Trackhop Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux; beta)

Beta. Trackhop Desktop works for everyday use but is still young: pages and settings can change between releases. Keep a copy of the data folder (or save the set-up from Tools › Backup & restore) and report what goes wrong. The unofficial connectors stay an alpha.

The same sync engine as the Android app, as a program on your computer, with nothing else to install: no Docker, no Java. It runs in the background with an icon next to the clock, shows its pages in your browser, and runs scheduled syncs while the computer is on. It is the Docker version packed as an app, so what works there works here, and the other way round.

Install

The current version is 0.7.0 (what’s in it); every version is in the Desktop & Server releases (tagged server-v…: Desktop and Docker have their own version, separate from the app’s).

Package managers and stores. Scoop, Homebrew and the Microsoft Store have Trackhop Desktop already; the others are on their way, and their commands do not work until the (soon) goes away here:

Windows warns about an unrecognised app (“Windows protected your PC”): the installer is not signed with a paid certificate, as is usual for open-source projects. Choose More info, then Run anyway. The files are built by GitHub from this repository’s code, in the Desktop workflow.

To update, install the newer file over the old one: your syncs and sign-ins stay. Trackhop says when a new version is out (Settings › Updates, where it can be turned off); installed from a store or a package manager, that updates it instead.

macOS

From 0.5.4, each release has two disk images: -macos-arm64.dmg for Apple silicon (M1 and later) and -macos-x64.dmg for Intel Macs (Apple menu › About This Mac says which). Open the .dmg and drag Trackhop into Applications.

macOS refuses to open it the first time: Trackhop is not signed with Apple’s paid developer certificate, as is usual for free open-source apps. Once, after that first refusal: System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down to “Trackhop was blocked…” and choose Open Anyway, then confirm. From then on it opens normally. (In Terminal, xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Trackhop.app does the same.)

On the Mac, Trackhop shows its pages in your browser (no window of its own yet) and puts its icon in the menu bar, with Open Trackhop and Quit Trackhop; it has no Start with the computer yet: add it in System Settings › General › Login Items if you want it. Its data is in ~/Library/Application Support/Trackhop. The command line is /Applications/Trackhop.app/Contents/MacOS/trackhop-cli (the trackhop command).

Use it

Start Trackhop: its window opens (from 0.3.0; it uses the system’s web engine, Edge’s WebView2 on Windows and WebKitGTK on Linux). Add services, create syncs, run them, as in the Docker guide: the pages are the same. The same pages are also at http://127.0.0.1:8642 in any browser on this computer (Open in the browser in the tray’s menu). Closing the window leaves Trackhop running in the tray, for the scheduled syncs.

The icon next to the clock has Open Trackhop, Open in the browser, Start with the computer (it then starts hidden when you sign in, and scheduled syncs keep running) and Quit. Starting Trackhop again while it runs just brings its window up. Some Linux desktops (GNOME without the AppIndicator extension) have no icons there: use Quit Trackhop at the bottom of the page instead.

Only this computer can reach the page: it listens on 127.0.0.1 and asks for no password.

Services

As on the server: Spotify, YouTube and TIDAL with your own key; Navidrome and other Subsonic servers, Jellyfin, Plex; Last.fm and ListenBrainz as sources; SoundCloud public links; CSV files; YouTube Music with pasted cookies (unofficial, alpha). Deezer is not there yet on the desktop (it wants an https redirect). Amazon Music, Spotify without a key and Apple Music are not there yet either: they need a browser inside the app, which is the next step.

The Microsoft Store version offers only the official connections, the personal servers, Last.fm, ListenBrainz and files (store rules, as for the app on Google Play): for the unofficial ones (YouTube Music, Spotify and Deezer with cookies, SoundCloud links) use the installer or the ZIP.

Your own key. Register this redirect with the service: http://127.0.0.1:8642/callback (Spotify and Google both accept plain http for 127.0.0.1). The service’s page in Trackhop shows the exact address and the steps.

Command line

Desktop comes with trackhop-cli, to run syncs, read their results and add or remove tracks from a terminal, a script or Task Scheduler while Trackhop is running: trackhop-cli run --all --wait. Where it is and every command: the trackhop command.

Where things are

Back up the data folder and you have backed up Trackhop. The log is songport.log there, and in the page under Log.

Settings are the server’s variables, for whoever needs them: for example SONGPORT_PORT if another program already uses port 8642 (then register the new address with the services), or SONGPORT_DATA for another data folder. A password does not apply here.

Remove it

Windows: Settings → Apps → Trackhop → Uninstall. Linux: sudo apt remove trackhop. The data folder stays: delete it too to remove everything.

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