philippe44/AirConnect
FreeUse AirPlay to stream to UPnP/Sonos & Chromecast devices
FreeFree tier
About philippe44/AirConnect
AirConnect is an open-source software suite that adds AirPlay playback capabilities to UPnP/Sonos and Chromecast audio devices. It runs on a local network machine (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Windows PC, Mac, Linux) and acts as a bridge between AirPlay clients (iPhone, iPad, iTunes, macOS, AirFoil) and non-AirPlay players. Each supported player appears as a virtual AirPlay device. Audio is decoded from ALAC and can be re-encoded as MP3, AAC, or FLAC. Metadata (artist, title, album, artwork) is transmitted when using MP3/AAC re-encoding with UPnP/DLNA devices that support the icy protocol.
Key Features
Adds AirPlay capabilities to UPnP/Sonos and Chromecast devices
Creates virtual AirPlay devices that act as a bridge/proxy
Supports Windows, macOS (x86 & arm64), Linux (x86, x86_64, arm, aarch64, sparc, mips, powerpc), Solaris, and FreeBSD
Audio decoding from ALAC with re-encoding options: plain, mp3, aac, flac
Metadata display for supported UPnP/DLNA devices when using mp3 or aac
Lightweight; can run on a Raspberry Pi or any machine on the local network
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free and open-source with an active community on GitHub
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux, and more)
- Lightweight and runs on low-power devices like Raspberry Pi
- Multiple re-encoding codecs (MP3, AAC, FLAC) for compatibility
Cons
- Requires manual installation and configuration (command-line based)
- Needs firewall adjustments, especially port 5353 UDP for mDNS
- Metadata support limited to specific re-encoding and player types
- May need additional dependencies (e.g., openSSL on macOS) for dynamic library builds
Best For
Stream audio from iPhone/iPad/iTunes to Sonos speakersBridge AirPlay to Chromecast audio devicesIntegrate non-AirPlay speakers into an Apple multi-room audio setupUse a Raspberry Pi as a low-cost AirPlay-to-UPnP gateway