2. Getting Started

Installation guide and configuration parameters

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• A self-hosted music system like Emby, Jellyfin, MPD, Plex, or any Subsonic-API compatible system (e.g., Navidrome, Airsonic).
• A YouTube Data API key.
• ListenBrainz scrobbling set up

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Docker Installation

1. Download docker-compose.yaml file to your system and configure volume mappings
2. Make a .env file in the directory defined in docker-compose and configure it (refer to sample.env for options or check out Configuration Reference)
3. Launch the container with docker compose up -d

Volume Mappings

Host Path	Container Path	Description
/path/to/.env	/opt/explo/.env	Environment file with configuration parameters.
/path/to/musiclibrary/explo	$DOWNLOAD_DIR	Directory where Explo stores downloaded music. Must match your music system's library path. It's recommended to create an explo subdirectory under your main music library.
(Only for MPD) $PLAYLIST_DIR	$PLAYLIST_DIR	(Right now, it is recommended to use the binary for MPD) Directory where .m3u playlists will be written. Uncomment the line and set the same path on both sides if using MPD.

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Binary Installation

Ensure ffmpeg and yt-dlp are installed on the system and accessible via $PATH. Alternatively, you can specify their paths in the .env file.

1. Download the latest release and ensure it's executable
2. Make a .env file in the same directory as the binary and configure it (refer to sample.env for options or check out Configuration Reference)
3. Add a Cron job to run Explo weekly:

crontab -e

Insert this to the last line to execute Explo every tuesday at 00:15 (ListenBrainz updates its discovery database on Mondays)

15 0 * * 2 cd /path/to/explo && ./explo-linux-amd64