User guide/Audio sources + controls

Audio sources + controls

Now Playing, Spotify, MusicBee, foobar2000, VLC, per-app capture with Smart Auto, shuffle, and playlists.

Audio Sources

Connect
Your Music

IKANDY can connect to five source modes. Each one offers a different feature set depending on what its underlying API exposes. Switching between them automatically pauses the previous one.

🎵 Spotify ● Works out of the box · No account connection

Spotify plays through Windows media controls, the same lane as any modern media app. Press play in Spotify and IKANDY picks up track info, album art when the app publishes it, and the transport controls Windows exposes: play, pause, and skip. Per-Process Capture can lock the visuals onto Spotify's audio alone. There is nothing to connect: no sign-in, no developer app, no keys. IKANDY has no Spotify account integration; it reads what Spotify publishes to Windows on your machine.

Followed an older guide? Earlier builds offered a separate Spotify connection with a Client ID setup. That integration has been removed. Nothing is required from you: play in Spotify and IKANDY follows automatically.
🐝 MusicBee ● Full features · MBXHub plugin

Connects through the user-installed MBXHub plugin. IKANDY can read now-playing metadata and artwork, control playback, browse playlists, search, and use MusicBee's shuffle and repeat modes.

One-time setup

  1. Download MBXHub from the official MusicBee add-on page.
  2. Extract the download and copy mb_MBXHub.dll and MBXHub.exe into MusicBee's Plugins folder.
  3. Restart MusicBee, then confirm MBXHub appears under Edit → Preferences → Plugins.
  4. In IKANDY, choose MusicBee. Leave host at 127.0.0.1 and port at 8080 unless you changed the MBXHub configuration, then click Connect.
Connection check With MusicBee and MBXHub running, open http://localhost:8080/docs. If the API documentation loads, the plugin is reachable; use the configured port if you changed it.
Plugin status MBXHub is published by its developer in two channels on the MBXHub download page: Stable, updated about monthly and recommended for most people, and Preview, updated about weekly. The plugin requires .NET Framework 4.8, and its companion shell requires the .NET Desktop Runtime: .NET 10 from MBXHub 0.5.5.2 on (0.5.5.1 and earlier use .NET 8). If .NET 10 is missing, MBXHub prompts you and helps you install it. The download page is authoritative for requirements.
Getting help Questions about MBXHub itself (installing it, the plugin not loading, its settings) go to the MBXHub support thread on the MusicBee forum. If MBXHub is running and IKANDY still won't connect, see MusicBee won't connect in Troubleshooting.
🎧 foobar2000 ● Full features · Beefweb plugin

For the audiophile crowd. Connects via the foo_beefweb component: a REST/JSON API that exposes the full library. Playlist browse with search, every shuffle mode foobar supports, transport, album art, lyrics. The most feature-complete source IKANDY offers.

One-time setup

  1. Download and install foo_beefweb from github.com/hyperblast/beefweb/releases.
  2. In foobar2000: File → Preferences → Tools → Beefweb Remote Control.
  3. Tick Enable HTTP server (default port 8880). Optionally set a password. Click Apply.
  4. In IKANDY, choose foobar2000, leave port at 8880, enter the password if set, and click Connect.

foobar2000 → Preferences → Tools → Beefweb Remote Control

📺 VLC ● Standard · Local HTTP

Connects to VLC’s built-in web interface: play, pause, skip, shuffle on/off, album art, synced lyrics. No library browse; pick what to play in VLC, control playback in IKANDY.

One-time setup

  1. Open VLC → Tools → Preferences. Switch Show settings to All.
  2. Navigate to Interface → Main interfaces and tick Web.
  3. Expand Main interfaces → Lua, set a Lua HTTP password, and save.
  4. Restart VLC. In IKANDY, choose VLC, paste the password, and click Connect.

VLC → Preferences → All → Interface → Main interfaces → Web (ticked)

Custom port If port 8080 is taken, change it in the same VLC preferences pane. Match it in IKANDY's VLC settings.
🎙️ Now Playing ● Basic · Windows Media Controls · Zero setup

The general Windows source. Reads compatible apps that publish to Windows Media Controls, including Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, browser tabs, and Tidal. Track info, available transport controls, and album art (when the app publishes it) follow the active source. No browse, no shuffle.

How to use it

  1. Start playing music in any app on your computer.
  2. In IKANDY, click the source pill on the console and pick Now Playing.
  3. Track info and transport light up within a second. IKANDY shows or greys out individual buttons based on what the active source app actually supports.
Firefox needs a flag Chrome and Edge bridge HTML5 Media Session to Windows Media Controls automatically. Firefox doesn’t by default : open about:config, search media.hardwaremediakeys.enabled, set it to true, and restart Firefox.
🎯 Per-Process Capture ● Audio isolation · Setup → AUDIO

Capture audio from one specific app rather than the whole system mix. If you’re gaming while listening through Spotify or MusicBee, IKANDY normally reacts to everything: game effects, Discord pings, notification sounds, and music. Per-Process Capture can lock on to the music app alone.

How to use it

  1. Start the app you want to capture (for example, Spotify or MusicBee) and play something.
  2. In IKANDY, open Setup (⚙) → AUDIO tab → What to visualize.
  3. Click Scan for apps. IKANDY lists every app currently producing audio, with its icon.
  4. Pick the app you want in the list. The banner at the top of the section confirms which app is active.
  5. To stop, click Stop in the banner. IKANDY returns to system audio automatically.
Switching apps Pick a different app while one is already active : IKANDY switches cleanly with no confirmation dialog. The banner updates immediately.
Use cases
  • React to Spotify or MusicBee only, ignoring game audio and Discord
  • Capture a DAW or audio editor output for a live mix visualization
  • Isolate browser tab audio when YouTube is playing alongside other apps
  • Test a specific app’s audio routing without affecting the rest of the system
Requires a connected source first Per-Process Capture shares the same audio graph as system audio. Connect a supported source (Spotify, MusicBee, VLC, etc.) or click 🎤 Reconnect Audio once before using it: this initializes the audio context. After that, per-process capture works independently.

One tab runs the connections

Connect, disconnect, and switch available sources from ⚙ → AUDIO: MusicBee, foobar2000, VLC, Spotify and other media apps through Windows media controls, browser and system audio, plus the system-audio reconnect and your playlists. A source that still needs setup shows it on its row and routes you to the right place with one click. Transport buttons a source cannot perform (some apps do not expose skip or seek) grey out with a hint instead of failing silently. And if you just have a file: drag an audio file onto IKANDY and it plays it, no source setup at all.

Audio controls

Beyond picking a source, you shape how the audio drives the visuals.

Shuffle + playlists

Shuffle follows the source. MusicBee and foobar2000 expose their own shuffle, repeat, and playback-order modes, and the playlist panel loads supported-source playlists with search, so you can browse and play without leaving the visuals. Apps that ride Windows media controls, Spotify included, keep their shuffle settings inside the app itself.

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