Introducing Traxx, an Android music app built for Emby music libraries

[Hauzz 1]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to introduce Traxx, an Android music app I have been developing for use with Emby music libraries.

The main reason I started building it is simple: I became tired of Spotify and wanted to enjoy my own music collection again. Emby already does a great job of managing my media, but I could not really find a dedicated music-only Android app for Emby that felt focused, clean and comfortable to use. So I decided to build one myself.

Traxx is designed specifically around music. The idea is to make browsing and playing your own Emby music library feel simple and enjoyable, without all the extra video-related parts getting in the way.

The app is now in the final stage of development, and it already includes:

• browsing albums, artists and songs from an Emby server
• displaying album artwork clearly
• playing music from your own library
• a clean Android interface focused only on music
• making larger music collections easier to navigate
• Android Auto support
• playback of playlists created in Emby
• creating new playlists directly inside the app
• support for static lyrics
• automatic LRC lyrics support

I am also working on Alexa integration, although I still have to see if I can get that working the way I want. For now, my main goal is to make the core music experience stable, pleasant and reliable.

Below some images of the looks of the app.

I would love to know if other Emby users are interested in testing Traxx. Feedback from people with different music libraries, devices and ways of using Emby would be very helpful.

If you are interested in trying Traxx, please let me know in this thread. I would be happy to share more details and learn what features would be useful for other Emby music users.

Thanks!

[GrimEvil 82]

i would love to test it as I can use it with  both my phone and car. does it work on android tv ?

[szymonSamsung 4]

I would also love to try this app as alternative to default emby player which is scary

[Hauzz 1]

I’m currently wrapping up the first release version. As soon as it’s ready, I’ll post it here.

[Hauzz 1]

The Traxx beta release is now finished and attached to this message.

This is a 90-day test version. After that period, the app will stop working. You are welcome to download it for free and try it out.

Please keep in mind that this is still a beta release, so issues may occur. If you run into any problems, have questions, or would like to suggest additional features, please report them here.

Traxx connects directly to your own Emby server and keeps the experience centered on your music library, without trying to become a full video/media client.

Main Features

• Direct login to your own Emby server
• Secure token storage using Android Keystore
• Music playback from Emby with Media3/ExoPlayer
• Dark, clean phone interface
• Browse by songs, albums, artists and playlists
• Album detail pages with play and shuffle options
• Artist pages based on Emby album artists
• Playlist support:
  • create playlists
  • rename playlists
  • delete playlists
  • add songs
  • remove songs
  • see which playlists a song belongs to
• Queue view with the current track highlighted
• Mini-player and full now-playing screen
• Shuffle and repeat modes
• Resume playback from the last position
• Lyrics support, including plain text and synced lyrics when available
• Profile image and Emby profile name support
• Local library cache for faster startup and partial offline use
• Clear offline/cache warning with retry option
• Automatic library refresh when Emby reports changes
• Local artwork cache with fallback handling
• Android Auto support:
  • browse songs, albums, artists and playlists
  • album shuffle
  • song shuffle
  • playback from search
  • local cached browsing for smoother car use
• Google Cast support through the official Cast SDK
• Cast playback with metadata, artwork, remote controls and playback position handling
• Android system audio output picker support
• Bluetooth/output route detection on supported Android versions
• Secure logout that clears local data and revokes the Emby session where possible
• Dutch, English and Spanish interface translations
• Separate beta tester build with a 90-day test period

Security and Privacy

Traxx is designed to keep things simple and private:

• No third-party account system
• No tracking or advertising
• No cloud service operated by the app
• Your Emby credentials are only used to sign in to your own server
• The Emby access token is stored locally and encrypted by Android
• Public unencrypted HTTP connections are blocked
• Android backup and device transfer are disabled for app data

What Traxx Is Not

Traxx is not intended to replace the full Emby app. It is focused on music playback, Android Auto, playlists, offline-friendly library browsing and a polished daily listening experience.

Samsung TV / DLNA “Play To” style support is not part of the first beta, but may be considered later as a separate feature.

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Traxx-Beta.apk

Edited 20 hours ago by Hauzz

[Hauzz 1]

Remote Access and Reverse Proxy Setup

Traxx can be used outside your home network by connecting to your Emby server through an HTTPS reverse proxy. This is the recommended setup for secure remote access.

The reverse proxy must forward both normal HTTP traffic and WebSocket traffic to Emby. Normal HTTP traffic is used for login, browsing, metadata and playback. WebSocket traffic is used by Emby to notify Traxx about live library changes, such as updated album art, renamed albums, renamed tracks or other metadata changes.

