FAQ
Core Musica FAQ: frequently asked questions.
Answers to the most common questions about how Core Musica handles discovery, metadata, privacy, downloads, and local-library playback.
What makes Core Musica different from a basic local player?
Core Musica combines local-library playback with metadata enrichment, configurable similarity scoring, and dynamic playlist generation so discovery is part of the product instead of an afterthought.
How does playlist discovery work?
The app uses a weighted similarity engine across ten dimensions including genre, mood, tempo, instrumentation, vocal style, production style, themes, era, and subgenre. You can adjust how strongly those dimensions influence generated playlists.
Where does metadata come from?
Core Musica is designed to enrich your library from sources like MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Genius, and Discogs while still keeping approval and review in the workflow instead of silently replacing your existing data.
Is Core Musica local-first?
Yes. The product direction is centered on your own library, local storage, and desktop workflows rather than hosted accounts, streaming lock-in, or telemetry-heavy recommendation systems.
Does Core Musica stream from Spotify or other services?
No. Core Musica is built around files you already own and manage in your personal library. The value proposition is local ownership plus intelligent discovery, not streaming-service integration.
Where do downloads come from?
The website is the branded public source of truth for releases, notes, and checksums, even when downloadable binaries are initially hosted on GitHub Releases.
Will the desktop app keep using GitHub for updates?
The direction is to move update checks to the website API so the desktop client can rely on a stable, branded endpoint for release metadata.
What should I do before reporting a bug?
Check the troubleshooting docs, review the relevant release notes, and confirm your exact version, channel, and install kind first. If the issue is reproducible, use the GitHub issue workflow from the support page.