What is innertune?

z-huang/innertune — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

★ 5,936KotlinAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((InnerTune))
    What it does
      Ad-free streaming
      Background playback
      Offline caching
      Synced lyrics
    Features
      Android Auto
      Material 3 design
      YouTube Music login
      Speed and pitch control
    Distribution
      F-Droid install
      GitHub releases
      GPL open source
    Audience
      Android users
      Music listeners

mindmap root((InnerTune)) What it does Ad-free streaming Background playback Offline caching Synced lyrics Features Android Auto Material 3 design YouTube Music login Speed and pitch control Distribution F-Droid install GitHub releases GPL open source Audience Android users Music listeners

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Replace a YouTube Music subscription with a free ad-free music streaming app on Android using InnerTune.

USE CASE 2

Listen to music offline by caching songs in InnerTune for use without an internet connection.

USE CASE 3

Play YouTube Music through your car dashboard via Android Auto using InnerTune.

What is it built with?

KotlinAndroid

How does it compare?

	z-huang/innertune	airbnb/mavericks	kotlin/kotlinx.serialization
Stars	5,936	5,933	5,912
Language	Kotlin	Kotlin	Kotlin
Setup difficulty	easy	easy	moderate
Complexity	2/5	3/5	2/5
Audience	general	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Only works in countries where YouTube Music is available, a VPN is needed in unsupported regions.

Open source under GPL, you can use and modify it freely, but any changes you distribute must also be released as open source.

So what is it?

InnerTune is a free, open-source music player app for Android that streams music from YouTube and YouTube Music without showing ads. You install it on your phone and it gives you access to YouTube Music's catalog, including songs, albums, videos, and playlists, without needing a paid subscription to remove advertisements. The app supports background playback, meaning music continues when you leave the app or lock your screen. It can download and cache songs so you can listen without an internet connection. It also shows synchronized lyrics that scroll along with the song, with an experimental option to translate them. Other audio options include skipping silent gaps between tracks, normalizing the volume across songs, and adjusting the playback speed or pitch. The interface follows Google's Material 3 design style, which means it adapts its color scheme to match your phone's wallpaper. The app supports Android Auto, so it can appear on your car's dashboard display. It also supports logging into a YouTube Music account to access your personal library and get personalized recommendations. InnerTune is available through GitHub releases and the F-Droid app store, both of which are free to use. It is licensed under the GPL, meaning the source code is open and anyone can inspect or modify it. One limitation noted in the README: if YouTube Music is not available in your country, the app will not work unless you connect through a VPN to a supported region. The project accepts donations through Liberapay and Buy Me a Coffee to support ongoing development.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

How do I install InnerTune on my Android phone from F-Droid and log into my YouTube Music account to access my personal playlists?

Prompt 2

InnerTune is showing no results because YouTube Music is not available in my country, how do I configure a VPN to make it work?

Prompt 3

How do I use InnerTune's song caching feature to save albums for offline listening?

Prompt 4

Walk me through InnerTune's audio settings: how do I enable volume normalization, adjust playback speed, and turn on gapless playback?

Frequently asked questions