MusiCards

MusicBrainz Release Viewer & Player

About

MusiCards is a release-centric MusicBrainz explorer with an integrated player for your own music collection. The release remains the primary object: its track structure, credits, works, artist information and discography stay at the centre, while playback is added wherever MusiCards can match the release to audio you actually have access to.

You can use MusiCards purely as a MusicBrainz viewer without connecting any library. When a library source is connected, discreet blue play symbols show which releases and tracks are available from that source. The complete MusicBrainz release remains visible even if you own only part of it.

System requirements

MusiCards is designed for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and requires iOS, iPadOS or macOS 26 or later.

App Store

Get MusiCards on the App Store

Latest version

Version 2.0 — The Player update

MusiCards 2.0 adds a native player without turning the app into a conventional library manager. You can continue exploring MusicBrainz while music plays from either an indexed local library or your own Navidrome server.

• Play individual tracks or queue all available tracks from a MusicBrainz release.
• Use the compact mini player while browsing, or expand it for artwork, credits and audio details.
• Connect an indexed local or File Provider folder, or use a Navidrome server as the active music source.
• Create or update the local library.json index directly in MusiCards for macOS.
• Stream matching tracks from Navidrome over HTTPS, with seeking supported for remote FLAC and ALAC playback.
• Control playback from the iPhone Lock Screen and the iOS or macOS Control Centre.
• See the current source, audio route, format, sample rate, bit depth and channel layout when available.

Explore

• Type an artist name to search for artists.
• Start with a comma — , release title — to search for releases without specifying an artist.
• Use artist, release for a combined search.
• Paste a MusicBrainz release MBID into the search field to open that exact release.
• On iPhone, identify music with Shazam or scan the barcode of a CD.
• When a library source is connected, playable releases are prioritised in search results and marked with a blue play symbol.
• Tap a card or accordion header to move between SEARCH, RELEASE, TRACKS, ARTIST & DISCOGRAPHY and PLAYER.

Choose a music source

MusiCards can play from either a Local library or a Navidrome server. Only one source is active at a time, so switching sources does not merge two libraries or create duplicate entries. MusicBrainz remains the browsing layer in both cases; the active source only determines which tracks are available to play.

The Library Connection panel lets you connect, disconnect or switch sources without changing your MusicBrainz data or browsing history.

Local library

1. Tag your albums with MusicBrainz Picard. MusiCards uses embedded MusicBrainz release and track identifiers to make exact matches.
2. Build a library.json index. On Mac, open the Library Connection panel and choose Create / Update Library Index. MusiCards scans metadata without copying the audio files.
3. On iPhone, select an already indexed music folder. Index creation is intentionally performed on a Mac or computer, so an iPhone does not need to download an entire cloud library simply to catalogue it.
4. Search MusicBrainz and play any release or track marked with a blue play symbol.

Choosing another local library replaces the current local connection; it does not merge folders. The index stores file locations and MusicBrainz identifiers, not copies of your music.

Exact track-level matching supports partial albums and multi-disc or multi-layer editions. Only files actually present in the selected library are marked as playable.

Navidrome

MusiCards can also use your own Navidrome server as its music source. The connection uses the OpenSubsonic API and must use HTTPS.

1. Open the Library Connection panel and select NAVIDROME.
2. Enter the HTTPS address of your Navidrome server together with your Navidrome username and password.
3. Connect and allow MusiCards to read the server catalogue and match it to MusicBrainz releases and tracks.
4. Browse MusicBrainz normally. Blue play symbols now indicate music available from the connected Navidrome library.

Your Navidrome server can be hosted however you choose; Tailscale is not required by MusiCards. The only requirement from the app is that the configured server address is reachable from the device and uses HTTPS.

MusiCards stores the Navidrome password in the Apple Keychain. The server address, username and connection information are stored locally as app preferences. Existing HTTP-only server profiles are not silently rewritten to HTTPS; they must be edited to point to a valid HTTPS endpoint.

Player

Tap the blue symbol beside a track to play it, or the symbol on the RELEASE card to queue all playable tracks from that release. Tracks that are not available from the active source remain fully visible for browsing but are not added to the queue.

• The collapsed PLAYER card or accordion provides previous, play/pause, next and seek controls without interrupting exploration.
• The expanded player adds cover art, release and track information, MusicBrainz credits, file format and output-route details.
• Lock Screen, Control Centre, background playback, artwork, seeking and previous/next commands are supported through the native Apple media controls.
• Compatible USB audio devices can be used through the system-selected output. Bluetooth, AirPlay, built-in speakers and other macOS routes are identified where the operating system exposes them.
• If an audio route is interrupted or disconnected, MusiCards pauses safely and allows playback to resume after a valid route returns.

