What is Tempus used for?

Tempus is a lightweight, privacy-focused Android music client for Subsonic servers, forked from Tempo, with offline playback and Android Auto support. It is a good fit for listening to a self-hosted music library on Android, using Android Auto with a personal server and replacing a proprietary streaming app.

Is Tempus open source?

Yes. Tempus is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at eddyizm/tempus and is written mainly in Java.

Yes. Tempus is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Tempus?

Yes. Tempus can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is Tempus an alternative to?

Tempus is an open-source alternative to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. Other open-source alternatives to Spotify include Navidrome, Koel and Feishin.

Is Tempus actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Tempus was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v4.28.0, published on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.3k stars on GitHub.

Tempus: open-source alternative to Spotify, Apple Music

About Tempus

Tempus is a native Android music player for Subsonic-compatible servers. It lets you stream and play your own library from your phone, and it is described as open source and privacy-focused, built around your listening history and randomness rather than opaque recommendation algorithms. It is a fork of the Tempo project.

It integrates with your Subsonic server to give access to the whole collection, with a clean interface using Material You styling, offline support and optional connections to ListenBrainz and Last.fm if your backend supports them. The GitHub release includes Android Auto and Chromecast support, while a separate de-Googled build without those features is distributed through IzzyOnDroid, with both 32-bit and 64-bit builds available.

The app is written in Java and Kotlin, licensed under GPL-3.0 and distributed through F-Droid, GitHub and IzzyOnDroid. It needs a Subsonic-compatible server that you run or have access to, such as the ones self-hosters typically use. It suits people with a personal music server who want a free, open-source Android client.

Key features

Native Android Subsonic client
Streaming from your own music server
Offline playback support
Optional ListenBrainz and Last.fm scrobbling
Android Auto and Chromecast in GitHub build
De-Googled build for F-Droid users

Good fit for

→Listening to a self-hosted music library on Android
→Using Android Auto with a personal server
→Replacing a proprietary streaming app

Built with: Java
Tags: subsonic; music-player; android; self-hosted; streaming; material-you; foss; offline; media

Tempus: questions and answers

What is Tempus used for?: Tempus is a lightweight, privacy-focused Android music client for Subsonic servers, forked from Tempo, with offline playback and Android Auto support. It is a good fit for listening to a self-hosted music library on Android, using Android Auto with a personal server and replacing a proprietary streaming app.
Is Tempus open source?: Yes. Tempus is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at eddyizm/tempus and is written mainly in Java.
Is Tempus free?: Yes. Tempus is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Tempus?: Yes. Tempus can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is Tempus an alternative to?: Tempus is an open-source alternative to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. Other open-source alternatives to Spotify include Navidrome, Koel and Feishin.
Is Tempus actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Tempus was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v4.28.0, published on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.3k stars on GitHub.