Deploy Navidrome on RamNode VPS | Self-Hosted Music Server Guide

Prerequisites & VPS Selection

Minimum

• 1GB RAM
• 1 vCPU
• Small library

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Heavy Use

• 4GB+ RAM
• 4 vCPU
• Transcoding

→ Premium VPS

Additional Requirements

Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS
Root or sudo access
Domain name (optional but recommended for SSL)
Your music library ready to upload

Initial Server Setup

Update your system and install essential packages:

Update System

apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y wget ffmpeg

💡 Note: FFmpeg enables Navidrome's transcoding capabilities, allowing you to stream in different formats and bitrates.

Create Dedicated User

Running Navidrome under its own user improves security:

Create Navidrome User

useradd -r -s /bin/false navidrome

Install Navidrome

Create directories and download Navidrome:

Create Directories

mkdir -p /opt/navidrome
mkdir -p /var/lib/navidrome

Download and Extract

cd /opt/navidrome
wget https://github.com/navidrome/navidrome/releases/download/v0.53.3/navidrome_0.53.3_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar -xvzf navidrome_0.53.3_linux_amd64.tar.gz
rm navidrome_0.53.3_linux_amd64.tar.gz

⚠️ Note: Check the Navidrome releases page for the latest version.

Set Ownership

chown -R navidrome:navidrome /opt/navidrome
chown -R navidrome:navidrome /var/lib/navidrome

Configure Navidrome

Create the configuration file:

/var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml

MusicFolder = "/path/to/your/music"
DataFolder = "/var/lib/navidrome"
Address = "127.0.0.1"
Port = 4533
LogLevel = "info"
ScanSchedule = "@every 1h"
TranscodingCacheSize = "150MB"
ImageCacheSize = "100MB"

⚠️ Important: Replace /path/to/your/music with your actual music directory path. Binding to 127.0.0.1 ensures Navidrome only accepts connections from localhost.

Set Config Permissions

chown navidrome:navidrome /var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml
chmod 600 /var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml

Prepare Music Directory

Create and configure your music folder:

Create Music Directory

mkdir -p /home/music
chown navidrome:navidrome /home/music

💡 Supported Formats: Upload your music library via SFTP, rsync, or your preferred method. Navidrome supports MP3, FLAC, OGG, OPUS, AAC, and most common formats.

Create Systemd Service

Create a service file for automatic startup:

/etc/systemd/system/navidrome.service

[Unit]
Description=Navidrome Music Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=navidrome
Group=navidrome
Type=simple
ExecStart=/opt/navidrome/navidrome --configfile "/var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml"
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/navidrome
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
TimeoutStopSec=20
LimitNOFILE=65536
NoNewPrivileges=yes
PrivateTmp=yes
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=read-only
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/navidrome

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and Start Service

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable navidrome
systemctl start navidrome
systemctl status navidrome

Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Install Nginx and set up reverse proxy:

Install Nginx and Certbot

apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

/etc/nginx/sites-available/navidrome

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name music.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4533;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_read_timeout 600s;
        proxy_send_timeout 600s;
        client_max_body_size 50M;
    }
}

⚠️ Important: Replace music.yourdomain.com with your actual domain!

Enable Site and Get SSL

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/navidrome /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl reload nginx
certbot --nginx -d music.yourdomain.com

Firewall Configuration

Configure UFW firewall:

Configure Firewall

ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw reload

⚠️ Warning: Ensure SSH (port 22) is allowed before enabling UFW!

Initial Setup & Access

✅ Visit https://music.yourdomain.com in your browser. The first user you create becomes the administrator.

• Create a strong admin password
• Configure additional users if needed
• Your music library will be scanned automatically

Subsonic Client Apps

Navidrome is compatible with the Subsonic API. Popular client apps include:

Mobile

• Substreamer (iOS/Android)
• play:Sub (iOS)
• Ultrasonic (Android)
• DSub (Android)

Desktop

• Sonixd (Windows/Mac/Linux)
• Sublime Music (Linux)
• Clementine (Cross-platform)

💡 Connection Settings: Use your Navidrome URL (e.g., https://music.yourdomain.com), username, and password to connect any Subsonic-compatible client.

Performance Tuning

Optimize Navidrome for better performance:

Tuned Configuration

# Add to navidrome.toml for large libraries
CoverJpegQuality = 75
UIWelcomeMessage = "Welcome to My Music Server"
EnableStarRating = true
EnableFavourites = true
EnableTranscodingConfig = true
DefaultTranscodingFormat = "opus"

# For very large libraries (50k+ tracks)
ScanSchedule = "@every 24h"
TranscodingCacheSize = "500MB"
ImageCacheSize = "200MB"

Restart After Changes

systemctl restart navidrome

Backup Strategy

Create a backup script for your Navidrome data:

/opt/navidrome/backup.sh

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backups/navidrome"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Stop service briefly for consistent backup
systemctl stop navidrome

# Backup database and config
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/navidrome_$DATE.tar.gz \
    /var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.db \
    /var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml

# Restart service
systemctl start navidrome

# Keep only last 7 backups
ls -t $BACKUP_DIR/*.tar.gz | tail -n +8 | xargs -r rm

echo "Backup completed: navidrome_$DATE.tar.gz"

Setup Automated Backups

chmod +x /opt/navidrome/backup.sh
mkdir -p /backups/navidrome

# Add to crontab (daily at 3 AM)
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 3 * * * /opt/navidrome/backup.sh") | crontab -

Troubleshooting

Service Won't Start

Check Logs

journalctl -u navidrome -f
# Check config syntax
/opt/navidrome/navidrome --configfile /var/lib/navidrome/navidrome.toml

Music Not Appearing

• Verify MusicFolder path in config is correct
• Ensure navidrome user has read access to music files
• Trigger a manual scan from the web UI (Settings → Scan)

Check Permissions

ls -la /path/to/your/music
chown -R navidrome:navidrome /path/to/your/music

502 Bad Gateway

Verify Service is Running

systemctl status navidrome
systemctl restart navidrome
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

Transcoding Issues

Verify FFmpeg Installation

ffmpeg -version
which ffmpeg

Navidrome Deployed Successfully!

Your self-hosted music server is now ready. Stream your music library from anywhere with any Subsonic-compatible client.

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