CD Player Support

My iPhone shows no servers.

Check, in this order: CD Server is running on the Mac (look for the disc in the menu bar); there is a CD in the drive; and the phone and the Mac agree on at least one of the three routes above — same Wi-Fi, same Apple ID, or the same linked Google account. The strip under the player shows ONLINE, iCLOUD and GOOGLE; a dim one is a route that is not currently working.

A disc shows as "Audio CD" with numbered tracks.

That CD carries no names of its own, so macOS mounted it without any. CD Server asks the Music app and then the MusicBrainz database, and usually fills the real names in within a minute. If it does not, choose Refresh CD Names from the menu bar. Some discs — home-burned ones especially — are in nobody's database, and those keep the name macOS gave them.

Do the CDs keep playing when I leave the house?

Yes, over iCloud or Google. Tap the star on a disc and it also keeps playing for up to 48 hours when the Mac itself is asleep or away. Un-starred discs stream, so they need the Mac to be reachable.

A disc went grey and will not play.

Two different things, and the caption says which. "Ejected — put the CD back in" means the Mac is there but the disc is not: this is a CD player, so taking the disc out stops the music, starred or not. Put it back and it returns, with nothing re-uploaded. "Server offline" with a time means the Mac itself is away; starred discs keep playing, un-starred ones wait for it to come back.

I am done with a disc and it is still listed.

A disc you take out stays on the shelf for a while on purpose, greyed and labelled (ejected), so putting the same CD back in costs no re-upload. If you are finished with it, click the ✕ on its case in the CD Server window. That deletes its cloud copy now instead of in 48 hours and takes it off the shelf. Nothing on your Mac is touched, and putting the CD back in later just imports it again.

Where is my music stored? Who can see it?

On your own network it goes straight from the Mac to the phone. Otherwise it is encoded on your Mac and written into your own private iCloud database, or your own Google Drive, depending on which you set up. RobotArmy never receives it. See the privacy policy, which lists every network destination in full.

A track takes a while to start.

A freshly inserted disc uploads a bit at a time, deliberately gently. Tap the track you want and the server moves it to the front of the queue, starting at the point you are actually going to hear rather than at the top of the track. If a whole disc is slow to become playable, leave it a few minutes after inserting it. The Mac's own window shows a bar on each disc saying how much of it is in yet.

Can I share my library with family?

Yes, on macOS 12 and later. Open CD Server's settings — the gear — and use Share Library… to get a private link. The people you send it to get read-only access to your discs. See family sharing.

Something is wrong and I cannot describe it.

Open Settings in the iPhone app and tap Send feedback. Say what happened in your own words, or tap the microphone on the keyboard and dictate it. That is enough — we would rather have a rough description than nothing.

If we ask for more, turn on Include technical details on that same screen. It adds a log of what was slow or failed, with your accounts and your disc and track names stripped out. Tap Show exactly what will be sent and you can read every line of it first. Nothing is ever sent on its own.

On the Mac there is a bigger version, for when a phone problem needs the server's side of the story. Turn on Send Bug Reports in the CD Server menu, then choose Send Diagnostics Now. Both steps are deliberate, and the Mac offers to show you the text before it goes.