MusiCards uses the native Apple audio stack and does not apply EQ, normalisation or sound effects. On macOS it attempts to match the output sample rate to the source where the selected device permits it. The final signal path still depends on the device, connection and operating-system route, so MusiCards does not make a universal “bit-perfect” claim.

Supported audio

The local library index recognises FLAC, ALAC and AAC audio stored in .flac, .m4a or .aac files. Audio details are read when playback begins, keeping indexing fast even for large collections.

Navidrome streams matching tracks directly from your server rather than copying the library to the device. Remote FLAC and ALAC playback support seeking; actual network performance depends on the server connection and the device's current network route.

Features

• Native iOS and macOS experience from a shared multiplatform app.
• Stacked cards on iOS and a Frosted or Liquid Glass accordion on macOS.
• Release → Tracks → Artist navigation with artist information and discography.
• Search by artist, release title, combined artist/release query, barcode or MusicBrainz release MBID.
• Shazam recognition, CD barcode scanning and Now Playing matching on iPhone.
• Detailed track credits grouped into creators, performers and technical roles.
• Structured classical music track titles and work information.
• Music service and Discogs links when available in MusicBrainz.
• Persistent local-library connection with fast, track-accurate matching.
• HTTPS Navidrome connection with MusicBrainz-aware remote playback.
• Native queue, background playback, system media controls and route-aware playback.

Troubleshooting

• No blue play symbol with a local library: confirm that the selected folder contains library.json, rebuild the index after changing files, and check the album in MusicBrainz Picard.
• An album is missing from the local index: it most likely has no embedded MusicBrainz release MBID. Tag it with Picard and create the index again.
• No blue play symbol with Navidrome: confirm that Navidrome has scanned the files and that the audio tags contain the correct MusicBrainz identifiers.
• Navidrome will not connect: MusiCards requires an https:// server address. Check the server URL, username and password, and make sure the server is reachable from the current device.
• A previously saved Navidrome server stopped working: older HTTP server addresses are no longer accepted. Edit the connection and use a valid HTTPS endpoint.
• Remote playback pauses or takes time to start: check the connection to your Navidrome server. Seeking and progressive playback still require a stable network path.
• A cloud-based local track takes time to start: the File Provider may need to download that individual file first. MusiCards does not download the whole library.
• No sound or playback stops: check the current system output and reconnect any USB, Bluetooth or AirPlay device before resuming.
• The connected local library changed: choose the updated folder again or rebuild its index on Mac.
• Shazam or barcode scanning is unavailable on iPhone: check the relevant microphone or camera permission in iOS Settings.

Support

Questions, suggestions, bug reports and feedback are always welcome. If you are reporting a playback or connection problem, it is helpful to include the device model, operating-system version, whether the active source is Local or Navidrome, and the audio format involved.

Send a support message

Privacy Policy

MusiCards itself has no account system, advertising, analytics or telemetry. The developer does not operate a service that receives your music library, listening history or Navidrome credentials.

Recent searches, selected items, app preferences and the security-scoped reference to a connected local music folder are stored locally on your device using Apple system storage. Navidrome connection details are also stored locally; the password is kept in the Apple Keychain rather than ordinary app preferences.

Your local audio files remain in the folder you choose. MusiCards reads the library index and accesses an individual audio file when it is needed for playback; it does not upload your music to the developer. On macOS, index creation reads embedded metadata and writes library.json into the selected folder.

When Navidrome is used, MusiCards communicates directly with the server you configured over HTTPS. Requests include the information required by the OpenSubsonic API, such as your username, authentication token, salt, music identifiers and playback requests. The raw password is stored in Keychain and is not sent as an OpenSubsonic request parameter.

On iOS, microphone access is used only when you start Shazam recognition, and camera access is used only when you start barcode scanning. MusiCards does not record or store microphone audio or camera images for the developer.

MusiCards connects directly to external services when their features are used:

• MusicBrainz for music metadata and search results.
• Cover Art Archive for release artwork.
• Apple's Shazam service for user-initiated music recognition on iOS.
• Apple system media services for authorised Now Playing matching and native playback controls on iOS.
• Wikidata and Wikipedia for artist information when available.
• Your own Navidrome server when Navidrome is selected as the active music source.

Search terms, MusicBrainz identifiers, release or entity identifiers and similar request data may be sent to the relevant service when you use these features. Those services and any Navidrome server you choose are operated independently and process requests according to their own policies and configuration.

Attribution

MusiCards uses metadata from MusicBrainz; MusicBrainz core data is available under the CC0 licence. Release artwork is retrieved through the Cover Art Archive; rights in individual images remain with their respective owners.

MusiCards also includes libFLAC and libogg for audio playback. Their full licence notices are available inside the app under About → Third-Party Licenses.