QBZ

QBZ is a free and open source (FOSS) high-fidelity streaming client for Linux with native playback. It is a real desktop application, not a web wrapper, so it can use DAC passthrough, switch sample rates per track, and deliver bit-perfect audio.

1.1.8 Highlights

• DAC Setup Wizard for guided PipeWire bit-perfect configuration
• Immersive Player overhaul with tabbed panels and visualizer
• Genre filtering with 3-level hierarchy
• Playlist suggestions based on artist similarity
• Remote control API (LAN + PWA)
• Configurable key bindings
• New languages: German and French, plus expanded Spanish coverage

See docs/release-1.1.8/CHANGELOG_HIGHLIGHTS.md for details.

Legal / Branding

• This application uses the Qobuz API but is not certified by Qobuz.
• Qobuz™ is a trademark of Qobuz. QBZ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by Qobuz.
• The offline library is a temporary playback cache for listening without an internet connection while you have a valid subscription. You do not receive a license to keep or redistribute the content. If your subscription becomes invalid, QBZ will remove all cached content after 3 days.
• Credentials may be stored in your system keyring if you have a keyring configured.
• Qobuz Terms of Service: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/legal/terms

Why QBZ

Browsers cap audio output around 48 kHz, while Qobuz™ streams up to 192 kHz. QBZ uses a native playback pipeline with direct device control, exclusive mode, and no forced resampling so your system and DAC receive the original resolution, with caching and system integrations that wrappers cannot provide.

Installation

Arch Linux (AUR)

# Using yay
yay -S qbz-bin

# Using paru
paru -S qbz-bin

Snap

sudo snap install qbz-player

Post-install plug connections for audio backends:

sudo snap connect qbz-player:alsa
sudo snap connect qbz-player:pulseaudio
sudo snap connect qbz-player:pipewire

Optional: external drives and network mounts

sudo snap connect qbz-player:removable-media

Flatpak

# Download from releases
flatpak install ./QBZ.flatpak

Important for Audiophiles

Due to Flatpak sandbox restrictions, PipeWire backend cannot guarantee bit-perfect playback. The sandbox prevents QBZ from controlling the PipeWire daemon's sample rate configuration.

For bit-perfect audio in Flatpak:

• Use ALSA Direct backend in Settings → Audio → Audio Backend
• Select your DAC from the device list
• Enable DAC Passthrough

For full PipeWire bit-perfect support:

• Install via native packages (.deb, .rpm) or build from source

The app will display a warning in Settings when this limitation affects your configuration.

NAS/Network Storage Access

If your music library is on a NAS or network mount, grant filesystem access:

# CIFS/Samba mount
flatpak override --user --filesystem=/mnt/nas com.blitzfc.qbz

# SSHFS mount
flatpak override --user --filesystem=/home/$USER/music-nas com.blitzfc.qbz

# Custom mount point
flatpak override --user --filesystem=/path/to/music com.blitzfc.qbz

This permission persists across reboots and updates.

AppImage

Download the latest release from the Releases page.

chmod +x QBZ.AppImage
./QBZ.AppImage

DEB (Debian/Ubuntu/Mint/Pop!_OS/Zorin)

Download the .deb from Releases.

sudo apt install ./qbz_*.deb

Requires glibc 2.38+ (Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 13+, Mint 22+). Older releases like Ubuntu 22.04 or Pop!_OS 22.04 ship glibc 2.35 and won't work — use Flatpak, Snap, or AppImage instead.

RPM (Fedora/openSUSE/RHEL-based)

Download the .rpm from Releases.

sudo dnf install ./qbz-*.rpm

Requires glibc 2.38+ (Fedora 39+, openSUSE Tumbleweed, RHEL 10+). For older releases, use Flatpak, Snap, or AppImage instead.

Note: Pre-built binaries include all API integrations (Last.fm, Discogs, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer) ready to use. If you build from source, you'll need to provide your own API keys.

Screenshots

Coming soon.

Features

Streaming and Playback

• Qobuz™ authentication and full catalog search (albums, tracks, artists, playlists).
• Native decoding for FLAC, MP3, AAC, and ALAC with real-time playback state updates.
• Quality selection with automatic fallback across Qobuz™ tiers.
• Audio device enumeration and per-device output selection.
• Exclusive mode and DAC passthrough for bit-perfect playback.
• Preserve original sample rates end-to-end where supported.
• Gapless-ready playback pipeline with precise position tracking.

Queue and Library

• Queue management with shuffle, repeat, and history navigation.
• In-memory audio cache with LRU eviction and next-track prefetching.
• Favorites and playlists from your Qobuz™ account.
• Local library backend: directory scanning, metadata extraction, CUE sheet parsing, and SQLite indexing.
• Grid and list views with search, A-Z index, and grouping by artist or album.
• Multi-disc album grouping with disc headers in album views.
• Local artwork detection (folder and embedded) with Discogs fallback.
• Tag editor for local library: Edit metadata (title, artist, album, genre, year) with sidecar storage that preserves original files.

