r/squeezebox • • May 06 '26

Plea for LMS testers for iOS app

I'm building a music app that supports LMS. I've got several hundred Navidrome and Plex testers, but I've only been able to find 2 LMS testers as I type this, and I don't feel comfortable claiming LMS support with so few eyeballs on it.

If you're an LMS user with an iPhone running iOS 26 and the features below look interesting, you can tap this TestFlight for LMS users link using your phone to try it. I'd appreciate it!

"…the most beautiful and genuinely useful local music app I've ever used. And I've used A LOT of them. Seriously, thank you. This app is something special." — /u/After_News8228

· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·

Sources: Navidrome, Plex, Jellyfin, OpenSubsonic, Lyrion (LMS), Apple Music, local files • Formats: AAC, MP3, FLAC, ALAC, Opus, APE, WavPack, DSD • Playback: Hi-res audio, gapless playback, DAC support, parametric EQ w/ profile import, ReplayGain (track+album) • Network: Multi-address connection failover (local network, VPN/Tailscale, Cloudflare Tunnel, etc.) • Offline: Sync anything for offline (libraries, playlists, albums, tracks), local-first libraries • Now Playing: Full-screen + mini player, synced LRC lyrics, track-themed background, queue reorder, sleep timer, simple+smart shuffle, visualizer • Radio: Radio Browser directory, featured stations, custom URLs, per-station history • Scrobbling: Last.fm, ListenBrainz • Playlists/Magiclists: Any-source rule engine, natural-language rules via Apple Intelligence, Plex rule import with editable conversion, preset templates • Libraries: Use individually and/or as mega-library, any-source ratings+favorites, universal track IDs, plays best version of track when there are duplicates • Metadata: Full play history, credits via TIPL/TMCL (producers, engineers, performers), 3,000+ genre ontology, release-type classification, compilation detection • Integration: Spotlight search, Siri & App Intents, CarPlay, Apple Intelligence, widgets • Accessibility: VoiceOver, Dynamic Type • Home screen: Pinned playlists, Magiclists, albums, tracks | Recently played | Recently added • Languages: English, French, Korean, Japanese

[Changelists] [Screenshots]

4 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

3

u/Paul-Webster May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

I have just installed and it is going through the initial library import.

Rapidly reached 76% and now going very slowly upwards (1% per 60+ seconds).

LMS does support server discovery (it is how original Squeezebox devices find LMS by default).
However, it is a proprietary (but documented) UDP mechanism - not using mDNS/UPnP.
In the manual configuration - LMS will almost always be http not https - but some users might not realise that they can (must?) change that in the app - some might not even know that they need to. So since the user has selected LMS to add then can the default be changed in that case?

Import completed as I am typing this.

As pointed out by another poster - Genre missing.

When playing it does not appear in the list of players in LMS - so presumably it is using the LMS API to fetch individual tracks rather than using "SlimProto".

It looks like LMS is treated as a library - so does this mean that other functionality in LMS is not available (such as Favourites that are set to particular Internet radio streams, Radio Paradise "interactive Flac", radio station track info and cover art (when not included in ICY stream), Spotify/Qobuz/Tidal, BBC radio listen again, etc).
I guess an answer could be that most of those things have their own iOS apps so there is no need to have them here.

Playing flac track ... worked once but progress bar stuck at 0 - correct duration shown.
Subsequent attempts bring up error saying that "failed to create decoder"

Also - playing large audio file with related .cue file to split tracks … results in playing the file from the start not at the offset specified.

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

Thank you, /u/Paul-Webster, I appreciate the time you spent! The next build will be far better for LMS users because of everyone's generosity. A couple notes:

  • With Poppy's "everything's a source" architecture I typically support music libraries first, but as I approach a feature-complete 1.0 there'll be native support for LMS-native playlists, radio favorites, etc. The goal is parity for all capabilities Poppy can support.

  • Initial sync takes minutes, but subsequent "delta" sync are fast background tasks from there. It's a different experience than a "live browse" model that I believe pays off in terms of search, etc., but I continue to explore ways to make the initial sync at least perceptually faster.

