shairport-sync/INSTALL.md

Simple Installation Instructions

Shairport Sync can be installed in lots of different Linux and Unix machines, and there are lots of variations to consider -- see the README.md page for a fuller discussion. But here are really simple instructions for building and installing it on a Raspberry Pi B, 2B, 3B or 3B+. It is assumed that the Pi is running Raspbian Stretch Lite -- a GUI isn't needed, since Shairport Sync runs as a daemon program.

Configure and Update

Do the usual update and upgrade:

# apt-get update
# apt-get upgrade
# rpi-update

(Separately, if you haven't done so already, consider using the raspi-config tool to expand the file system to use the entire card.)

Activate the Improved Audio Driver

Check the file /boot/config.txt and, if it's not there already, edit it to add the following line:

audio_pwm_mode=2

Reboot.

Remove Old Copies

Before you begin building Shairport Sync, it's best to search and remove any existing copies. Use the command $ which shairport-sync to find them. For example, if shairport-sync has been installed previously, this might happen:

$ which shairport-sync
/usr/local/bin/shairport-sync
$ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/shairport-sync
...

Do this until no more are found.

Build and Install

Okay,now let's get the tools and sources for building and installing Shairport Sync.

First, install the packages needed by Shairport Sync:

# apt-get install build-essential git xmltoman autoconf automake libtool libdaemon-dev libpopt-dev libconfig-dev libasound2-dev avahi-daemon libavahi-client-dev libssl-dev

Next, download Shairport Sync, configure it, compile and install it:

$ git clone https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-sync.git
$ cd shairport-sync
$ autoreconf -fi
$ ./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --with-alsa --with-avahi --with-ssl=openssl --with-systemd
$ make
$ sudo make install

Now to comfigure Shairport Sync. Here are the important options for the Shairport Sync configuration file at /etc/shairport-sync.conf:

// Sample Configuration File for Shairport Sync on a Raspberry Pi using the built-in audio DAC
general =
{
  drift_tolerance_in_seconds = 0.010;
  volume_range_db = 50;
};

alsa =
{
	output_device = "hw:0";
  mixer_control_name = "PCM";
};

Fourth, enable Shairport Sync to start automatically on boot up:

$ sudo systemctl enable shairport-sync

Fifth, either reboot the Pi or start the service:

$ sudo systemctl start shairport-sync

Sixth, enjoy!