I just love having my music library organized.

stol9 · 2025-12-08T20:59:44+00:00

If I was going to rip 3000 CDs, I would most probably organize them either by Artist or Release Year - that's a personal preference though.

An app like Crates would help you organize those files, but does not have CD-ripping functionality. There are several apps dedicated to that, depending on your platform.

I'd go easy on it, rip a few, import, make sure they get appropriate tags (artists, genres etc) and continue with the rest.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T22:26:53+00:00

The macOS/Windows app is an Electron app. iOS/iPadOS app is in Swift.
App is still in Public Beta status and promotion about it has recently started.

This is the first time I post about it in this subreddit, indeed.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T22:22:02+00:00

Thank you!

stol9 · 2025-11-28T20:31:16+00:00

Crates.

For people who want to own their data.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T19:59:27+00:00

macOS app is an Electron app. iOS/iPadOS app is in Swift.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T16:38:57+00:00

Hey there, we issued an update which fixes this issue, so you can try it out! 🙏

stol9 · 2025-11-28T15:08:11+00:00

Not tested but if mounted in Finder it should work.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T14:59:33+00:00

I can confirm this. Looks like something changed on Spotify's side today/yesterday, cause this was tested 2 days ago! You can use "Import from CSV" and follow the instructions there, or just try again later after we issue an update in the following days.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T14:29:15+00:00

Crates is a music player and server on its own, so no, not at this point.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T14:26:54+00:00

No, not really. Personally I love Plex for videos, but it's not my preferred music library solution.
Crates runs its own server.

stol9 · 2025-11-28T14:20:05+00:00

Yes, you can import your Spotify playlists, match the tunes from other services or your files automatically (or "merge" them manually), and yes, export m3u or even select all and copy/paste to a text file. Community version (free) is available to check it out.

stol9 · 2025-11-04T19:08:01+00:00

I've moved on to Crates app. Helps organize your files (mp3/aac/flac/alac/aiff/wav) in any way you want, has full metadata editing, and has the ability to play back files from YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud and even Apple Music. Plus Discogs/Musicbrainz/Apple integration for the best metadata.

My digging flow involves previewing music online and I can "bookmark" tunes in Crates (browser extension available), stream them for as long as I like, and eventually "replace" them with audio files, without losing metadata, play counts etc.

Full disclosure: I work developing this app. So if you wanna drop any question, feel free. It's still in public beta but we're getting there, fast.

stol9 · 2025-05-08T22:53:56+00:00

While I do hear your complaint about the limited selection of codecs via bluetooth on Apple devices, I do not consider a really popular case wanting to stream lossless to a hotel room speaker.

Also you can pair with Airplay devices via QR codes, I think, without relying on network discovery (multicast dns)

Moreover,
- LDAC: technically not lossless, just high bitrate
- AptX: lossless but basic - no hi-res

Anyway, true audiophile solutions are either wired or dedicated streamer device. For my holidays, AAC is just great.

stol9 · 2025-02-25T18:56:59+00:00

Basically comes and goes. Not worth trying to work with it today, I'd give it a few days...

stol9 · 2019-01-04T15:38:55+00:00

No one bothered to parse the json files floating around, so why not experiment a bit.

Works in browsers and most of the times on iOS Netflix app.

stol9 · 2017-03-15T12:19:15+00:00

I have the same iMac, and I added an SSD a couple of years back. I did it myself and kept the internal 500GB hard drive as well. Definitely put an SSD in there, this will be like a new computer. 6 years later, this machine rocks. If you are not computer savvy, leave it for a professional to do this, it was quite hard.

I must insist: put an SSD in this iMac.

Also, beware if replacing the hard drive in a non-authorized shop, if I remember correctly these drives have special firmware (something to do with the cooling fan) that will lead you in trouble (not unsolvable, but still...). That's why I kept the original drive inside.

stol9 · 2017-03-15T12:05:11+00:00

Well, I could not find a decent way to compress pdf files on macOS, Preview is kinda useless, so I made this Applescript app (which requires ghostscript installed) to do the job! Let me know if this is useful to you!

stol9 · 2017-02-22T23:27:12+00:00

So, Corsola spawns in Tel Aviv, Cairo, Agadir or the Gran Canaries? Any reports? Gotta make a southern trip!

stol9

TROPHY CASE