Polaris

A self-hosted server that streams your own music collection to a browser or phone, built to stay fast with libraries above 100,000 songs.

2.7k stars, 127 forks Rust On GitHub since August 2016

View on GitHub How to run it

Polaris at a glance

Open sourceYes, MITNo paid parts in the repository
Health38 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingWindowsSteps in the README
AppsWindowsBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~11 daysMedian first reply; 67% of recent issues answered

What is Polaris?

Polaris indexes a music folder and serves it through a web interface where you browse by album, artist, genre or the raw file tree. It reads flac, mp3, mp4, mpc, ogg, opus, ape, wav and aiff files, handles multi-value tags such as several artists on one track, and draws a waveform for each song. Searches can target individual fields. Each user gets separate playlists, settings live in a plain-text file that the built-in UI can also edit, and the server API is documented with OpenAPI. An official Android app exists, alongside third-party iOS and web clients.

Good fit if

  • Your collection is large and you want a music-only server that browses it quickly.
  • You run Windows, Linux or BSD and want a small install without a database server.

Look elsewhere if

  • Your phone apps speak the Subsonic API and you want to keep using them: Navidrome or gonic.
  • Films and series should come from the same server as the music: Jellyfin.

Before you adopt it

Polaris uses the MIT license, and the README states there is no premium version; no paid parts were found in the repository. A single developer maintains it on a personal account, and recent commits come in small numbers. Prebuilt downloads exist for Windows, and the README describes running it on Linux, BSD or through Docker.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run Polaris yourself

One-click install

Not listed in the app catalogs of Umbrel, YunoHost, TrueNAS, Unraid, CasaOS, Runtipi, Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts and Coolify.

Ways to install

Docker files
None in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Windows in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: the README on GitHub.

Polaris health: is it still maintained?

38 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~3 months2 releases in 12 months; latest 0.16.1
Issue repliesWithin ~11 daysMedian first reply; 67% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskOne person wrote all recent commits
  • Activity
    14 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026.
    14 / 30
  • Contributors
    1 person wrote the 14 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 100% of them.
    2 / 20
  • Releases
    2 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, 0.16.1, on 8 May 2026.
    8 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 67% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 11 days.
    9 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

Polaris security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code.

Security advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026.

Polaris license: is it open source?

Polaris uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. August 2016First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

Polaris for developers

Written in

  • Rust 98%
  • Makefile <1%
  • PowerShell <1%
  • Nix <1%
  • Shell <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues23On GitHub
Authors, 90 days1Of 14 commits

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to Polaris

  • AmpacheA web based audio/video streaming application and file manager allowing you to access your music & videos… 77 health · AGPL-3.0 · 3.8k stars
  • koelMusic streaming solution that works. 72 health · MIT · 17.3k stars
  • Black CandyA self hosted music streaming server 49 health · MIT · 4.4k stars
  • PeerTubeActivityPub-federated video streaming platform using P2P directly in your web browser 88 health · AGPL-3.0 · 15.4k stars
  • Beetsmusic library manager and MusicBrainz tagger 83 health · MIT · 15.9k stars

All 38 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about Polaris

Is Polaris open source?

Yes. Polaris is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Polaris still maintained?

Its health score is 38 of 100 (actively developed). It had 14 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 9 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 8 May 2026.

How do I run Polaris?

You can run it as an app for Windows. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Polaris written in?

Polaris is written mainly in Rust (98% of the code), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Polaris?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include Ampache, koel, Black Candy.