Star ratings and favorites
• Playlists
• Transcoding preferences

Create additional users in Settings → Users.

Connecting Mobile Apps

Navidrome implements the Subsonic API, which means it works with any Subsonic-compatible client:

Platform	Recommended App	Notes
Android	Symfonium	Paid, excellent quality. Best Android option.
Android	Ultrasonic	Free, open-source. Available on F-Droid.
iOS	play:Sub	Paid, solid Subsonic client.
iOS	Amperfy	Free, open-source.
Desktop	Sublime Music	Linux desktop client.
Desktop	Web UI	Built-in, works in any browser.

To connect a client, enter your Navidrome server URL (http://your-server-ip:4533), username, and password. The app handles the rest via the Subsonic API.

Reverse Proxy

For remote access with HTTPS, put Navidrome behind a reverse proxy. Example Nginx Proxy Manager configuration:

• Scheme: http
• Forward Hostname/IP: navidrome (or server IP)
• Forward Port: 4533
• SSL: Enable, request Let’s Encrypt certificate

For Caddy:

music.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:4533
}

See Reverse Proxy Setup for complete instructions.

Backup

Back up the ./data directory. This contains:

• The SQLite database (user accounts, playlists, play counts, ratings)
• Album art cache

Your music files are the source of truth and should be backed up separately. See Backup Strategy for a complete approach.

# Simple backup
cp -r /opt/stacks/navidrome/data /backups/navidrome-$(date +%F)

Troubleshooting

Music not appearing after adding files

Symptom: You added music files but they don’t show up in the UI. Fix: Wait for the next scan cycle (based on ND_SCANNER_SCHEDULE), or trigger a manual scan from Settings → Scan. For large libraries, the initial scan can take 10-30 minutes.

Permission denied errors on music files

Symptom: Navidrome logs show permission errors when trying to read music files. Fix: Ensure the user setting in Docker Compose matches the UID/GID that owns your music files. Check with ls -ln /path/to/music. If your files are owned by UID 1000, use user: "1000:1000".

High CPU during scan

Symptom: CPU spikes every time the scanner runs. Fix: Increase ND_SCANNER_SCHEDULE to a longer interval (e.g., 24h instead of 1m). The default scans every minute, which is excessive for most libraries.

Transcoding not working

Symptom: Transcoding fails or streams play at original quality only. Fix: Navidrome uses ffmpeg for transcoding, which is bundled in the Docker image. Ensure ND_ENABLETRANSCODINGCONFIG is true, then configure transcoding profiles in the admin UI under Settings → Transcoding.

Subsonic API clients can’t connect

Symptom: Mobile apps fail to authenticate with Navidrome. Fix: Ensure you’re using the correct server URL (include the port: http://ip:4533). Some older clients use legacy Subsonic authentication — Navidrome supports both legacy and token-based auth. If behind a reverse proxy, ensure WebSocket connections are proxied correctly.

Resource Requirements

• RAM: ~50 MB idle, ~100-150 MB during library scans
• CPU: Minimal for direct play. Moderate during transcoding (one stream ≈ 0.5 CPU core).
• Disk: ~50 MB for the application. Database grows with library size (roughly 1 MB per 1,000 tracks).

Navidrome is one of the lightest music servers available. It runs comfortably on a Raspberry Pi.

Verdict

Navidrome is the best self-hosted music server for most people. It’s lightweight, fast, has a clean web UI, and supports the Subsonic API — giving you access to dozens of polished mobile apps. If you have a personal music collection and want to stream it from anywhere, Navidrome is the answer.

The main limitation is that it’s music-only. If you need video streaming too, look at Jellyfin instead. For a music-specific server with more features (but heavier resource usage), consider Jellyfin’s music capabilities or Funkwhale for social music sharing.

Related

• Best Self-Hosted Media Servers
• How to Self-Host Jellyfin
• How to Self-Host Plex
• How to Self-Host Emby
• Jellyfin vs Plex
• Self-Hosted Spotify Alternative
• Docker Compose Basics
• Reverse Proxy Setup
• Backup Strategy