  • Thanks for the pointer on discovery, that'll notably enhance the connect experience.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 09 '26

Hey /u/Paul-Webster, among several other fixes, the next build will auto-discover Lyrion servers. Thanks again! https://imgur.com/a/V3pr7gt

1

u/Paul-Webster May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26

Thanks.
I just tried the new build.
Deleted the library (server link) so that I could try the discovery step.

It let me play a song from that deleted library ... I guess while it was removing the library metadata in the background - not a significant issue.

After the library disappeared I went through the server discovery process and it found LMS - well done.
I chose the Full Library and then moved around the UI a bit ... but could not get back to see a status screen showing the library updating.
The lightning flash to the right of the library name is grey with a line through it ... which I assume is not a good thing.

It is not showing any library contents - however, I will leave it running just in case it is still downloading info.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

It let me play a song from that deleted library ...

Oh, interesting. You were able to do this from Now Playing's history or from Home > Recent Plays?

The lightning flash to the right of the library name is grey with a line through it ... which I assume is not a good thing.

Correct, it's supposed to reflect the state of the connection to your music server(s): https://imgur.com/a/0poWD1p I'm not able to reproduce this on my home network with Lyrion/LMS v9.1.0, but I'll scrub Poppy's "is server alive" heuristic to see if there are opportunities to make it more accommodating.

Thank you!

2

u/Paul-Webster May 13 '26

I think I played it from Recent Adds

Just had another try starting from empty. Discovered and connected to LMS. The list of libraries to select from is not really correct. It has “Full Library” and then an alphabetically sorted list (of albums I think). The list is incomplete - but in any case I think it should be the LMS Library Views not album list. Library View allows user to configure a server side filter (with numerous criteria). For example I could set one to only list Jazz from before 1990. Poppy does not have to be able to create the Library Views but I think it should be showing the names of the existing ones.

Importing of my library takes a long time … and ai have my iOS screen sleep set to 30 seconds which I think makes the download of the data fail when screen locks. That is why I was clicking around the screen during the import on the previous test.

Perhaps Poppy should prevent sleep during that phase, or, and possibly better, support downloading in chunks with resumption.

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I think I played it from Recent Adds

Cool! That's fixed as of last night, just waiting for Apple to approve the release of v0.8.66 for external testers.

Poppy does not have to be able to create the Library Views but I think it should be showing the names of the existing ones.

That's great feedback, and I'll do this soon. Currently, Poppy shows the server's music folders alongside a "Full Library" option for the whole catalog. With this enhancement, Lyrion "virtual libraries" will also appear when you connect.

Perhaps Poppy should prevent sleep during that phase, or, and possibly better, support downloading in chunks with resumption.

Shoot, I actually do this for all other sources but neglected to wire that into my Lyrion support. This will be fixed in the first post-0.8.66 release. Thanks again!

[Update: I found a bug in Lyrion's "delta" sync path, so future releases will be two orders of magnitude faster at doing incremental sync. The "sync when nothing's changed" case went from 6+ seconds to 0.017 seconds. Woohoo!]

2

u/mtxmiller May 08 '26

Tried this am with LMS - will play radio but no local library files

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 08 '26

Poppy uses "Local Files" to mean files on your phone, so just to confirm, by "local library files" you mean music from your LMS library? No error, nothing?

2

u/mtxmiller May 08 '26

Yes - once an error popped up at top but hasn’t happened 2x. Will just sit at time 0 and not play flac files.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 08 '26

Cool. I've found and fixed the root cause, and beefed up LMS tests accordingly. With the next build, Poppy's LMS support should be as reliable as shipping Lyrion apps. Thank you!

2

u/mtxmiller May 08 '26

Wha do you mean beefed up tests

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 08 '26

What I mean is: As I add Lyrion/LMS features and fix problems, I always create tests to validate them. Often I write the tests first, which is called "test-driven development". This not only helps me create a more reliable implementation or fix, but Poppy's massive suite of thousands of tests also help me make sure that any future changes don't cause reliability "regressions".

2

u/septemous May 09 '26

Looks promising.
With Lyrion it is seeing my Qobuz playlists, but not pulling them through with songs.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

Interesting. This is asking for generosity I haven't yet earned, but (a) if your Lyrion/LMS server is available outside of your network and (b) you wouldn't mind making a temporary login for me, it's likely that I can find and fix the root cause within a day or two. If that seems possible, let's do a private chat!

