User Documentation

Installation instructions

Currently there are no distribution packages for higgins. To install from source, follow the instructions on the BuildingFromSource page.

After Higgins has been installed, there should be two executable scripts installed somewhere in your $PATH: higgins-media-server, which is the media server application; and higgins-upload, which adds media to the media library.

Setting up the environment

Higgins needs a place to store its data (things like application settings, downloaded media, plugins). We call this the environment directory, and it is a required parameter when you run higgins-media-server from the command line. To create the environment directory, we run higgins-media-server with the --create flag:

$ higgins-media-server --create /path/to/environment/directory

After the environment directory has been created, Higgins should be run without the --create flag:

$ higgins-media-server /path/to/environment/directory

Adding media

By now you have Higgins running, and you can access the web interface on localhost:8000. However, there is no media in the library, so Higgins isn't very useful at the moment. In order to add media, we use the higgins-upload command:

$ higgins-upload -l /path/to/my/song.mp3 [...]

The -l flag uploads in local mode, which means higgins-upload only sends the file metadata and the local path to the file, instead of uploading the file itself. If your media exists on the same machine that Higgins is running on, you want to be sure to use local mode.

Enabling plugins

Higgins can share audio with iTunes and iTunes-compatible software. To do so we need to enable the DAAP plugin. In the web interface, click the Settings link, then click the Plugins link. Below the link you will see a list of available plugins, including the DAAP plugin. Click the DAAP checkbox, then press the Update Services button to enable the plugin. Now fire up iTunes, Banshee, or another DAAP-aware music player and you can stream your songs from Higgins!