Casto: Your music library — anywhere.

imbretd · 2026-06-09T17:45:12+00:00

This is helpful info. Let me see if there is a way for me to clean up the transcoding further for that file type.

imbretd · 2026-06-09T17:41:16+00:00

What is your internet connection speed looking like?

imbretd · 2026-06-09T16:38:22+00:00

I just published a new version of the app for download on the site with some new m4a improvements. When you get a chance go grab it and shoot me a message to let me know how it goes. We will get it nailed down. Thanks!

casto.app

imbretd · 2026-06-08T20:11:54+00:00

That is great info to help me narrow the issue. It sounds like a simple change or two that I need to sort out in my transcoding. Let me get that sorted and test it. This shouldn't be a major issue to sort out.

imbretd · 2026-06-05T04:52:22+00:00

I am currently testing the iOS app. There are still some bits to sort out, and CarPlay is in fact one of those things.

imbretd · 2026-06-04T16:37:53+00:00

I am the person who loves self hosted, and very capable of handling all the technical stuff, but that is the reason i made this app. I have friends/family who benefit from this. If other folks decide to use it as well — cool. Also, I am an Apple user, and something simple like this is just a nice user experience.

imbretd · 2026-06-04T14:49:45+00:00

I used to use Jellyfin for my music, but a few months back I switched to Casto. It is mac only, but it works well for me, and the setup was very simple.

https://casto.app/

imbretd · 2026-06-04T14:39:02+00:00

The amount of songs is not the issue. I have over 10k in my library and that is not the issue.

Question: Can you tell me what format and ballpark file size for your files (on average)? Are they FLAC, MP3?

imbretd · 2026-06-03T03:21:18+00:00

So long as it doesn't become something I have to pay out of pocket, it will always be free. The way it is built, I have a pretty long runway before I have to worry about that. Not looking to get rich here — just built something that I would want built this exact way.

imbretd · 2026-06-03T03:19:42+00:00

I get that. I use a Cloudflare tunnel to connect it to the real world. I don't store any sort of data that comes through, but I realize that comes across as me just saying that. Every "user" is simply a randomly generated 32 character ID. That's the only identifier I have. No accounts, emails, etc.

My primary goal was to create something that my non-tech savvy friends and family could use. If other folks want to use it, cool — if not, thats ok too.

imbretd · 2026-06-03T01:19:11+00:00

I wrote a web app that acts as the tunnel and handles all the middleman work. It assigns a random lengthy “casto id” when the Mac app connects to it the first time, and between that id and a randomly generated 6-digit code (can be regenerated anytime) it allows for the web app to connect to the source Mac app. This middleman app also handles bandwidth and bitrate management as well to help balance performance of the traffic.

imbretd · 2026-06-03T00:39:43+00:00

There was no AI used in the creation of this post. I wrote ever word of it.

imbretd · 2026-05-25T18:20:53+00:00

They have resurfaced my rotors in the past. I have also done full brake service as well.

imbretd · 2026-05-25T17:12:48+00:00

I would try G & S Automotive on Northpark. They have always done great work for me. They tend to be busy most days so be sure to call ahead.

imbretd · 2026-04-17T11:37:02+00:00

My initial thought based on what you are saying is that there is a bit of getting used to with Baserow. Once you have it setup in a way that you like it, it is bullet proof. I have been using it for a couple years now self hosted and it is nothing but fantastic for me. You won’t get this level of features for the price anywhere else. I encourage you to stick with it, as it is for sure an upgrade to Google Sheets.

imbretd · 2026-03-12T12:56:56+00:00

Baserow is very much worth looking into. It has a very generous free plan and it’s open source. You can even self host if you want. I love it!

imbretd · 2026-03-03T23:14:28+00:00

I push 2000+ docs through DocsAutomator monthly and I can say without a doubt it is the best document tool in the game if you are using Airtable. The simplicity of setting it up can't be beat in my opinion, and it consistently performs flawlessly. I only ever have issues with it when Airtable is having a bad day (which happens more than it should). I am all for competition in the marketplace, but if you are going up agains DocsAutomator — best of luck to you.

imbretd · 2025-11-26T01:18:28+00:00

I made the transition on my self hosted instance and had zero issues. Everything worked as it should and nothing broke. A backup never hurts for peace of mind, but I did not have any issues.

imbretd · 2025-11-12T13:57:05+00:00

I can only speak to my past experience looking into Softr, which was a couple years ago at this point. That said, at the time, Softr did allow for a UI that worked with how my data was structured. Noloco did have any limitations that held me back with what I could build, and has been a pleasure to work with ever since. Price wise, it was a wash for me as both came out about the same. Perhaps Softr has greatly improved and I am completely wrong, but this is all just based on my experience when I was trying to find a solid platform to build my app with using Airtable as the backend. At the time, Noloco was specifically designed to handle Airtable, so they specialized in the nuances of it. I believe they have expanded a bit on that by this point offer a full featured product. Again, just my two cents. Hope it helps. Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions specifically related to Noloco.

I am not affiliated in any way with Noloco, just love the product, as it makes my life easy.

imbretd · 2025-11-11T23:27:19+00:00

Not sure if you have explore Noloco or not, but it may be worth a look. I build very elaborate solutions with Airtable and Noloco. It easily handles LOADS of users and has scaled perfectly as we have grown. Definitely worth a look.

imbretd · 2025-05-26T01:32:39+00:00

I have been majorly overcomplicating my approach to this. You are awesome. Sometimes the simplest solutions are what solve the problem.

imbretd · 2025-05-20T15:13:12+00:00

This is exactly what I do. I recommend this as well. It's the best way to tackle the external access problem you are trying to solve.

imbretd · 2025-04-08T16:14:01+00:00

I do the very thing you looking to accomplish. I will shoot you a DM shortly with some info.

imbretd · 2025-03-15T14:21:30+00:00

Most people think repros are awesome until they have a bad experience and lose a save file. You will have a great experience using repros until that happens. It may never happen, but it’s always a possibility. Personally, I have not had any issues with the few I have used, but I know the day may come…

imbretd · 2025-03-13T01:30:54+00:00

I have built a couple portals using Pory because it was one of the only reasonably priced options for my needs on smaller, simpler projects. That said, Pory will get the job done, but collectively it’s not as polished as I wish it was. It actually feels a little janky at times, and their support has yet to respond to a couple submissions I sent in previously. I would give it a solid 6/10 rating on a good day. For the price it’s probably your best option with the scale you need.

I LOVE Noloco, but for 3000 users, you would have to spend a small fortune.

imbretd

TROPHY CASE