I’ve been working on something.
It only works with filesystem-based music collections—CoverFrame can’t handle an iTunes Library directly.
That also isn’t how I like to organize music. I want to keep all control.
Each of my folders has two covers: cover.jpg (500×500) and hd cover.jpg (high-resolution). See the Metallica screenshot for reference. But CoverFrame also reads the embedded id3-tag cover.
The project’s main goal is to display music on anything capable of running a website. The server runs on macOS 10.13 or later—here, on a Mac Mini M1—and my oldest test device is an iPhone 3.
No certificates, no cloud—just pure HTTP. As old-school as possible.
When idle in Stop mode, it shows all album covers in a slideshow. Swipe down on a cover to play the album.
Browsing the filesystem lets you select albums, with the cover shown in the background. You can also add custom backgrounds (just add .background.jpg) or manage the view by hidden tag files.
What started as a simple idea was implemented quickly—even without HTML knowledge—thanks to AI tools like Perplexity and Claude.
And naturally, it escalated from there…
Now it includes:
a cover slideshow,
lyrics, live lyrics with multiple engines, and trust ratings, when the lyrics do not contain at least one word of the title.
The file browser doesn’t handled aliases directly, so shadow copies as symlinks are needed. One thing led to another.
You can find the full details on GitHub.
This is the first project of its kind, so expect a few glitches.
Screenshots:
some know me in the Mac Pro scene for Macschrauber's Rom Dump
Github link: https://github.com/Macschrauber/CoverFrame
The idea was to turn an old iPad 4 into a “living album cover” that also doubles as a remote control.
It only works with filesystem-based music collections—CoverFrame can’t handle an iTunes Library directly.
That also isn’t how I like to organize music. I want to keep all control.
Each of my folders has two covers: cover.jpg (500×500) and hd cover.jpg (high-resolution). See the Metallica screenshot for reference. But CoverFrame also reads the embedded id3-tag cover.
The project’s main goal is to display music on anything capable of running a website. The server runs on macOS 10.13 or later—here, on a Mac Mini M1—and my oldest test device is an iPhone 3.
No certificates, no cloud—just pure HTTP. As old-school as possible.
Basic controls:
- Tap center = Pause
- Swipe left = Previous track
- Swipe right = Next track
- Tap left = Rewind 15 seconds
- Tap right = Forward 15 seconds
- Swipe up = Lyrics (Plain / Live)
- Swipe down = Info
- Tap top = Volume up
- Tap bottom = Volume down
When idle in Stop mode, it shows all album covers in a slideshow. Swipe down on a cover to play the album.
Browsing the filesystem lets you select albums, with the cover shown in the background. You can also add custom backgrounds (just add .background.jpg) or manage the view by hidden tag files.
What started as a simple idea was implemented quickly—even without HTML knowledge—thanks to AI tools like Perplexity and Claude.
And naturally, it escalated from there…
Now it includes:
a cover slideshow,
lyrics, live lyrics with multiple engines, and trust ratings, when the lyrics do not contain at least one word of the title.
The file browser doesn’t handled aliases directly, so shadow copies as symlinks are needed. One thing led to another.
You can find the full details on GitHub.
This is the first project of its kind, so expect a few glitches.
Screenshots:
some know me in the Mac Pro scene for Macschrauber's Rom Dump
Github link: https://github.com/Macschrauber/CoverFrame
