EncoreModerated guest music requests for house-party mode

Install with Docker Compose

Encore listens on port 3000:

services:
  encore:
    image: getcoral/encore:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on: [jellyfin]
    ports:
      - "3005:3000"
    environment:
      JELLYFIN_URL: http://jellyfin:8096
      JELLYFIN_API_KEY: ${JELLYFIN_API_KEY}
      JELLYFIN_USER_ID: ${JELLYFIN_USER_ID}
    volumes:
      - ./encore-data:/data
    networks: [coral]

A note on configuration, because Encore is the least settled of the seven here. Its published .env.example lists only HOST and PORT, while the documentation walks you through setting the three JELLYFIN_* variables. If the environment variables do not take, connect through the in-app setup flow instead — that path is the one the module is built around.

To build and run from the source checkout:

docker build -t encore .
docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e JELLYFIN_URL=http://your-nas:8096 \
  -e JELLYFIN_API_KEY=your-key \
  -e JELLYFIN_USER_ID=your-user-id \
  encore

The problem Encore solves

There are two bad options for music at a party.

Hand someone your phone, and you lose control of the speakers for the rest of the night. Or keep it to yourself, and you spend the evening as a DJ taking verbal requests over the noise instead of talking to anyone.

Encore is the middle path. Guests get a URL — usually a QR code stuck to the fridge — and browse your Jellyfin music library from their own phones. They can request anything in it. What they cannot do is skip the current track, clear the queue, or put anything into playback directly.

Every request arrives in a moderation list. You approve the good ones, reject the ones you would rather not hear at 2am, and the room genuinely contributes without anyone being able to hijack the evening.

Encore or KAPOW!?

Both are party modules with a guest-phone join flow, and they are easy to confuse. The distinction is whether people are listening or performing.

KAPOW! is karaoke. It searches YouTube rather than your library, runs a voting queue, and drives a dedicated TV display for the room. It is built for bars and for nights where singing is the event.

Encore is background music with a say in it. It plays from your own Jellyfin catalogue, has no TV display, and replaces voting with host approval. It is built for a house party where the music matters but is not the point.

They coexist happily — different containers, different ports, different evenings. For the third screen in the room, Marquee shows what is playing without anyone having to ask.