How to Get Started Installing and Setting Up Karaoke Eternal

Updated

Karaoke Eternal is a self-hosted karaoke party system, and setup means getting three parts working together: the Server (serves the web app and your media files), the App (the mobile browser interface guests use to find and queue songs), and the Player (the same app run fullscreen on the system handling audio/video for a room). The official Getting Started guide provides step-by-step instructions, and there are several installation methods for the server. Below is what each part does, how to approach installation, and where the documentation picks up from there.

The three parts you're setting up

Part What it does Where it runs
Server Serves the web app and your media files Self-hosted; the site says it "runs on pretty much anything"
App Mobile web app for finding and queuing songs Guests' phone browsers
Player Fullscreen playback of audio/video for a room The system handling audio/video for that room

The Player is described as "just another part of the app" — it isn't a separate install, but the same app run fullscreen on the room's audio/video system.

Installation

There are several installation methods available for Karaoke Eternal Server. The site points to the Getting Started guide for step-by-step instructions, and to the documentation for each part. The documentation covers:

  • Installation
  • Media files
  • Metadata parser
  • CLI & ENV
  • File locations

Start with Getting Started, then use the per-part documentation pages for the details of each component.

What you'll need to decide before starting

  • Where the server runs. Because it's self-hosted and runs on nearly everything, pick the machine that will host the web app and your media files.
  • Your media. The player supports MP3+G (MP3 with CDG lyrics, including zipped) and MP4 videos, so your library format affects what you can play.
  • Your audio setup. Microphones are not required, since the player itself only outputs music — this lets your audio setup be as simple or complex as you like. See the F.A.Q. for more on this.
  • Rooms and access. Multiple simultaneous rooms/queues are supported, optionally password-protected, and guests can join easily with QR codes and guest accounts.

After installation: running a party

Once the server is up and the app is reachable, guests open it in their phone's browser to find and queue songs. The app is designed for "karaoke conditions" and uses dynamic queues to keep parties fair and low-fuss. The player also supports music-synced visualizations with automatic lyrics background removal.

Getting help

For general support and development chat, the project points to the Karaoke Eternal Discord Server. Development and contribution details are on the GitHub project page.