Quickstart¶

This guide walks you through getting What's Now Playing up and running for the first time.

Step 1: Download and Install¶

Download the latest release for your platform.

See Platform Notes below if you have trouble launching the app.

Step 2: Connect Your DJ Software¶

On first launch, What's Now Playing attempts to auto-detect your DJ software:

Software-based sources (Serato, Traktor, Virtual DJ, etc.) are detected from files they leave on disk, so the software must have been run at least once before auto-detection will work
Hardware-based sources (Denon StageLinQ) require the device to be connected and actively broadcasting on the network
The first detected source wins. If multiple are found, you can change it afterwards.

Before launching, make sure your DJ software has been run at least once. For Traktor, first launch also includes building a file index, which may take a few minutes for large libraries.

Launch What's Now Playing. The Settings window will open automatically.
Verify or change the auto-detected source under Core Settings → Source
Follow the setup instructions for your source if needed

See Input Sources for per-source setup details.

Step 3: Verify the Web Server¶

The built-in web server is enabled by default and runs on port 8899. You can verify it is working by opening http://localhost:8899/ in a browser while a track is playing.

If you need to change the port or other settings, go to Output & Display → Web Server.

Step 4: Add a Browser Source in OBS¶

In OBS Studio, add a new Browser Source
Set the URL to http://localhost:8899/
Set the width and height to match your chosen template (check the width and height values in the template files in Documents/WhatsNowPlaying/templates)
Play a track in your DJ software. Track information should appear in OBS.

For full details and customization options, see Web Server.

Step 5: Announce Tracks in Chat (Optional)¶

What's Now Playing can automatically post track announcements to chat when a new song plays.

Twitch Bot: announcements, chat commands (!track, !artist), channel point redemptions, and the Guess Game
Kick Bot: track announcement support

What's Next?¶

Artist Extras: automatically fetch artist images and biographies
Track Requests: let viewers request tracks via Twitch chat
Guess Game: a chat game where viewers guess the current track
Templates: customize every aspect of what gets displayed
Charts: track your play history, view listening stats, and unlock the online Guess Game board — sign up at https://whatsnowplaying.com/signup

Platform Notes¶

macOS¶

Due to security measures in macOS, unsigned apps may require extra steps to open.

Do not unzip the downloaded package directly to the folder you will run it from. Unzip in Downloads first, then move WhatsNowPlaying.app to Applications.
If the app fails to open, hold Control and double-click to open.
If that does not work, open Terminal and run: sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/WhatsNowPlaying.app

Windows¶

Windows security may prompt you about an unsigned binary. Click More Info then Run Anyway.

Linux¶

Download the zip for your architecture, extract it, and run the WhatsNowPlaying binary.
A desktop environment is required. This software does not run headless.
If the binary fails to start, install the following packages (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt-get install \
  libegl1 \
  libgl1 \
  libdbus-1-3 \
  libfontconfig1 \
  libglib2.0-0 \
  libx11-xcb1 \
  libxcb-cursor0 \
  libxcb-icccm4 \
  libxcb-image0 \
  libxcb-keysyms1 \
  libxcb-randr0 \
  libxcb-render-util0 \
  libxcb-shape0 \
  libxcb-xinerama0 \
  libxcb-xkb1 \
  libxkbcommon-x11-0

If you need to build from source, follow the developer guide.

Other Platforms¶

Please follow the developer guide to install and run.