Shiny.Music

Shiny.Music

A .NET library for accessing the device music library on Android and iOS. Provides a unified API for:

• 🔐 Requesting permissions to access music
• 🎵 Querying metadata about music on the device
• ▶️ Playing music files from the device library
• 📁 Copying music files (where permitted)

Installation

Add a project reference to Shiny.Music from your .NET MAUI or platform-specific app.

Quick Start

// Register in MauiProgram.cs
builder.Services.AddShinyMusic();

// Use via dependency injection
public class MyPage
{
    readonly IMediaLibrary _library;
    readonly IMusicPlayer _player;

    public MyPage(IMediaLibrary library, IMusicPlayer player)
    {
        _library = library;
        _player = player;
    }

    async Task Example()
    {
        // 1. Request permission
        var status = await _library.RequestPermissionAsync();
        if (status != PermissionStatus.Granted) return;

        // 2. Get all tracks
        var tracks = await _library.GetAllTracksAsync();

        // 3. Play a track
        await _player.PlayAsync(tracks[0]);

        // 4. Copy a track
        var dest = Path.Combine(FileSystem.AppDataDirectory, "copy.m4a");
        var success = await _library.CopyTrackAsync(tracks[0], dest);
    }
}

Platform Configuration

Android

Required Permissions

Add these to your AndroidManifest.xml:

<!-- Android 13+ (API 33+) -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_AUDIO" />

<!-- Android 12 and below (API < 33) -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
                 android:maxSdkVersion="32" />

Notes

• Minimum API Level: 24 (Android 7.0)
• Target API 33+: Uses READ_MEDIA_AUDIO granular media permission
• Target API < 33: Falls back to READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
• The library requests runtime permissions via the MAUI Permissions API
• Music is queried through MediaStore.Audio.Media
• Playback uses Android.Media.MediaPlayer with content URIs
• Copy: Reads from the ContentResolver input stream. Works for all locally stored music files.

iOS

Required Info.plist Entry

<key>NSAppleMusicUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to your music library to browse and play your music.</string>

⚠️ This is mandatory. Your app will crash on launch if you attempt to access the music library without this key.

Notes

• Minimum iOS Version: 15.0
• Permission is requested via MPMediaLibrary.RequestAuthorization
• Music metadata is queried using MPMediaQuery from the MediaPlayer framework
• Playback uses AVAudioPlayer from AVFoundation with the item's AssetURL
• Copy Limitations:
  • ✅ Locally synced / purchased (non-DRM) tracks can be exported via AVAssetExportSession
  • ❌ Apple Music subscription (DRM-protected) tracks cannot be copied. The AssetURL is empty for these items, and iOS does not provide filesystem access to DRM content.
  • The CopyTrackAsync method returns false for tracks that cannot be exported.
  • Exported format is Apple M4A (.m4a)

Entitlements

No special entitlements are required beyond the Info.plist usage description. The MediaPlayer and AVFoundation frameworks are standard iOS frameworks.

API Reference

IMediaLibrary

IMusicPlayer

MusicMetadata

Sample App

The sample/MusicSample project is a .NET MAUI app that demonstrates all library features:

1. Permission Request — Tap "Request Permission" to prompt for music access
2. Browse — Tap "Load All" to list all music on the device
3. Search — Type a query and tap "Search" to filter by title/artist/album
4. Play/Pause/Stop — Select a track and use the playback controls
5. Copy — Select a track and tap "Copy" to export it to app storage

Running the Sample

# Android
dotnet build sample/MusicSample -f net9.0-android -t:Run

# iOS (requires Mac with Xcode)
dotnet build sample/MusicSample -f net9.0-ios -t:Run

Note: Music library access requires a physical device. Simulators/emulators typically have no music content.

License

MIT