Getting started

Tape Music Suite plays the music you already own, on your computer and on your phone. The usual path takes about ten minutes:

1. Install Tape on your computer. This app is your music hub: it reads your folders and serves your library.
2. Add your music folders.
3. Install the phone app and pair it with a QR code.
4. Optional: listen away from home, share with a friend, or add modules.

Most people need nothing else. Want your library available all day without leaving a computer on, or shared by several devices at home? A Docker server is an option for that, and Choose your setup shows when it makes sense.

1. Install Tape on your computer

Download the build for your system from the support page (opens in a new tab) (paid buyers also get a personal recovery link by email):

• macOS Apple Silicon (opens in a new tab)
• macOS Intel (opens in a new tab)
• Windows x64 (opens in a new tab)
• Linux AppImage (opens in a new tab)

Then:

1. On macOS, move Tape into Applications. On Windows or Linux, run the installer or the AppImage and open Tape.
2. Allow the app in Privacy & Security (macOS) or your system firewall if prompted, so your phone can reach it.

2. Add your music

1. Choose one or more folders with music.
2. Wait for the first scan to finish. Tracks, artists, albums and playlists start to appear while it runs.

Everything from the first scan lands in Inbox. When it finishes, Tape offers to clear Inbox in one go (with an undo), so from then on Inbox only shows new arrivals: files you add to your folders later. Run full rescan (Settings → Database) brings every track back to Inbox.

Your computer is the source of truth for the whole suite. The phone app does not build a separate library of its own.

3. Install the phone app and pair it

1. iPhone: install Tape Music Hub from the App Store (opens in a new tab).
2. Android: submit the beta signup form (opens in a new tab), then install from Google Play closed testing (opens in a new tab).
3. On the computer, open Connections (sidebar, or the QR icon in the top bar) and choose New connection.
4. Open the phone app and scan the QR code. On iPhone, allow Local Network access when asked.
5. Do the first pairing on the same Wi-Fi.

Pre-release phone builds may also appear on the landing beta page (opens in a new tab) or TestFlight (opens in a new tab).

If someone sends you a pairing link instead of showing a QR, open the HTTPS link on your phone, tap Open in Tape, let the app connect, and confirm the pairing code if asked. The full connection model is in Phone pairing & remote.

4. What next?

Common Setup Tasks

Add more folders later

Open the desktop app and add more music folders from the Folders page.

Import playlists from DJ/music tools

The desktop hub currently supports:

• Rekordbox XML
• M3U / M3U8 / XSPF
• Traktor NML
• Apple Music / iTunes XML
• Serato local crates and smart crates

Use Import playlists from the playlist area or the folder/import flow. When Tape Music Hub detects folders that are not already part of your library, it will ask you to review them before exposing new folder trees.

Add notes to a track

1. Open a track detail view on desktop.
2. Find Notes.
3. Add the note you want to keep with that track.

Playlist-specific notes are separate. A note added to a track inside a playlist stays attached to that playlist context and does not automatically appear everywhere else the track is used.

Make a collaborative playlist

1. Create or open a normal playlist on desktop.
2. Choose Make collaborative.
3. Copy the invite link.
4. Send it to another Tape Music Hub owner.
5. They accept the invite from their hub.

Collaborative playlists is a module (V1 PRO, Lifetime, or bought on its own; see Licenses) and needs remote-capable hubs. Your phone still connects to your own hub; hub-to-hub sync happens behind the scenes.

Share one track with another Tape Hub

1. Open Share on a track and choose Share with another Tape Hub.
2. Copy the link and send it to the other Tape Hub owner.
3. They open it, choose Add to my hub, and play the track from your hub over the Personal Private Network.

It uses the same Collaborative playlists module. The link works once, for one hub, and expires in 7 days.

Share a page publicly

The public surface is currently narrow and intentional:

• tracks
• albums
• artists
• playlists

Supported Formats

Current common formats include:

• MP3
• FLAC
• M4A / AAC
• WAV
• OGG
• OPUS

Runtime Paths

Current default runtime files:

• database: ~/.music-hub/music.db
• config: ~/.music-hub/config.json
• electron log: ~/.music-hub/electron.log (legacy path)
• desktop log: ~/Library/Logs/Tape/desktop.log (v0.1.41+ standard path)
• Docker data: /data inside the container, usually mounted to ./data on the host

If Something Fails

• Troubleshooting
• Pairing & Remote
• FAQ