Playlist Import

• Import public playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Deezer into your Qobuz™ library.
• Automatic track matching with fuzzy search.
• Batch import with progress tracking.

Network Casting

• Chromecast device discovery and streaming.
• DLNA/UPnP device discovery and streaming (AVTransport SOAP).
• Unified cast picker with protocol selection.
• Seamless playback handoff to network devices.

Integrations

• MPRIS media controls and media key support on Linux.
• Desktop notifications for track changes.
• Last.fm scrobbling and now-playing updates.
• MusicBrainz integration: Artist enrichment, musician credits, recording relationships, and detailed album personnel.
• ListenBrainz integration: Scrobbling with listen history sync.
• Discogs artwork fetching for local library.
• Shareable Qobuz™ URLs and universal SongLink links (Odesli).

Interface

• Now playing, queue panel, and full-screen playback views.
• Focus mode for distraction-free listening.
• Mini player mode.
• Musician pages: Explore performers, composers, and producers with their discography and roles.
• Label pages: Browse record label catalogs.
• Album credits: View detailed personnel and recording credits from MusicBrainz.
• Track info modal: Detailed track metadata, recording info, and file details.
• Artist network sidebar: Explore related artists and collaborators.
• Keyboard shortcuts for common actions.
• English and Spanish localization.

Settings

• Audio device selection and quality preferences.
• API keys configuration for self-hosted builds.
• Theme and appearance options.
• Update notifications: Check for new releases with What's New changelogs.

Performance

• Low CPU usage in idle and playback with adaptive audio thread scheduling.

Open Source

QBZ is MIT-licensed and fully open source. No telemetry, no lock-in, and no hidden services. Just a clean, transparent player built for Linux audio fans.

Inspiration

QBZ draws inspiration from the broader Linux audio community that values open tools and high-fidelity playback.

Tech Stack

• Desktop: Rust + Tauri 2
• Frontend: SvelteKit 5 + TypeScript + Vite
• Audio: rodio + symphonia
• Networking: reqwest
• Local library: walkdir + lofty + rusqlite
• Integrations: souvlaki (MPRIS), notify-rust, SongLink (Odesli)
• UX: svelte-i18n, lucide-svelte

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Rust (latest stable)
• Node.js 20+
• Linux with audio support (PipeWire, ALSA, or PulseAudio)
• System dependencies: webkit2gtk-4.1, gtk3, alsa-lib

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vicrodh/qbz.git
cd qbz

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run tauri dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri build

Environment Variables

API keys are only required when you build QBZ yourself. The app runs without them, but the corresponding features will be disabled.

API keys and integrations (optional)

When building from source, you need to provide your own API keys. Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your API keys, then use the development script that properly loads them:

# Use this command for development with API keys
npm run dev:tauri

Important: API keys are embedded at compile-time using Rust's option_env!() macro. The .env file must be loaded into your shell environment before compilation. The npm run dev:tauri script does this automatically. If you prefer manual control:

# Load .env into current shell (once per terminal session)
set -a
source .env
set +a

# Now run dev
npm run tauri dev

Last.fm Integration

1. Go to Last.fm API Account
2. Create a new application
3. Add to .env:

LAST_FM_API_KEY=your_api_key
LAST_FM_API_SHARED_SECRET=your_shared_secret

Discogs Integration (Local Library Artwork)

1. Go to Discogs Developer Settings
2. Create a new application
3. Add to .env:

DISCOGS_API_CLIENT_KEY=your_consumer_key
DISCOGS_API_CLIENT_SECRET=your_consumer_secret

Spotify Integration (Playlist Import)

1. Go to Spotify Developer Dashboard
2. Create a new application
3. Add to .env:

SPOTIFY_API_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
SPOTIFY_API_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

Tidal Integration (Playlist Import)

1. Go to Tidal Developer Portal
2. Create a new application
3. Add to .env:

TIDAL_API_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
TIDAL_API_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

Note: All integrations are optional. The application will work without them, but the corresponding features will be disabled.

Data Migration

If you've used QBZ before version 1.1.6, your data was stored under qbz-nix directories. The application now uses unified qbz paths. To migrate your existing data:

# Migrate cache (offline library, artwork, etc.)
mv ~/.cache/qbz-nix ~/.cache/qbz

# Migrate config (credentials)
mv ~/.config/qbz-nix ~/.config/qbz

# Migrate data (library database, settings)
mv ~/.local/share/qbz-nix ~/.local/share/qbz

If you run both development and production builds, they now share the same data directories.

