Played exactly as recorded
Kalinka can send the music to your DAC exactly as it is in the file. The app shows a 1:1 badge whenever it does, and albums play through without gaps between tracks.
Your music collection, on your hi-fi
Kalinka turns a Raspberry Pi or a spare PC into a music streamer. Connect it to your amplifier, point it at your albums, and choose what to play from your phone.
Free, with no account and no subscription
Up and running in three steps
-
Put Kalinka on a Raspberry Pi or a spare PC
Download Kalinka, write it to a memory card or USB stick, and switch the machine on. That is the whole installation.
-
Connect it to your hi-fi
Plug in your DAC or amplifier by USB, or fit a DAC board to the Raspberry Pi. A network cable to your router is the simplest way online, and Wi-Fi works too.
-
Add your music and play
Open the Kalinka app on your phone or computer. It finds your streamer, asks where your music is, and you start listening.
What you need
- A Raspberry Pi 3 or newer, or a PC you can spare
- A USB DAC, a Raspberry Pi DAC board, or an amplifier with a USB input
- Your music on a USB drive, a NAS or the streamer itself
- A phone, tablet or computer on the same home network
Built around the music you own
Show Kalinka where your music is and it becomes a library you can browse like a record shelf.
-
Browse the way you think
By album, artist or genre, or by the folders you already keep your music in.
-
Missing covers, found
Kalinka looks up the artwork and album details your files lack. It keeps them in its own library and never changes your files.
-
From a drive or your NAS
Plug in a USB drive or connect a shared folder on your network. New music appears by itself.
-
The formats you already have
FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis and DSD.
Choose the music from wherever you sit
Use the app on Android, Windows, Linux or Mac, or open Kalinka in any browser, including on an iPhone or iPad. Everyone at home sees the same library and the same queue.
More, when you want it
-
Streaming services
Add Qobuz or TIDAL and browse them beside your own albums, or pick Kalinka as the speaker in Spotify. You need your own subscription to each service.
-
Sound from your phone
Send audio from an iPhone, iPad or Mac with AirPlay, or from any phone over Bluetooth.
-
Music in another room
Put a second streamer beside another amplifier and move the music there from the app, even in the middle of a track.
-
A screen that shows what’s playing
Attach a screen to the Raspberry Pi, or stand a tablet on the shelf, to see the cover, the track and large controls.
-
Search by mood
Ask for
jazz for a cozy evening
and Kalinka finds matching tracks in your library. It is optional and needs a streamer with at least 3 GB of memory. Try the search demo -
Updates that look after themselves
Kalinka can install new versions by itself while nothing is playing, or wait until you choose to update from the app.
Streaming, AirPlay and Bluetooth are optional plugins you switch on in the app. Kalinka also works with Roon and with UPnP apps such as BubbleUPnP. See everything Kalinka supports
Free, with no account and no subscription
Kalinka is open source and paid for by donations. Your music and your listening stay on your own equipment.
Get Kalinka
Two downloads: one for the machine that plays the music, and one for the phone or computer you choose it from.
-
Put Kalinka on your streamer
Which machine will play the music?
Raspberry Pi 3 or 4
Also for the Raspberry Pi 400 and Zero 2 W.
Write the download to a memory card with Raspberry Pi Imager, put the card in the Pi and switch it on. The card is erased, so use a spare one. Step-by-step guide
Raspberry Pi 5
Also for the Raspberry Pi 500.
Write the download to a memory card with Raspberry Pi Imager, put the card in the Pi and switch it on. The card is erased, so use a spare one. Step-by-step guide
A PC
For a 64-bit Intel or AMD computer.
Write the download to a USB stick with balenaEtcher and start the PC from the stick. The stick is erased, and the PC’s own disk is left alone. Step-by-step guide
I already run Linux
On 64-bit Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04, or Raspberry Pi OS or DietPi based on Debian 13, run this in a terminal:
curl -fsSL https://kalinkaplayer.com/install.sh | sudo bashWhere this page says kalinka.local:8000, use your machine’s own address instead, as in
http://<its-address>:8000.Fedora and other options are in the installation guide
-
Get the app
What will you choose the music from?
Android
On a computer? Scan this with your phone to get the app. iPhone or iPad
There is no iPhone app yet, and you don’t need one. On your home Wi-Fi, open kalinka.local:8000 in Safari and Kalinka runs in the browser.
Mac
The Mac app is a beta. The first time you open it, macOS asks you to approve it: right-click the app and choose Open, or allow it in System Settings under Privacy & Security.
Linux
Extract the archive and run
./install.shto add Kalinka to your app launcher.On any computer you can also skip the app and open kalinka.local:8000 in a browser.
-
Open the app and add your music
With a network cable, the app finds your streamer by itself. On Wi-Fi, choose Set up a streamer in the app and it connects your Raspberry Pi over Bluetooth. Without the app, join the temporary Wi-Fi network the streamer opens and follow its setup page. Then tell Kalinka where your music is.
Current release: Server 5.18.0 and App 0.26.0
Questions
Do I need to know Linux?
No. You write Kalinka to a memory card, switch the machine on and finish in the app. There are no files to edit and nothing to type.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is nothing to pay and no account to create. Kalinka is open source, and donations help pay for hosting and development.
Will it change my music files?
No. Kalinka only reads your files. Covers and album details it looks up are kept in its own library.
Can I use an iPhone or iPad?
Yes, in the browser. On your home Wi-Fi, open your streamer’s address in Safari. There are apps for Android, Windows, Linux and Mac.
Which DACs and amplifiers work?
USB DACs and Raspberry Pi DAC boards, and amplifiers with a USB input. HDMI and a computer’s built-in sound output work too.
Does it play Qobuz, TIDAL or Spotify?
Yes, through optional plugins you add in the app, with your own subscription. The plugins are independent of those services and not endorsed by them. See what each one supports
Help and discussion
Ask for help, suggest a feature or share your setup on r/KalinkaPlayer. There is a Discord server too.
Support development
Kalinka is free. If you enjoy it, a donation through Ko-fi helps pay for hosting and development.
