Ziggy

Ziggy No apps, just music

An open source touchscreen music player you build yourself.

How to build one Code on GitHub

Music without the phone

We built Ziggy as a way for kids to discover and listen to music. No apps. No distractions. The way we did growing up.

A grid of playlists with their covers

Your Spotify or MP3 collection

Ziggy is designed to work with Spotify (requires Spotify Premium) or with MP3s kept on the player. Playlists, albums, artists and liked songs, plus search.

A playlist's songs, with a large Play button

Play it, heart it, save it

Easily search and find the artists and albums you want. No AI suggestions.

SpeakersHeadphone jack, Bluetooth or Sonos.
AirPlayPlay to it from an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
AudiobooksFrom your Audiobookshelf server.
BedtimeA sleep timer, and a screen that turns itself off.
Optional

Voice control

"Ziggy, play Road Trip." Add a USB microphone and bring your own AI model.

  • You have complete controlSelect Gemini or your preferred model. No snooping by Apple or Alexa: the wake word is heard on the Pi, and no audio leaves the player until someone says "Ziggy".
  • Truly smart search"Ziggy, play Paul Simon's first solo album." Fully benefit from your AI's intelligence.
The Albums screen with a Listening indicator at the bottom
Optional

Home Assistant

Control your smart devices via Home Assistant.

  • Ziggy is open sourceAdd your own devices (e.g. Ring cameras) and actions.
Home Assistant tiles for lights, a fan and scene buttons

Parts

Computer

Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+

Small, cool-running and enough for Ziggy. Any newer Pi works too.

PiShop.us
Screen

7" DSI touchscreen

An 800×480 touchscreen such as Hosyond's, which carries the Pi on its back. Standoffs, screws, the ribbon cable and two legs come in the box.

Amazon
Storage

microSD card, 16 GB

Holds Raspberry Pi OS and the player. 16 GB leaves plenty of room; 8 GB is the least. Pick one marked A1; a faster card makes no difference on this Pi.

Amazon
Power

5 V micro-USB supply

2.5 A, like the official Raspberry Pi supply, or a USB charger with a right-angle micro-USB cable, which stays out of sight behind the screen. The Pi powers the screen through its pins.

Right-angle cable on Amazon
Sound

Speakers or headphones

Anything on the Pi's headphone jack, a Bluetooth speaker, or a Sonos system.

Optional

USB microphone

For voice control. A small one plugs into the Pi's one USB port.

PiShop.us

The parts total about $80–90. You also need a Spotify Premium account.

Putting it together

Step 1 of 10

    Setting it up

    1. Install the setup tool

      On a Mac or Linux computer:

      curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mberg/ziggy/main/install.sh | sh

    2. Prepare the card

      In Raspberry Pi Imager, write Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit). In its settings, set a hostname, your Wi-Fi, and SSH with your public key.

    3. Run setup

      With the Pi on and the card in, run:

      ziggy setup

      The README has every step, and how to look after a player.