Auto Stream from Raspberry Pi ADC to Airplay

Use Owntone Server to stream audio from a record player (or any audio source) to an Airplay device.

The script auto-detects when a record is playing and automatically starts streaming. After a configurable timeout (default 300s / 5min) the stream disconnects.

All config lives in a .env file — see .env.example for available options.

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Hardware

• Raspberry Pi 4/5
• Hifiberry ADC Pro
• Audio cable (mini-jack) to connect to the ADC port
• Optional: 3D printed case

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Initial Setup

1. Install DietPi — https://dietpi.com/
2. Login as root
3. Configure hostname and audio card:

   dietpi-config
   

4. Clone this repo:

   cd ~
   git clone git@github.com:juliusvaart/auto-stream.git
   

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Install Script

./install.sh

Follow the on-screen steps.

To change the Airplay output device later:

./install.sh --select-output

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Manual Install

1. Setup .asoundrc and alsamixer

Copy the contents of ~/auto-stream/asound.conf to ~/.asoundrc, then open alsamixer:

alsamixer

Set PGA Gain Left and PGA Gain Right to 12dB (value: 24).

2. Install Owntone and dependencies

wget -q -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/owntone/owntone-apt/refs/heads/master/repo/rpi/owntone.gpg \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor --output /usr/share/keyrings/owntone-archive-keyring.gpg
wget -q -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/owntone.list \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/owntone/owntone-apt/refs/heads/master/repo/rpi/owntone-trixie.list
apt update
apt install git owntone alsa-utils sox bc curl jq

Access the Owntone web UI at: http://HOSTNAME.local:3689

3. Setup the FIFO pipe

mkdir -p /root/music/pipes/
mkfifo /root/music/pipes/platenspeler.fifo

The FIFO filename is used as the "now playing" metadata title.

4. Configure Owntone music directory

Edit /etc/owntone.conf and update the directories setting under the library {} block:

directories = { "/root/music" }

5. Setup .env

cp ~/auto-stream/.env.example ~/auto-stream/.env

Edit .env and configure to your setup.

6. Test the script

~/auto-stream/owntone-auto-stream.sh

7. Setup systemd service

cp ~/auto-stream/auto-stream.service /etc/systemd/system/auto-stream.service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable auto-stream
systemctl start auto-stream

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Bonus: Album Artwork

Add square artwork (JPG) with the same base name as the FIFO file, placed in the same directory:

/root/music/pipes/platenspeler.fifo
/root/music/pipes/platenspeler.png

To enable SFTP for uploading artwork, switch the SSH server to OpenSSH:

dietpi-software