Nightingale
Nightingale turns music in a library into karaoke tracks with separated vocals, synchronized lyrics, and real-time pitch scoring.
What Nightingale is
Nightingale turns music in a library into karaoke tracks with separated vocals, synchronized lyrics, and real-time pitch scoring. It can use local folders or libraries from Plex Media Server, Jellyfin, and Navidrome. Vocal separation uses the UVR Karaoke model or Demucs; WhisperX transcribes and aligns lyrics, while LRCLIB lyrics are used when available. Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, and Korean songs can have character-level alignment and romanized readings. After analysis, users can change key and tempo and follow pitch scoring. Lyrics can be supplied as timed LRC or Enhanced LRC, pasted as plain text for alignment, or edited. Playback backgrounds include GPU shaders, Pixabay video styles, and video files. Nightingale also supports MP4 and MKV files and experimental UltraStar song folders. Separate player profiles keep score histories apart, and playback supports gamepad navigation and touch controls. Native builds are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with CUDA or Metal acceleration when available and CPU fallback. The web build can run on a Linux computer on a home network and open in a browser. It is free and open-source under GPL-3.0-or-later, and the site describes it as having no cloud.
Good
- Works with local folders, Plex, Jellyfin, and Navidrome.
- Supports lyric alignment and editing.
- Key, tempo, and pitch scoring controls.
- Free and open-source under GPL-3.0-or-later.
- Native builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Watch out
- UltraStar song-folder support is experimental.
- Desktop acceleration depends on CUDA or Metal availability.
Who it suits
Nightingale suits singers who want karaoke from music they already keep in local or supported media libraries. Its desktop, browser, gamepad, and touch options may also suit households with different playback setups.
Verdict
Nightingale combines vocal separation, lyric handling, and pitch scoring for personal music libraries. It is free, with native desktop and self-hosted web options.
Plans and prices
From Nightingale's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Nightingale | Free | Free and open-source karaoke app |
The facts
Each one read from Nightingale's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- CJK support
- Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, and Korean songs support per-character alignment and romanized readings.checked 7 Oct 2026
- File support
- The app supports .mp4 and .mkv video files and experimental UltraStar song folders.checked 7 Oct 2026
- License and support
- Nightingale is free and open-source under GPL-3.0-or-later; the maker links to Discord and offers Patreon and Ko-fi support.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Lyrics
- WhisperX transcribes and aligns lyrics word by word, and LRCLIB lyrics are used when available.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Lyrics editing
- Users can provide timed LRC or Enhanced LRC lyrics, paste plain lyrics for alignment, and edit existing lyrics.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Music sources
- It can use local folders, Plex Media Server, Jellyfin, and Navidrome libraries.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Playback controls
- After analysis, users can adjust a song's key and tempo and view real-time pitch scoring.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Privacy and connection
- The site describes the app as having no cloud, and says Navidrome login details are encrypted on disk.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Profiles and controls
- It supports separate score histories for multiple player profiles, gamepad navigation, and touch playback controls.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Nightingale turns songs in a music library into karaoke with separated vocals, synchronized lyrics, and real-time pitch scoring.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- The web build can run on a Linux computer on a home network and be opened from a browser.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Stem separation
- Vocals are separated from instrumentals using the UVR Karaoke model or Demucs.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Supported desktops
- Native builds are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with CUDA or Metal acceleration when available and CPU fallback.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Visuals
- Playback offers 10 GPU shader backgrounds, five Pixabay video styles, and video-file backgrounds.checked 7 Oct 2026
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