Getting started
Welcome to Tunetorch! This page takes you from the first start to a running instance and shows you where to find what in this documentation.
What Tunetorch is
Tunetorch is a self-hosted music streaming platform. The server runs as a Docker container on your own hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi, a NAS or a small home server. Your music and all the data that goes with it stay there. Tunetorch collects no telemetry, shows no ads and needs no cloud.
You can listen in the browser, in the installable PWA, in the Android app or on a DLNA speaker on your home network.
What you need
| Hardware | A device that runs around the clock. A Raspberry Pi 4/5 is enough even for large collections. |
| Docker | Docker Engine, ideally with Docker Compose. The image brings FFmpeg, the database and the cache with it. |
| Storage | Your music plus some headroom for cover art, converted versions and the database. |
| Music | Your own files: MP3, FLAC, AAC/M4A, OGG, Opus, WAV, AIFF, WMA. |
A reverse proxy with HTTPS is optional but recommended. For the installable PWA you even need one, because service workers only run over HTTPS.
Up and running in four steps
- Install: start the container with a
docker-compose.yml. → Installing with Docker - Sign in: open the web interface, sign in with the default admin account and change the password. Tunetorch insists on this change the first time you sign in.
- Bring in your music: upload it, import an existing collection, or mount a folder and let Tunetorch scan it. → Adding music
- Set up: set the time zone, enable the maintenance tasks, create more accounts. → Configuration · Users & permissions
Signing in for the first time
Once the container is running, you'll find the interface at http://<server-address>:5000.
Are you opening Tunetorch without TLS? Then your
docker-compose.ymlmust containTT_HTTPS: "False"andTT_TRUSTED_PROXIES: "0". Otherwise the server accepts the sign-in, but the browser discards the cookies and you end up back on the sign-in page. The quick start already contains both lines.
On the first start, Tunetorch creates an admin account:
| Username | Password |
|---|---|
admin | BITTE_ÄNDERE_MICH (German for “please change me”) |
You have to change the password. As long as the preset password is in place (and anyone who has read this page knows it), a notice locks the whole app. Only with a password of your own can you continue. The default password can't be set again afterwards.
After that, three things in the Server settings are worth doing:
- Check the Time zone (the default is
Europe/Berlin). It determines the timestamps in the log, the dates and the times of the maintenance tasks. - Choose the Server log language. Out of the box the server writes its log in German;
switch it to English here. Every line starts with a code such as
[TT-DLNA-012]that is the same in both languages. - Go through Maintenance & cron tasks. The file scan is off out of the box. You only need it if you have mounted a music folder.
How this documentation is organised
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Introduction | This page and the Feature overview. |
| Installation | Docker, configuration and adding music. |
| Using Tunetorch | Everything you do day to day as a listener and collector, from the interface to exporting. |
| Administration | Users & permissions, server administration, security & backup. |
| Subscription | The optional Tunetorch Pro. |
| Help | Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting. |
The search at the top left covers the whole documentation; on the right you'll find the contents of the current page.
Where to go next
- Feature overview: everything Tunetorch can do
- Installing with Docker: the hands-on part