How to Install Navidrome on Saplo: Your Own Spotify with Your Music Library

A Spotify Premium Individual plan costs $6 per month, or $70 per year, and you pay as long as you want to listen to music. The catalog is not your property: a song can disappear due to an expired license, playlists diverge between devices, and without a paid subscription, you're left with an ad-supported version with limitations. Navidrome is an open-source music streaming server that works with your own file library (MP3, FLAC, OGG, and others), which you set up on your own Box, listening via a browser or mobile app just like Spotify, but from a collection you've curated yourself. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to set up Navidrome on Saplo.

Why Navidrome Instead of Spotify

The paid streaming model has two weaknesses that Navidrome eliminates:

• The fee is fixed and monthly, regardless of whether you listen to music every day or once a week. Spotify Premium Individual is $6 per month, $70 per year.
• The catalog is not your property. A song may disappear from the service due to an expired license, and your playlists and listening history become dependent on one account in one service.

Navidrome runs as a single Docker container from the official deluan/navidrome image, with its own SQLite database in a data volume, without any additional infrastructure to maintain, the same pattern as with Uptime Kuma. The engine mounts a separate music folder in the app directory, accessible directly from the file manager in the Saplo panel. You upload your own library to this folder, and Navidrome automatically scans it and builds a catalog with tags, covers, and artists, also accessible from mobile applications via the Subsonic protocol.

Requirements

To set up Navidrome on Saplo, you need:

• A Box with Docker running (the engine automatically enables it when installing from the catalog; container nesting is required, which Saplo provides by default).
• A minimum of 1 GB RAM free on the Box and 10 GB of disk space, which means the Box S plan for $29 per year is sufficient (it's worth monitoring disk usage, as your music library grows with uploaded files, so there's less reserve here than with a typical setup).
• A Domain or subdomain *.saploapp.pl included with every plan, where the application will be hosted.
• You DO NOT need to set up a separate database; Navidrome keeps its own SQLite database within the data volume, without the need for shared MySQL.

You can find a full description of the application and its place in the catalog on the Navidrome on Saplo page.

Step-by-step installation

1. In the Saplo panel, go to App catalog and select Navidrome.
2. Select a Box with at least 1 GB of free RAM, where the application will be installed, and the domain or subdomain under which it will operate.
3. Confirm the installation. The engine deploys one container from the official image deluan/navidrome:latest, creates a volume for the SQLite database, and a separate folder music in the application directory, mounted to the container for reading.
4. After the container starts, the engine checks via HTTP whether Navidrome is actually responding before deeming the installation complete.
5. The address and first login instructions are saved to the NAVIDROME-SETUP.txt file in the application directory.

First configuration

1. Go to your domain address. Navidrome displays a wizard for creating the first account. Until an account exists, the data provided in the wizard becomes the administrator account. Do this as soon as possible after installation, before anyone else does.
2. Upload your music library using the file manager in the Saplo panel, to the music folder in the application's directory. Navidrome itself does not have file upload via the browser; it's a pure player and scanner for the specified folder.
3. Navidrome scans the music folder when the container starts and then hourly. To see newly uploaded files immediately, run a manual scan in the Navidrome panel, in the Settings section, and then Library Scan.
4. Install any Subsonic protocol-compatible client (e.g., DSub, Substreamer, play:Sub) on your phone or computer, providing the domain address and the login and password created in the wizard.
5. Create additional accounts for family members or your team in the Settings section and then Users, each without an additional fee.

Navidrome on Saplo vs. Spotify Premium

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Navidrome allow uploading music via the browser? No, Navidrome itself doesn't have file upload in the web interface; it's purely a player and scanner of a specified folder. You upload files using the file manager in the Saplo panel, to the music folder in the application directory.

Where do I create an administrator account? Upon the first visit to the domain address, Navidrome displays a wizard for creating the first account, as long as no account exists in the installation yet.

Do I need to set up a database myself? No, Navidrome keeps its own SQLite database in the data volume, without the need for a separate MySQL or Postgres.

How quickly are newly uploaded files visible in the library? Navidrome scans the music folder at container start and then hourly. New files are visible immediately after manually starting a scan in the Settings.

Which plan is enough to start? Box S, with the minimal recipe requirements (1 GB RAM, 10 GB disk), is the cheapest plan that can handle Navidrome, for $29 per year. Your music library grows with the files you upload, so for a larger collection, it's worth keeping an eye on disk space.

Navidrome is designed for music. Audiobooks and podcasts are better kept in Audiobookshelf on Saplo, which remembers your listening position on each device.

If you pay for Spotify Premium every month just to play your own ripped or purchased collection, write to us, we'll help you set up Navidrome and migrate your library.