Create Private Music Library: Self-Hosted Music with Navidrome

CompactHost · March 26, 2026

I got tired of Spotify subscriptions, algorithmic recommendations I didn't ask for, and worrying about licensing restrictions on my own music collection. Three months ago, I set up Navidrome—a lightweight, self-hosted music server—in Docker on a spare Hetzner VPS. Now I stream my entire music library (15,000+ tracks) across my phone, tablet, and browser with zero monthly fees and complete control. Here's exactly how I did it.

Why Self-Host Your Music?

Before I dive into the setup, let me be clear about the appeal. Streaming services are convenient, but they're also rent-forever models. If Spotify raises prices or removes an artist's catalog, you're stuck. With a private music library, you own the relationship to your music files.

I prefer Navidrome because it's lightweight—it runs on about 256MB RAM—supports Subsonic API (so it's compatible with dozens of mobile clients), and has a modern web UI. Unlike Jellyfin (which is fantastic but heavier), Navidrome is purpose-built for music, not a general media server. And unlike Plex, there's zero phone-home behavior or proprietary nonsense.

The typical use case: you have your music files (FLAC, MP3, etc.) stored locally or on a file server. Navidrome indexes them, makes them searchable, and exposes a clean interface to stream from anywhere you have internet access.

Prerequisites

You'll need:

• A VPS or home server running Docker and Docker Compose (I use a RackNerd KVM VPS—affordable and stable)
• At least 10GB of free disk space for music files
• A reverse proxy (I recommend Caddy for simplicity)
• Your music collection in a common format (MP3, FLAC, OGG, etc.)

Setting Up Navidrome with Docker Compose

I'll walk you through the exact Docker Compose setup I use. This assumes you have Docker and Docker Compose installed. If not, run:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Create a directory for your Navidrome setup:

mkdir -p ~/navidrome/{music,data}
cd ~/navidrome

Now, create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3'
services:
  navidrome:
    image: deluan/navidrome:latest
    container_name: navidrome
    ports:
      - "4533:4533"
    environment:
      ND_LOGLEVEL: info
      ND_BASEURL: ""
      ND_PORT: "4533"
      ND_MUSICFOLDER: "/music"
      ND_AUTOIMPORTPLAYLISTS: "true"
      ND_ENABLESTARRATING: "true"
      ND_DEFAULTLANGUAGE: "en"
    volumes:
      - ./music:/music:ro
      - ./data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - caddy_network

networks:
  caddy_network:
    external: true

Before spinning this up, you'll want to copy your music files into the music directory:

cp -r /path/to/your/music/* ~/navidrome/music/
docker-compose up -d

Check that it's running:

docker-compose logs -f navidrome

You should see scan activity. On first run, Navidrome will index your entire music collection. With 15,000 tracks, this took about 2 minutes on my VPS.

Exposing Navidrome with Caddy

Navidrome listens on port 4533 internally, but you'll want to expose it securely over HTTPS. I prefer Caddy because it handles Let's Encrypt SSL automatically.

If you don't already have Caddy running, here's a minimal setup alongside Navidrome. Create a Caddyfile:

music.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:4533
}

Add Caddy to your Docker Compose:

version: '3'
services:
  caddy:
    image: caddy:latest
    container_name: caddy
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config
    networks:
      - caddy_network
    restart: unless-stopped

  navidrome:
    image: deluan/navidrome:latest
    container_name: navidrome
    ports:
      - "4533:4533"
    environment:
      ND_LOGLEVEL: info
      ND_BASEURL: ""
      ND_PORT: "4533"
      ND_MUSICFOLDER: "/music"
      ND_AUTOIMPORTPLAYLISTS: "true"
      ND_ENABLESTARRATING: "true"
    volumes:
      - ./music:/music:ro
      - ./data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - caddy_network

networks:
  caddy_network:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

Update your DNS to point music.yourdomain.com to your VPS IP, then:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs caddy

Within seconds, Caddy will provision an SSL certificate and your music server is live at https://music.yourdomain.com

Accessing Your Music Library

0 2 * * * rsync -av ~/navidrome/data/ backup-server:/backups/navidrome/ >> /var/log/navidrome-backup.log 2>&1

  watchtower:
    image: containrrr/watchtower
    container_name: watchtower
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    command: --interval 86400
    restart: unless-stopped