Project Structure

qbz/
├── src/                  # Frontend (SvelteKit)
├── src-tauri/
│   └── src/
│       ├── api/          # Qobuz™ API client
│       ├── player/       # Audio playback engine
│       ├── queue/        # Queue management
│       ├── cache/        # Audio cache and prefetch
│       ├── cast/         # Chromecast & DLNA casting
│       ├── library/      # Local library backend
│       ├── lastfm/       # Last.fm integration
│       ├── listenbrainz/ # ListenBrainz integration
│       ├── musicbrainz/  # MusicBrainz integration
│       ├── discogs/      # Discogs integration
│       ├── playlist_import/ # Spotify/Tidal import
│       ├── share/        # SongLink / share utilities
│       ├── media_controls/ # MPRIS integration
│       ├── updates/      # Release updates checker
│       └── commands/     # Tauri IPC commands
├── packaging/
│   ├── aur/              # Arch Linux PKGBUILD
│   └── flatpak/          # Flatpak manifest
├── docs/
│   └── release-1.1.8/    # Release notes
└── static/               # Static assets and logo

Known Issues

Audio Playback

Seekbar Performance with Hi-Res Audio

• When using ALSA Direct or PipeWire DAC Passthrough with high sample rates (>96kHz), seeking can take 10-20 seconds
• This is due to the decoder needing to decode all samples from the start to the seek position
• Workaround: Use prev/next track buttons for instant navigation
• Future: Byte-level seeking will be implemented in a future release to fix this

First Sample Rate Change

• The first large sample rate change (e.g., 88.2kHz → 44.1kHz) may have a brief delay as the hardware stabilizes
• Subsequent changes of the same type are smooth
• This is normal hardware behavior and not a bug

Audio Backends

ALSA Direct Mode (hw: devices)

• Provides bit-perfect playback by bypassing all software mixing
• Exclusive access: Other applications cannot play audio simultaneously
• Hardware volume control is experimental and may not work with all DACs
• If hardware mixer fails, use your DAC/amplifier's physical volume control

PipeWire DAC Passthrough

• Requires PipeWire configuration for automatic sample rate switching
• Use the in-app Settings wizard for guided setup
• Flatpak users: PipeWire bit-perfect can work if PipeWire is configured correctly. If it does not, use ALSA Direct.

Graphics and Rendering

QBZ uses WebKit for rendering. Some hardware/driver combinations may cause crashes or poor performance. Settings are available in Settings → Appearance → Composition.

Quick Recovery

If QBZ crashes on startup after changing graphics settings:

# Nuclear option: reset ALL graphics settings to defaults
qbz --reset-graphics

# Alternative: disable GPU rendering for this session only
QBZ_HARDWARE_ACCEL=0 qbz

The --reset-graphics flag resets force_x11, gdk_scale, gdk_dpi_scale, and force_dmabuf to their defaults, then exits. Start QBZ normally afterwards.

Environment Variables

Set these before launching QBZ to override settings:

Variable	Effect	When to use
QBZ_HARDWARE_ACCEL=0	Disable all GPU rendering	Crashes on startup, severe UI glitches
QBZ_HARDWARE_ACCEL=1	Force full GPU (bypass safety)	Only if you know your GPU works perfectly
QBZ_FORCE_X11=1	Use XWayland instead of Wayland	NVIDIA crashes on Wayland, protocol errors
QBZ_SOFTWARE_RENDER=1	Force Mesa llvmpipe	VMs, headless servers, broken GPU drivers
QBZ_DISABLE_DMABUF=1	Disable DMA-BUF renderer	Intel Arc EGL crashes, NVIDIA Error 71
QBZ_FORCE_DMABUF=1	Force DMA-BUF renderer	Testing only, may crash

Common Scenarios

NVIDIA on Wayland (crashes, protocol errors, black screen)

QBZ_FORCE_X11=1 qbz

Or enable "Force X11 backend" in Settings → Appearance → Composition.

Intel Arc GPU (EGL crashes, "Could not create default EGL display")

QBZ_DISABLE_DMABUF=1 qbz

Virtual machines or containers

QBZ_SOFTWARE_RENDER=1 qbz

Severe UI lag or freezing

QBZ_HARDWARE_ACCEL=0 qbz

XWayland scaling issues (blurry UI)

After enabling Force X11, configure scaling in Settings → Appearance → Composition:

• GDK_SCALE: Integer scaling (1, 2)
• GDK_DPI_SCALE: Fractional scaling (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2)

What the defaults do

• X11 sessions: Full GPU acceleration, nothing disabled
• Wayland sessions: Compositing mode disabled (prevents protocol errors), DMA-BUF disabled for all GPUs (prevents EGL crashes)
• NVIDIA on X11: Only DMA-BUF disabled

All settings require a restart to take effect.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting issues or pull requests.

License

MIT