Polaris is a music streaming application, designed to let you enjoy your music collection from any computer or mobile device. Polaris works by streaming your music directly from your own computer, without uploading it to a third-party. It is free and open-source software, without any kind of premium version. The only requirement is that your computer stays on while it streams music!
You can now start Polaris from the start menu or from your desktop, Polaris will also start automatically next time you restart your computer. You can tell when Polaris is running by its icon in the notification area (near the clock and volume controls).
1. Install OpenSSL and its headers. This is most likely available from your distribution's package manager. For instance on Ubuntu, execute `sudo apt-get install libssl-dev`
2. Install the nightly Rust compiler by executing `curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- --default-toolchain nightly` or using an [alternative method](https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/install.html)
If you want to uninstall Polaris, execute `make uninstall` from the extracted archive's directory. This will simply delete the directories created by the install process.
If you're only interested in streaming on your local network, you can skip this section. If you want to stream from school, from work, or on the go, this is for you.
The steps below will walk you through setting up YDNS and Polaris to give your installation a fixed URL. If you have another solution in mind, or prefer using another Dynamic DNS service, skip to the next section.
2. On the YDNS website, access the "My Hosts" page and press the + sign for "Add Host"
3. Fill the host form as described below:
- Domain: ydns.eu
- Name: This part is up to you, whatever you enter will be in the URL you use to access Polaris
- Content: Leave the default. Take a note whether the value looks like a IPv4 address (format: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) or a IPv6 address (format: xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx)
- Type: Dynamic IP
4. If the content field looked like a IPv4 address: skip to step #6
5. If the content field looked like a IPv6 address:
- Click on your host name (eg. yourdomain.ydns.eu)
- You should now see a page which looks like this:
6. In the Polaris web interface, access the `Dynamic DNS` tab of the settings screen:
- Update the hostname field to match what you set in step 5. (eg. http://yourdomain.ydns.eu)
- Update the username field to the email address you use when creating your YDNS account
- Update the password field with your YDNS API password. You can find this password on https://ydns.io: click on the "User" icon in the top right and then `Preferences > API`.
Configure port forwarding on your router to redirect port 80 towards port 5050 on the computer where you run Polaris. The exact way to do this depends on your router manufacturer and model.
Don't forget to restart Polaris to apply your configuration changes, and access your music from other computers at http://yourdomain.ydns.eu
When you install Polaris, it comes with a web interface which can be accessed using any modern browser. However, it may be more convenient to use a native app on your mobile device. Currently, the only such app is the official [Polaris client for Android](https://github.com/agersant/polaris-android).
