How to Get Started with Lyrion Music Server (LMS)

Lyrion Music Server (LMS) is open-source software (formerly Logitech Media Server) that controls Squeezebox-family players and compatible software players. To get started, download and install LMS for your platform, then point it at a music folder to build a media library. The official documentation organizes this into a "Getting Started with LMS" section covering download/installation, beginner's guides, and platform-specific setups.

Start at the official entry points

The Lyrion Music Server site groups the first steps under two headings:

• Getting Started with LMS — the overall onboarding path
• Download & Installation — the actual download and install instructions

Within Getting Started, the documented sub-sections are:

• Download & Installation
• Beginner's guides
• Help Guides and FAQs
• Advanced guides
• Creating a media library

If you only read one thing first, the Beginner's guide for LMS is the intended starting document.

Pick the installation path that matches your hardware

LMS documents several distinct setup routes. Choose based on where you want the server to run:

Docker-based installs (Synology, QNAP, OMV) share the same container approach, so the Docker guides are worth reading together even if you only use one of those NAS brands. There is also a separate note on adding locales to a Docker container if you need non-default language support.

Follow the beginner's guide, then build your library

The documented flow is: install LMS, then move on to Creating a media library. That section is where you define what music LMS will serve.

Two related guides sit alongside library creation and are worth knowing about early:

• Getting the most out of LMS metadata — how tagging affects browsing and playback
• Guide to classical music on LMS and the #CURTRACK Guide — specialized handling for classical collections and curated track lists

Getting metadata right before you scan a large library saves re-work later, since LMS browsing depends heavily on tags.

Know where to look when something breaks

• Help Guides and FAQs — general troubleshooting and common questions
• New Music changes in 9.0 — relevant if you are coming from an older version or from Logitech Media Server
• Advanced guides — includes topics like using OpenVPN on SB Radio/Touch and migrating from UE Smart Radio

The Changelog is split into LMS 9 changelog and LMS 8 changelog, useful for confirming whether a behavior you remember belongs to the version you installed.

Players and controllers come after the server

LMS is the server; you still need something to play through. The site separates these into:

• Hardware based — Squeezebox Touch, Radio, Boom, Duet (Controller + Receiver), Transporter, Classic, Squeezebox 2/1, SLIMP3
• Software based — Squeezelite, Jivelite, SqueezePlay, SoftSqueeze, piCorePlayer

A Hardware Comparison and Software Comparison page exist if you are deciding between them. For a first setup, a software player such as Squeezelite is the usual way to test LMS without dedicated hardware.

Extensions, plugins, and community

• Plugins — Overview, Available Plugins, Repository File Reference
• Extensions — Applications and Plugins
• Community forums — the documented place for peer support
• Contributing — Overview, Reporting a bug, DCO Sign-off, Adding translations

Plugins are how LMS gains features beyond core playback, so the Available Plugins list is the reference to check before assuming something is missing.

Reference material for later

Once running, the Reference section covers the Lyrion Music Server introduction, Database Structure, and the SqueezePlay Menu System (Home Menu vs. SlimBrowse, Home Menu Items, SlimBrowse Protocol). Developer-oriented material includes the Command Line Interface (JSON/RPC) with its syntax guide, the SlimProto Protocol, SLIMP3 Protocol, and Applet/Plugin Development guides.

You do not need any of this to get music playing — treat it as the next layer if you want to script, extend, or debug LMS.