Our verdict: Tauon is a fast, keyboard-friendly player for people who manage music as playlists rather than a strict library. It has no ads, tracking or account; the playlist-first approach and dense interface take some getting used to.
About Tauon
Tauon, also known as Tauon Music Box, started on Linux and now has official Windows and macOS builds. You import music once and then slice it into playlists with search, folders and smart playlist codes that filter, sort and shuffle.
It plays FLAC, Opus, MP3, AAC, ALAC, WavPack, APE, DSD, CUE sheets and tracker formats such as MOD, with gapless playback. It can show and fetch synced lyrics, edit tags in batches with MusicBrainz lookup, stream from Plex, Jellyfin or Airsonic servers, and lets you build the window layout from widgets.
What it does well
- Playlist-first library. Import once, then organize with playlists, folders and search.
- Smart playlists. Short codes that filter, sort and shuffle your library.
- Gapless and lossless. FLAC, Opus, WavPack, APE, DSD and CUE sheets with gapless playback.
- Synced lyrics and tags. Fetch time-synced lyrics and batch-edit tags with MusicBrainz lookup.
- Server streaming. Play music from Plex, Jellyfin or Airsonic servers.
Who it is for
Good fit
Music collectors who like organizing by playlists and want gapless lossless playback without ads or accounts.
Look elsewhere
Users who expect a classic artist/album library browser or a simple point-and-click player.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No ads, tracking or account
- Gapless playback of many lossless formats
- Plex, Jellyfin and Airsonic streaming
- Customizable layout
Cons
- Playlist-first workflow differs from most players
- Dense interface with many options
How to install Tauon
Download the Windows installer from tauonmusicbox.rocks; the button points to the latest GitHub release. A portable 7z build is also offered. After installing, drag your music folder into a playlist to import it.
Questions about Tauon
Is Tauon free?
Yes. It is open source under the GNU GPL v3.
Does Tauon work on Windows?
Yes. There is an official installer for 64-bit Windows 10 and later, plus a portable build.
Can Tauon play music from my Jellyfin or Plex server?
Yes. It can stream from Plex, Jellyfin and Airsonic servers.
