SimpMusic is a free and open-source Android client for YouTube Music, aiming to provide a feature-rich experience comparable to popular music streaming services like Spotify. It targets users who want an ad-free, background-playable, and highly customizable music listening experience powered by YouTube Music's extensive library.

How It Works

SimpMusic leverages hidden YouTube Music APIs and employs various "tricks" to access and stream music data, including background playback and ad-blocking. It integrates with external services like Musixmatch and LRCLIB for synced lyrics, SponsorBlock for skipping video sponsorships, and ReturnYouTubeDislike for displaying dislike counts. The app also utilizes Spotify's Web API for features like Spotify Canvas and AI song suggestions, requiring user API keys for certain functionalities.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Install: Download the nightly build or FOSS version from the project's releases.
• Prerequisites: Android device. Optional: OpenAI or Gemini API key for AI song suggestions.
• Resources: No specific hardware requirements mentioned beyond a standard Android device.
• Links: Crowdin for translations.

Highlighted Details

• Ad-free playback and background audio for YouTube Music content.
• Synced lyrics from multiple sources (Musixmatch, LRCLIB, YouTube transcripts).
• Support for SponsorBlock and ReturnYouTubeDislike integrations.
• AI song suggestions and personalized data features (requires API keys).

Maintenance & Community

The project is primarily maintained by developer maxrave-dev, with community support from Discord server admins Owen Connor and Ilian Delagrange. The project is sponsored by Crowdin and Sentry. A Discord server is available for community interaction and support.

Licensing & Compatibility

The project is licensed under a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) license. The description implies it is open-source, but a specific license type (e.g., MIT, GPL) is not explicitly stated in the README. Compatibility for commercial use or closed-source linking is not detailed.

Limitations & Caveats

The app is in beta and may contain bugs. Lyric matching can sometimes be inaccurate due to YouTube Music's API limitations and the app's reliance on string matching and duration for lyric retrieval. The "Full version" uses Sentry crashlytics for crash data collection, while the FOSS version does not.