bvandeusen
042f9919fe
Two real algorithm bugs in F-T1's For-You composition + Discover
allocator. Both surfaced as failing unit tests under go test -race.
1. redistributeSlots was re-redistributing a bucket's full deficit
on every pass instead of just the residual. The loop computed
`deficit = b.want - final[i]` each iteration, but final[i] for
a deficit bucket never increases (its supply is exhausted), so
pass N saw the same deficit as pass N-1 and kept shoveling it
to peers. For [want:40 avail:100, want:30 avail:0, want:30 avail:100],
four passes pushed cross-user's deficit into dormant+random four
times each, hitting the 100-slot clamp at the end and producing
[50, 0, 50] instead of the spec'd [55, 0, 45].
Fix: track per-source `redistributed[i]` and subtract it from the
deficit each pass. Multi-pass behavior still works for the case
where a peer's supply runs out mid-distribution.
2. tieBreakHash used FNV-1a 64-bit with trackID + dateStr appended.
For dateStrs differing only in the last character ("2026-05-07"
vs "2026-05-08"), the FNV state diverged only in low bits at the
final byte; multiplication by FNV_prime propagates upward but the
relative ordering of 60 small candidate UUIDs (which differ only
in their last byte) ended up identical across the two dates. The
For-You head/tail test asserted that the tail's first 5 should
change across days; it didn't.
Fix: switch to SHA-256 truncated to 8 bytes. SHA-256 has full
avalanche, so any single-bit input change roughly half-flips the
output bits and meaningfully reorders.
The hash isn't security-load-bearing; we just need strong avalanche
for tiny dateStr deltas. Determinism (same inputs → same output) is
preserved.
Minstrel
A self-hosted music server that thinks for you. Smart shuffle, contextual likes, ListenBrainz-aware radio, and Lidarr automation — server-side, so every client (web, mobile, Subsonic third-party) gets the same intelligence.
State and intelligence belong on the server, not the client.
Highlights
- OpenSubsonic-compatible. Existing Subsonic clients (DSub, Symfonium, play:Sub, etc.) connect with no special configuration.
- Server-side smart shuffle. Track-similarity vectors, dual-like model (general + contextual), and session memory keep mixes coherent across devices.
- ListenBrainz radio. Session-aware "more like this" pulls from ListenBrainz similarity data, not a static genre tag.
- Lidarr integration. Triggered scans, request-driven album imports, and a quarantine flow when something doesn't fit.
- Built-in web SPA. Full-feature library, search, queue, playlists, and admin — no separate frontend container to deploy.
- Flutter mobile client in flight. Tracking issue #356.
Quickstart
# compose.yaml
services:
minstrel:
image: git.fabledsword.com/bvandeusen/minstrel:v1.0.0
ports: ['4533:4533']
volumes:
- ./music:/music:ro
- minstrel-data:/data
environment:
MINSTREL_DATABASE_URL: postgres://minstrel:minstrel@db:5432/minstrel?sslmode=disable
MINSTREL_LIBRARY_SCAN_PATHS: /music
depends_on: [db]
db:
image: postgres:17
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: minstrel
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: minstrel
POSTGRES_DB: minstrel
volumes: [pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data]
volumes:
minstrel-data:
pgdata:
docker compose up -d
Watch docker compose logs minstrel on first start — a one-time admin password is printed to stderr. Sign in at http://localhost:4533 with username admin and that password, then change it under Settings.
For the full configuration surface, see config.example.yaml.
Configuration
Most operators only need the env vars in the quickstart above. A few extras worth knowing:
MINSTREL_BRANDING_APP_NAME— rename the instance ("Family Jukebox", "Office Music"). Surfaces in the header, browser tab, and OG share previews.MINSTREL_STORAGE_DATA_DIR— defaults to./data. Holds playlist cover collages and other generated artefacts.MINSTREL_LIBRARY_SCAN_PATHS— colon-separated list of music library roots to scan. Supports multiple roots (/music:/podcasts).MINSTREL_AUTH_ADMIN_USERNAME/MINSTREL_AUTH_ADMIN_PASSWORD— bootstrap admin credentials. Username defaults toadmin; leave the password unset to have the server generate one and print it to stderr on first start.
ListenBrainz integration (per-user scrobble + similarity tokens) and Lidarr integration (URL + API key) are configured through the admin Settings UI rather than env vars or yaml — per Minstrel's "config in UI" rule, integration settings live where operators can edit them without restarting.
Most operational keys have a MINSTREL_<SECTION>_<FIELD> env override. Recommendation and events tuning are yaml-only. See config.example.yaml for the authoritative surface.
Updating
:main— rolling, follows the dev branch's tested tip. Recommended only for the operator who's running an upstream-watching deployment.:v1.0.x— pinned releases. Recommended default. Database migrations run automatically at startup; rollbacks require restoring a Postgres dump.
Specs
Authoritative scope lives under docs/:
- Server spec — current implementation focus.
- Client spec — Flutter companion app.
Development
Two concurrent dev processes:
- Backend:
docker compose up— Postgres + Minstrel on:4533. - Frontend:
cd web && npm install && npm run dev— Vite dev server on:5173with HMR. The Vite server proxies/api/*and/rest/*to:4533so session cookies work.
Production build
docker build -t minstrel . runs the SvelteKit build inside a node stage, copies the output into the golang stage, and //go:embeds it into the final binary. The container serves the SPA from / alongside the API surfaces; no separate static-file server is required.
Branches
- Day-to-day work happens on
dev(or feature branches merged intodev). mainis protected — changes land via PR fromdev.- Releases are cut by tagging
v*offmain; the release workflow builds and pushes the container image to the Forgejo registry.
Task and milestone tracking: Fable (Minstrel project, id 12).
License
See LICENSE.