josiah-ogt/plexamp-alma-linux

This project is an Ansible role, a kind of automation script, that sets up Plexamp, Plex's music player, to run headless on a small always-on computer without a screen. The goal is bit-perfect audio, meaning the music comes out exactly as recorded with no automatic resampling by the software. It targets AlmaLinux 10 running on regular x86 hardware, like an old mini PC, a NUC, or a repurposed desktop, which the author points out is the opposite of most existing guides that assume you are using a small ARM board like a Raspberry Pi. Running the role installs and pins the correct version of Node.js that Plexamp's audio components need, sets up a systemd service so it runs continuously in the background, opens only the specific network ports required in the firewall and limits them to your local network, and gets wifi working on installs where it is not enabled by default. Before running it, you need to edit two files: one to point at the actual computer you are setting this up on, and another to set your home network's address range correctly, since getting that wrong will silently block the web interface and phone casting while the underlying service still looks fine. You also need a Plex Pass subscription, since headless Plexamp does not run without one, and ideally a USB DAC, a small audio device, if you actually want the bit-perfect output this project is built around. It can be run either from a separate computer over SSH, or directly on the target machine itself if you do not have another computer to control it from. After the first run finishes, some manual steps remain, like claiming the Plexamp installation and picking the right audio settings, and the tool prints exact instructions for those steps at the end.