Auxbar Desktop Client

A Windows desktop client for Auxbar - a real-time music streaming widget that displays your currently playing track on your stream overlay.

Overview

Auxbar is a full-stack application that enables streamers to display their currently playing music as a customizable widget on their stream. This repository contains the open-source Windows desktop client that:

• Detects music playing from any Windows media source (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc.)
• Streams real-time track information to the Auxbar backend via WebSocket
• Supports album art, track progress, and play/pause state

Architecture

+-------------------+       WebSocket        +------------------+       +------------------+
|  Desktop Client   | --------------------> |  Auxbar Backend  | <---- |  OBS Browser     |
|  (This Repo)      |   Track Data + Auth   |  (Node.js/AWS)   |       |  Source Widget   |
+-------------------+                        +------------------+       +------------------+
        |                                            |
        v                                            v
+-------------------+                        +------------------+
|  Windows Media    |                        |  SQLite + JWT    |
|  Session API      |                        |  Authentication  |
+-------------------+                        +------------------+

Tech Stack

Desktop Client (This Repository)

• Framework: .NET 8, Windows Forms
• Media Detection: Windows.Media.Control API (GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSession)
• Real-time Communication: WebSocket (Websocket.Client)
• Authentication: JWT with automatic token refresh

Backend (Closed Source)

• Node.js/Express API hosted on AWS EC2
• SQLite database with Knex.js
• WebSocket server for real-time updates
• AWS SES for transactional emails
• AWS CDK for infrastructure

Frontend

• React + TypeScript + Vite
• Tailwind CSS with retro pixel art theme

Features

• Universal Media Detection: Captures track info from any app using Windows Media Session API
• Real-time Sync: WebSocket connection ensures instant updates on your stream widget
• Album Art Support: Extracts and transmits album artwork as base64
• Automatic Reconnection: Handles network interruptions gracefully
• Token Auto-Refresh: JWT tokens refresh automatically before expiration
• System Tray: Runs minimized in the system tray while streaming
• Custom Pixel Art UI: Retro-styled interface matching the Auxbar web theme

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK
• Windows 10/11 (required for Windows Media Session API)

Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/auxbar-client.git
cd auxbar-client

# Restore dependencies
dotnet restore

# Build
dotnet build -c Release

# Publish self-contained executable
dotnet publish -c Release

The executable will be in AuxbarClient/bin/Release/net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-x64/publish/

Creating an Installer

The project includes an Inno Setup script for creating a Windows installer:

1. Install Inno Setup 6
2. Open installer/setup.iss
3. Compile (F9)

Project Structure

client/
├── AuxbarClient/
│   ├── Services/
│   │   ├── ApiService.cs        # REST API client with JWT auth
│   │   ├── WebSocketService.cs  # Real-time track streaming
│   │   └── MediaSessionService.cs # Windows media detection
│   ├── Models/
│   │   └── TrackInfo.cs         # Data models
│   ├── Resources/
│   │   ├── app.ico              # Application icon
│   │   ├── primary.png          # Logo assets
│   │   └── PressStart2P-Regular.ttf # Pixel font
│   ├── MainForm.cs              # Main UI
│   ├── Program.cs               # Entry point
│   └── AuxbarClient.csproj      # Project configuration
└── installer/
    └── setup.iss                # Inno Setup installer script

How It Works

Media Detection

The client uses the Windows GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionManager API to detect currently playing media:

_sessionManager = await GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionManager.RequestAsync();
var session = _sessionManager.GetCurrentSession();
var mediaProperties = await session.TryGetMediaPropertiesAsync();

This API captures media from:

• Spotify
• Apple Music
• YouTube Music (in browser)
• Windows Media Player
• Any app that implements Windows media transport controls

Real-time Updates

Track changes are streamed to the backend via WebSocket:

var message = new WebSocketMessage
{
    Type = "track",
    Data = new TrackInfo
    {
        Title = "Song Title",
        Artist = "Artist Name",
        Album = "Album Name",
        AlbumArt = "data:image/png;base64,...",
        Playing = true,
        Progress = 45000,  // ms
        Duration = 180000  // ms
    }
};
_client.Send(JsonSerializer.Serialize(message));

Authentication Flow

1. User logs in with email/password
2. Server returns JWT access token (15min) + refresh token (7 days)
3. Client stores tokens in %APPDATA%/Auxbar/config.json
4. Auto-refresh timer renews access token every 12 minutes
5. WebSocket reconnects automatically with new token

Privacy & Data Collection

This application collects and transmits the following data to the Auxbar backend (auxbar.me):

Data Transmitted:

• Currently playing track information (title, artist, album name)
• Album artwork (as base64 image data)
• Playback state (playing/paused, progress, duration)
• Authentication tokens (stored locally in %APPDATA%/Auxbar/config.json)

Data NOT Collected:

• No personal files or documents
• No browsing history
• No system information beyond media playback
• No analytics or telemetry

Data Storage:

• Authentication tokens are stored locally and can be removed by signing out or deleting %APPDATA%/Auxbar/
• Track data is transmitted in real-time and not permanently stored by the client

For the backend privacy policy, see auxbar.me/privacy.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Press Start 2P font by CodeMan38
• Websocket.Client for robust WebSocket handling

Related

• Auxbar Website - Create your account and customize your widget
• Widget URL: https://auxbar.me/widget/{your-slug}