Multi-Library Support

Overview

Navidrome supports multiple music libraries since v0.58.0, allowing you to organize your music into separate collections with user-specific access controls. This feature is perfect for:

• Separating different types of content (music vs. audiobooks)
• Organizing by quality (lossy vs. lossless)
• Separating personal collections (family members, roommates)
• Organizing by genre or era (classical, jazz, modern)
• Managing different sources (official releases vs. bootlegs/live recordings)

How Multi-Library Works

Default Library

When Navidrome starts, it automatically creates a default library using your MusicFolder configuration. This becomes “Library 1” and all existing users automatically get access to it, ensuring backward compatibility.

User Access Control

• Admin users automatically have access to all libraries
• Regular users must be explicitly granted access to libraries by an administrator
• Users can only see and access music from libraries they have permission to use
• Each user can switch between their accessible libraries using the library selector in the UI

Data Isolation

• Albums are scoped to a single library; each library maintains its own set of albums and their songs.
• Artists can have albums and songs spread across multiple libraries. The same artist may appear in several libraries, each with different albums or tracks.
• Artist statistics and metadata are aggregated across all libraries where the artist appears.
• Playlists can contain songs from multiple libraries (if the user has access to those libraries)
• Smart playlists can be scoped to specific libraries
• Search results are filtered by the user’s accessible (and selected) libraries

Setting Up Multi-Library

Creating Additional Libraries

1. Access Library Management

   • Log in as an administrator
   • Go to Settings → Libraries

2. Create a New Library

   • Click the "+" button to add a new library
   • Provide a Name for the library (e.g., “Audiobooks”, “FLAC Collection”)
   • Set the Path to the folder containing your music files
   • Optionally set the library as default for new users
   • Click Save

3. Initial Scan

   • The new library will automatically begin scanning
   • Monitor the scanning progress in the Activity Panel
   • Large libraries may take time to complete the initial scan

Managing User Access

1. Assign Libraries to Users

   • Go to Settings → Users
   • Click on a user to edit their settings
   • In the Libraries section, check the libraries the user should access
   • Click Save

2. Verify Access

   • Users will see a library selector in the sidebar if they have access to multiple libraries
   • The library selector is displayed in the top left corner of the UI
   • Users can select multiple libraries to browse and listen to their music

Configuration Considerations

File Organization

Each library should have its own root folder structure:

/music/main/           # Default library (MusicFolder)
├── Artist 1/
├── Artist 2/
└── ...

/music/audiobooks/     # Audiobooks library
├── Author 1/
├── Author 2/
└── ...

/other_path/lossless/       # High-quality library
├── Artist 1/
├── Artist 2/
└── ...

It is up to the user where to save music collections. You can store your artists in /music or any other path you want to use.

Permissions

• The Navidrome user must have read access to all library folders
• Consider using the same ownership/permissions across all library folders
• Ensure adequate disk space for each library’s cache and metadata

Music stored on another computer or NAS

A library’s Path must be a filesystem path accessible to the machine running Navidrome. If your music is stored on another computer or a NAS, first make the shared folder available through the operating system.

For example, if Navidrome runs on a Linux server and your music is on a Windows computer:

1. Share the music folder over the network in Windows using SMB.
2. Mount the share on the Linux server, for example at /mnt/remote-music. See your distribution’s documentation for mounting SMB shares, such as the mount.cifs manual.
3. Verify that the operating-system user running Navidrome can read the mounted folder and its music files.
4. Go to Settings → Libraries and create a library with Path set to /mnt/remote-music.

Use the mounted filesystem path in Navidrome, rather than an SMB URL. The share must be mounted before Navidrome starts and remain available during scans and playback. Persistent mounts and network credentials are configured in the operating system, outside Navidrome.

Docker

If Navidrome runs in Docker, mount the share on the Docker host first, then add a separate volume mapping to the Navidrome container. Keep your existing /music mapping and use another container path, such as /music2, for the additional library:

volumes:
  - /path/to/existing/music:/music:ro # Existing library: keep your current mapping
  - /mnt/remote-music:/music2:ro      # Additional network library

This snippet shows only the music volumes. Add the new mapping to your existing volumes list; keep all other mappings, including /data. The paths on the left of each colon are paths on the Docker host: replace them with your actual paths.

Apply the updated container configuration, then create the additional library in Settings → Libraries with Path set to /music2, the path inside the container. The user running Navidrome inside the container must also have read access to this folder. See the Docker installation guide for volume and permission details.

Performance

• Each library maintains its own file system watcher
• Multiple libraries scanning simultaneously may impact performance
• Consider staggering initial scans of large libraries
• Large numbers of libraries may affect UI performance

Using Multi-Library

Switching Libraries

• Use the library selector in the sidebar to select visible libraries
• All browsing, searching, and playback is scoped to the selected libraries

Cross-Library Features

• Playlists: Can contain songs from multiple libraries (user must have access)
• Smart Playlists: Can be scoped to specific libraries using filters
• Search: Results from all accessible libraries (filtered by permissions)
• Statistics: Maintained separately per library

API and Client Support

Subsonic API

• The getMusicFolders endpoint returns all libraries accessible to the authenticated user
• All other endpoints respect the user’s library permissions
• Clients that support multiple music folders will work with Navidrome’s multi-library feature

Client Compatibility

Most Subsonic-compatible clients that support multiple music folders will work with Navidrome’s multi-library feature. Check your client’s documentation for music folder support.

Troubleshooting

Library Not Scanning

• Verify the path exists and is readable by the Navidrome user
• Check the logs for permission errors
• Ensure the path doesn’t overlap with other libraries

User Cannot Access Library

• Verify the user has been granted access to the library in user settings
• Check that the library has completed its initial scan

Performance Issues

• Monitor system resources during simultaneous library scans
• Consider adjusting scanner settings if experiencing high I/O

Best Practices

• Design your folder structure before creating libraries
• Use clear, descriptive names for libraries
• Consider future growth when organizing

Related Features

• Configuration Options: Basic setup and MusicFolder configuration
• Smart Playlists: Create dynamic playlists with library-specific filters
• Backup: Protecting your multi-library setup