mp3fs VS mStream

> But then I've got some scripts that maintain a copy of that collection, except converted to MP3 at a variable bitrate

Yes. I have / had been doing this for years, and just want to sing high praises of mp3fs[1], assuming some kind of Linux or macOS machine. It solves this problem in a way that I think more people should know about!

[1] https://khenriks.github.io/mp3fs/

I vote mp3fs.

One thing I tried (that unfortunately didn't work) was to combine a file syncing app (NextCloud/Syncthing/Resilio) with mp3fs. If it worked, I would have been able to simply drop a new FLAC onto my server and have a transcoded mp3 automagically propagate to my phone when it connects to wifi. Unfortunately I ran into a lot of issues with mp3fs crashing.

You could probably use mp3fs (homepage, github) as a model for what you're trying to do.

Right now I’m just loading music to the free VLC app on my iPhone. Though I’ve long thought about setting up my own private cloud streaming server via the open source https://mstream.io but haven’t got around to it yet.

I am running mStream. See https://mstream.io/

Generally, I hate the experience of streaming from a service. Occasionally to discover, but youtube's good enough for that.

For me, the greatest unsung innovation was the car USB player. That took it from the 10 CD's or so to basically whatever I want, however I want.

As for streaming my music, I was an MPD user for years, but the client/server experience was often fiddly. Once I discovered mstream (one very good web interface, no client/server separation, honors folders) I never had to look back.

https://mstream.io/

You can give mstream a try

So basically, I need something like mStream or Audioserve that you point at a folder and you can play the mp3s in it. Nothing fancy, I don't need tags, etc. something strictly folder-based. It also needs the ability to link directly to the file. Mousikofidi does this, but I need something for Windows (I know, I know...) Essentially Apache but prettier.