PearTune
Guides
- Setting up a server. Getting the music onto a machine that your phone can reach.
- Troubleshooting. Common issues and fixes.
- Privacy and peer to peer. How PearTune reaches your music without opening your router.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own server?
Not necessarily. You need a library, and it can belong to a friend or a family member who lets you in. If that is your situation, install the app, scan the code they show you and you are done. If you want to run your own, see Setting up a server.
How hard is it to set up my own?
On a Mac, Windows PC or Linux desktop, it is an installer. Run it and PearTune sits in the menu bar or system tray, starts when you log in and points itself at your Music folder to begin with. No terminal, no window to leave open. On a NAS or a home server appliance, which has no desktop to put an icon on, setup is more technical for now, and an app store listing for those boxes is on the way.
Do I have to open a port on my router or set up a VPN?
No. That is the point of PearTune. Your phone and the machine holding the music find each other and connect directly, without anything on that machine being reachable from the internet. There is nothing to configure on your router.
Do I have to move or convert my music?
No. PearTune reads your existing files where they already are. Point it at a folder and it reads the tags, or connect it to a media server you already run such as Navidrome or Jellyfin. Nothing is copied, renamed or re-encoded.
How do I let someone else into my library?
Open the dashboard on the machine running the library and start a pairing. It shows a code to scan and a link you can send if they are not with you. They appear as their own person, with their own devices and their own listening history.
What happens when I remove someone's access?
They are cut off straight away, including if they are connected at that moment. Anything new is refused: browsing, artwork, the next track and reconnecting. Whatever the phone had already downloaded of the track currently playing may finish, which is deliberate so that switching between wifi and mobile data does not stop the music, and then playback stops.
Can I use more than one library at once?
Yes. Add as many as you have been let into and the app blends them into a single library, so one search covers all of them. You can also filter to one library at a time when you want to.
Does the server have to stay on?
To stream, yes, the same as any music server. Anything you have downloaded to the phone for offline listening plays whether the server is on or not.
Which devices does PearTune run on?
The app runs on Android, with iOS in development. The server software runs on Linux, macOS and Windows.
How do I contact support?
Email peerloomllc@proton.me or open a GitHub issue.