JPLAY: UPnP control point for iPhone, iPad and Mac (official thread)

[Marcin_gps]

Hi everyone,

I’m Marcin, and I make JPLAY. A good number of JPLAY users run MinimServer as their library server, and Simon kindly suggested starting a thread here. This is where I’ll post release news and tips, and where you can ask questions and suggest features.

What JPLAY is

JPLAY is a UPnP AV control point for iPhone, iPad and Mac. It doesn’t need a core or any server software of its own. It talks directly to your renderer and to your media server, so with MinimServer there’s nothing extra to install. Alongside your MinimServer library, it brings TIDAL, Qobuz, HIGHRESAUDIO and internet radio into one library. It can also control HQPlayer natively through its Control API. (on top of UPnP)

When you play to a renderer, JPLAY doesn’t touch the audio. It tells the renderer what to play and where to fetch it, and the renderer fetches the file directly from MinimServer. There’s no transcoding or resampling in the app, and there are settings to keep control traffic to the renderer to a minimum. It’s written natively in Swift and supports CarPlay. It can also play straight to headphones or the car, including downloaded albums offline.

Using JPLAY with MinimServer

JPLAY syncs your MinimServer library into its own index on the device, so browsing and searching stay fast even with 100,000+ tracks. There’s also a folder view that follows your folder structure.
After adding music or changing tags or artwork, run Rescan in MinimServer, then Sync in JPLAY. (Rescan can be triggered from JPLAY app too)

Gapless playback works on renderers that support it, and you can set it per renderer.

JPLAY Certified

UPnP implementations vary, so we work with manufacturers on compatibility. JPLAY is tested with their streamers and DACs, we fix what needs fixing. The list includes dCS, MSB Technology, Weiss, Bricasti, Totaldac, Esoteric, TEAC, Nagra, Grimm Audio, Lumin, Hegel, Ayre, Primare, aqua acoustic quality and others. The certified models are listed at jplay.app/partner-program. If your renderer isn’t there, it will most likely still work, and if it doesn’t, please tell me.

How this thread will work

I’ll post release notes and short tips here. Questions, setup descriptions and feature requests are all welcome, especially anything MinimServer-specific you’d like JPLAY to handle better. For troubleshooting that needs logs, please email contact@jplay.app, since that’s hard to handle in a public thread.

There’s a 14-day free trial on the App Store. You need to start a subscription to use the app, but nothing is charged during the 14 days, and you can cancel at any time within that period if you don’t want to continue. More information: https://jplay.app/

Best regards,
Marcin
JPLAY

[simoncn]

Welcome to the MinimServer forum!

I'd like to clarify the term "folder view" in your post as this term can be used to refer to two different things.

In MinimServer, the index selection [folder view] shows a browsing hierarchy that exactly matches the file system folder structure on the device running MinimServer. Some users prefer this to the tag-based browsing hierarchy based on file tags such as Artist, Composer, Genre, Date, etc.

In JPLAY, selecting Local Network > By Folder doesn't show the file system folder structure as one might expect from the name. It shows the UPnP server's browsing container hierarchy. For MinimServer, this container hierarchy is tag based by default with the option to browse by file system folder.

It can be confusing that some control points (not only JPLAY) use the term "folder view" to refer to the server's browsing hierarchy, not the file system folder structure. I hope this post will help to clarify this terminology.

[lyapounov]

I had tried JPLAY some time ago, the 14 days trial.

It went back to the same question: why pay $50 a year (or $200 once for all) while the Lumin app is free and very good, and the differences JPLAY (or others, like Serento) is bringing do not worth the price. I never found an answer to that question.

And then, in 2026, here is another issue for sw developers (I face this situation in my own startup): with Claude or Github Copilot, it is so easy to develop high quality code. Basically you can divide the coding time by at least 5; and the competences required to develop a sw are now shifting to doing proper prompt engineering; which many designers can do...

Hard times... The value is in the hw, much less in the sw. This is btw the current trend in the silicon valley investors.

[Marcin_gps]

(24-10-2026 12:10)lyapounov Wrote:  I had tried JPLAY some time ago, the 14 days trial.

It went back to the same question: why pay $50 a year (or $200 once for all) while the Lumin app is free and very good, and the differences JPLAY (or others, like Serento) is bringing do not worth the price. I never found an answer to that question.

And then, in 2026, here is another issue for sw developers (I face this situation in my own startup): with Claude or Github Copilot, it is so easy to develop high quality code. Basically you can divide the coding time by at least 5; and the competences required to develop a sw are now shifting to doing proper prompt engineering; which many designers can do...

Hard times... The value is in the hw, much less in the sw. This is btw the current trend in the silicon valley investors.

Thank you for trying JPLAY and for the honest feedback.

It's subjective: for some people there's no difference, and for others it's a game changer. That's exactly what the 14-day trial is for, so everyone can judge for themselves.

As for AI-assisted coding: if you think you can build a better app for $200, good luck

Marcin

[Marcin_gps]

JPLAY 1.4.5 released: Wikipedia for local libraries, Qobuz Labels, notes and export to Excel

Hi Everyone,

JPLAY 1.4.5 is now available on the App Store as a free update for all JPLAY users. Here's what's new.

Wikipedia for your local library
JPLAY now shows artist biographies and album descriptions from Wikipedia for the music in your local library.

New Qobuz Labels screen
Explore Qobuz by record label: open a label's page, read its story, play its popular tracks or add them to the queue, and keep your favourite labels in My Labels.

Quicker actions
The context menu now gets you to the actions you use most through icons.

User notes
Add your own notes to albums and tracks.

Export and import
Export tracks and import them later into playlists or tags.

Export to Excel
Export your tracks and albums to an Excel spreadsheet.

Plus bug fixes and performance improvements.

To update, open the App Store and tap Update on JPLAY. New users can download JPLAY with a free 14-day trial

Best regards,
Marcin