doublesymmetry/react-native-track-player

React Native Track Player is an audio playback library for mobile apps built with React Native, a framework that lets developers write iOS and Android apps using JavaScript or TypeScript. The library handles the parts of a music or podcast player that are hardest to get right on mobile: playing audio while the app is in the background or the screen is off, showing playback controls on the lock screen and in notifications, integrating with car dashboard systems via Android Auto, and preloading upcoming tracks so there is no gap between songs. The API is written in TypeScript and designed to be straightforward to use. You call a setup function once when the app starts, add tracks with their URL and metadata (title, artist, album art), and then call play. The library also provides React hooks, which are small functions you can drop into any screen component to read the current playback position, whether audio is playing, or what track is active, without managing that state yourself. Version 5 is a complete rewrite that uses a newer part of the React Native architecture called JSI and TurboModules. The practical effect is that certain calls that previously had a small delay now return instantly. Version 5 is not compatible with Version 4, so existing projects would need to migrate. An important licensing note: starting with Version 5, the library is commercially licensed. Personal and educational use remains free, but apps used commercially require a paid license. Version 4 and earlier are still available under the Apache 2.0 open-source license on a separate branch for teams that cannot or do not want to pay.