Nightingale is a free, open-source karaoke app that turns any song in a local music library into a singable track. It splits songs into instrumental and vocal parts, shows synchronized lyrics, and scores each performance, on desktop or through a self-hosted server.[1][2]
Quick verdict
Nightingale is a free, GPL-3.0 licensed karaoke app that splits any song in a local library into instrumental and vocal tracks, shows synchronized lyrics, and scores performances. Desktop apps cover Windows, macOS and Linux with offline support, and a Docker self-hosted server lets guests request songs from a browser.[1][2][3]
What Nightingale does
Nightingale splits songs into instrumental and vocal tracks using machine learning, so any song in the library can become a karaoke track without a dedicated karaoke catalogue.[1][2]
Songs can be found through a built-in YouTube search without extra configuration, and lyrics are fetched automatically.[1]
YouTube-sourced songs get karaoke-style word-by-word lyrics; locally stored songs show synchronized lyrics where available.[1]
Every sung performance is scored, and a history of past performances is kept for comparison across sessions.[1]
Who it fits
Home karaoke parties are the natural fit: the setup needs only a download, guests join from any browser by scanning a QR code, and no dedicated karaoke discs or subscriptions are involved.[1][2]
Hosts who take requests suit the shared-server model, where guests browse and queue songs themselves instead of shouting requests at the host.[1]
Collectors with large local libraries benefit most, since the app works from music already owned and keeps working offline.[1]
Limitations to know
There are no mobile apps yet; the product is desktop-only, with mobile on the public roadmap.[1][2]
Word-by-word lyric timing is documented for YouTube-sourced songs only; local files get synchronized lyrics where available, which implies uneven lyric quality across a library.[1]
Scoring quality depends on the separation and timing working well per track; the project roadmap lists improved scoring, which signals the current scoring is still basic.[1]
Platforms and hosting
Questions worth asking
Does Nightingale work offline?
Yes. The official homepage states that everything works offline, so a downloaded library and the karaoke features keep working without a connection. Lyric fetching for new songs needs connectivity.[1]
Which platforms does Nightingale run on?
Yes. Nightingale publishes desktop downloads for Windows, macOS and Linux. Mobile apps are on the roadmap but are not available yet.[1]
Is Nightingale really free?
Can I host a Nightingale server for party guests?
Yes. You can run a self-hosted Nightingale server locally with Docker and join it from the desktop app, and guests can request songs from any browser over the shared server.[1]
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 11, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- rzru/nightingale GitHub repository
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Repository identity, description, topics, star count, current release and docs link, observed on the repository page.
- Nightingale official homepage
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Official feature list, platform downloads, Docker self-host and hosted-server statements, observed on the homepage.
- Nightingale about page
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Project history, creator, motivation, roadmap and support channels, observed on the about page.
- Nightingale LICENSE (GPL-3.0)
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Full GPL version 3 license text in the repository, establishing GPL-3.0 licensing.
- Nightingale directory listing (discovery lead)
community · Observed October 11, 2026
Discovery lead only: summary, GPL v3.0 label, feature tags and self-hosted note used for discovery and license corroboration.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.