A typical reverse proxy rule should look like this:

Public/source side:
Protocol: HTTPS
Domain: your domain name
Port: 443

Destination/Emby side:
Protocol: HTTP and WebSocket
Host: your Emby server IP address
Port: 8096

Example:

Public/source side:
Protocol: HTTPS
Domain: music.example.com
Port: 443

Destination/Emby side:
Protocol: HTTP and WebSocket
Host: 192.168.1.20
Port: 8096

On QNAP/QTS this can be configured under:

Control Panel → Network & File Services → Network Access → Reverse Proxy

When creating or editing the rule, make sure the destination protocol is set to “HTTP and WebSocket”, not just “HTTP”.

Other NAS brands, routers or reverse proxy tools may use different wording. The important requirement is the same: WebSocket proxying, sometimes called “WebSocket upgrade”, must be enabled for the Emby backend.

If WebSocket support is missing, Traxx may still be able to log in, browse your library and play music, but live library updates may not appear while the app is open.
The latest version with improved dynamic update is attached below

Traxx-Beta-v1.01.apk

[GrimEvil 82]

I will give a go and provide any feed back of course

 

[Hauzz 1]

Hostname and Dynamic DNS Setup

To use Traxx outside your home network, you need a hostname that points to your home internet connection. This can be your own domain name or a free Dynamic DNS hostname.

A hostname can look like this:

Own domain:
music.example.com

Free Dynamic DNS:
myemby.duckdns.org
myemby.dynu.net
myemby.ddns.net

Most home internet connections have a dynamic WAN IP address. This means your public IP address can change over time. Dynamic DNS keeps your hostname updated automatically when your WAN IP changes.

If you own a domain name, create an A record in your DNS settings:

DNS record:
Type: A
Name: music
Value: your current WAN IP address

This makes music.example.com point to your home internet connection.

If you do not own a domain name, you can use a free Dynamic DNS provider such as DuckDNS, Dynu or No-IP. Create a hostname there and configure the update client on your router, NAS or another device in your network. The update client keeps the hostname pointed to your current WAN IP address.

A typical setup looks like this:

Hostname:
music.example.com or myemby.duckdns.org

DNS:
A record points to your WAN IP address

Router:
Forward HTTPS traffic, usually TCP port 443, to the device running your reverse proxy

Reverse proxy:
Forward the request to your Emby server

Emby:
Usually reachable internally at your Emby server IP address on port 8096

Example:

Hostname:
music.example.com

DNS:
A record points to your WAN IP address

Router:
Forward TCP port 443 to your NAS or reverse proxy device

Reverse proxy destination:
Protocol: HTTP and WebSocket
Host: 192.168.1.20
Port: 8096

The address entered in Traxx should then look like this:

https://music.example.com

or, when using Dynamic DNS:

https://myemby.duckdns.org/favicon.icohttps://myemby.duckdns.org

If the hostname does not point to your WAN IP address, Traxx will not be able to reach your Emby server from outside your home network.

[GrimEvil 82]

So from my quick play with it. 

one issue is:-

I set it up the application to use my local Emby ip address http://ip:8096 library loads and I can play music. But I then leave my local network I can not use the application as it can no longer see my server as it is now hosted on https:/domain:8920 (external)

The application should auto switch from local to external domain depending on which is the current way to access the server.

The main issue is with the http://ip:8096 as the server, if I leave my local network and I am on 5g on my phone, the app crashes, if I reset the app, clear data and cache and input my external server info it starts working as expected, but of course it will then not work if I am connected to my local network. 

I will report anything else I can across, not tried it with android auto yet 

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 hours ago by GrimEvil

[Hauzz 1]

7 hours ago, GrimEvil said:

So from my quick play with it. 

one issue is:-

I set it up the application to use my local Emby ip address http://ip:8096 library loads and I can play music. But I then leave my local network I can not use the application as it can no longer see my server as it is now hosted on https:/domain:8920 (external)

The application should auto switch from local to external domain depending on which is the current way to access the server.

The main issue is with the http://ip:8096 as the server, if I leave my local network and I am on 5g on my phone, the app crashes, if I reset the app, clear data and cache and input my external server info it starts working as expected, but of course it will then not work if I am connected to my local network. 

I will report anything else I can across, not tried it with android auto yet 

 

 

 

 

I'm looking in to it. Tried to replicate the crash but in my case the app kept on working without being able to connect of course and showed a popup saying unable to connect.