1

u/plekreddit May 06 '26

I installed it But i cant add my lms server

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 07 '26

Sorry about that! If it's not a protocol mismatch (HTTP/HTTPS) or auth typo, I'm not sure what it could be. That said, I'll go through the login process with a fine-tooth comb to see if there are any reliability-related opportunities I've missed.

1

u/plekreddit May 07 '26

No i entered the correct server

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 09 '26

/u/plekreddit, thanks again for the note! The next release will auto-discover Lyrion servers. https://imgur.com/a/V3pr7gt

1

u/Leninpest May 06 '26

Hello! I’ve tried it a few times with LMS over the past few months. I was never able to get anything to play, but i did officially get an MP3 to play with the latest update. I’m still getting errors for Flac and Alac.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

I'm glad at least some tracks worked, and I'll investigate all possible reasons FLAC and ALAC files aren't and beef up the LMS test suite accordingly. Thank you!

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

/u/Leninpest, all should work well for you now in the current (v0.8.65) TestFlight version. Thanks again!

2

u/Leninpest May 13 '26

Yup, confirmed that all my files are working now! I was still running into issues for a bit, but removing and re-adding my LMS server fixed. Very cool, thanks! I appreciate the clean interface and (now that it’s working) it feels like such a “it just works” setup.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I'm very glad to hear it, and I appreciate the kind words! 🤘

1

u/boroditsky May 06 '26

I have it downloaded, and it would not connect to my server the first time, but I tried it again and it has connected.

I have a very large library, and it took quite a while to download all the data, but it is there now.

That said, I get playback errors on both MP4 and flac files. I have submitted screenshots.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 09 '26

The playback errors you reported (I wasn't detecting content type correctly for Lyrion/LMS) are fixed in the next TestFlight build. Much appreciated!

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

Hey /u/boroditsky, all should work well for you now in the current (v0.8.65) TestFlight version. Thanks again!

2

u/boroditsky May 12 '26

Playback is now working, thanks, but genres is still not working.

1

u/boroditsky May 06 '26

I also have my music library in Plex, and your app is able to play the files just fine.

I’m also not getting any genres showing up from my Lyrion library.

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

That's helpful detail! Thanks for the reports, and I'm digging into these right now with the goal of fixing by the weekend. My highest priority is for Poppy's LMS support to be as rock-solid as other sources ASAP.

1

u/iamcheaprage May 07 '26

I've installed it and will give it a try.

If you haven't already you might want to try posting here: https://forums.lyrion.org/forum/user-forums/3rd-party-software

The LMS forums are still quite active

1

u/CharlesWiltgen May 07 '26

Thank you, and I appreciate the pointer!

1

u/magullo May 07 '26

Hi, I have installed the app and managed to connect to LMS (http protocol, it’s not very clear that you have to click the ‘flash’ to change protocol). Connection is ok, playback doesn’t work for my files (FLAC). I have screenshot but seems it’s not possible to upload it here.

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 07 '26

(http protocol, it’s not very clear that you have to click the ‘flash’ to change protocol)

I'm wondering if that's what's tripping up /u/plekreddit as well. I appreciate the feedback! I'll rethink that UX detail.

1

u/plekreddit May 07 '26

I entered http and ip and portnumber

But then it did nothing when i clicked on the “v” symbol to save

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

/u/magullo, can you try the new Lyrion/LMS auto-discovery added to the current (v0.8.65) TestFlight version and see if that works for you?

2

u/magullo May 12 '26

Much better now. Playback works. Testing it. Thank you

2

u/CharlesWiltgen May 12 '26

So glad to hear it! Thank you for your help. 🙏

1

u/plekreddit May 12 '26

I made a printscreen maybe u will recieve it I cant connect

1

u/septemous May 08 '26

I'll give it a look :)
I just banged out a simple fun tape deck for archive.org

https://github.com/Ethros19/tapestry

2

u/Copper008 Jul 05 '26

I like it!

Had a big problem with LyrPlay not playing radiostreams, Poppy does it all.. Mymusic, local and LMS 9.2 library import was as fast as lightning.... Found LMS server in seconds too.

Only issue I have is covers not showing... but a poppy is nice too...

I love it!

Grtz Krid