Crates is a database for your media allowing F2F curation and sharing of playlists.

Logical Modules

1. CAS: Content addressable store for immutable data (MP3 files etc).
2. index: Database of file metadata metadata. Old files are deprecated. Deprecated files can be garbage collected if desired.
3. Crawlers: Systems that programatically curate files
4. Mapper: Part of (1) and (2) which organises files as symlinks on the filesystem. Other apps can then use the database.

Crawlers

Crawlers are an automatic way of improving and extending your collection.

Implemented:

• Filesystem (this includes itunes): Look for media on local computer
• Soundcloud: Download best-effort quality starred items from any username. Songs could be deprecated in favor of purchased (better bitrate) songs at a later date.
• PeerCrawler -- Download from another crates server via query or feed

Pending:

• Add chromaprint/acoustid, BPM, Camelot key, MBID
• Identify songs that have no metadata via acoustid API call (or correct existing)
• Get some better album art via MBID and online database (MusicBrainz, IMDB)
• iTunes vi pyitunes: better metadata might be available.

Crawlers may create a fully-packed MP3 file in a temporary location if necessary. For example, raw soundcloud MP3s had little metadata. It is not necessary for mutators to be used in conjunction with crawlers. Crawlers may also crawl the crates database itself to generate new, improved files.

Playlists ("crates")

One of the main features of crates is to be able to make/share playlists for DJing. Each playlist has an ID and is shared with Peers.

Serato/Mixxx/Traktor import/export is planned.

Installation

sudo apt-get install libpython-dev python-pip sudo pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt

Edit crates/settings.py

Development

# create database and superuser account
./manage.py syncdb
# run local server in development mode
./manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8080
# crawl
./manage.py crawl ~/Music

Production

Guide pending, uses nginx+uwsgi+ansible. See ansible/ for an incomplete example.

Consumption

Map to a location:

./manage.py map /exports/music

Then run a samba server with example conf. To get play counts and notifications run hit counter daemon.