BluAS, all you can shuffle with BluOS

Introduction
BluAS stands for "BluOS Album Shuffle" and is an Android app controller that allows you to control your BluOS player at home. Its main function is to select and play complete albums randomly selected from your BluOS library (on your NAS).

With the Autoplay feature, albums (or tracks) can repeatly be played from your library (without the need to create a playlist yourself).

With the Listplay feature, you can create and play a playlist with randomly selected albums (or tracks) from your library.

BluAS is particularly interesting for users with (very) large local music collections who want to rediscover their collection thanks to the random playback function.

BluAS can also be used for the play control of other streaming services, like Spotify. BluAS offers a simple and minimalist interface (for mobile devices and tablets). You can also select and play quickly an album using the Artist filter (see below).

The official BluOS Controller mobile app doesn't offer such an "album shuffle" function, while users with large music collections have wanted this for a long time (Look at these cases from January 2020, April 2022 and October 2023).

The BluAS Android app uses the publicly available (but sadly unsupported) API, which you can find here. The initial implementation was developed as a Python script and a more interactive webpage version, both are still available upon request.

How to install
You can download the latest version of the app (v1.8.3) from my download page (or click here) and install it on your Android device (Android 8.1+). You can view the release history below.

To communicate with your local network, a number of technical parameters must match your local situation (via the app's technical settings). These technical parameters are set when BluAS starts (when these values are still empty). However, you may also have to set them manually:

• IP address of your BluOS player within your local network (Check Diagnostic info of your Controller app)
• Portno to which the API of your BluOS-player listens to (default 11000)
• Service name of your music library on your NAS (default LocalMusic)

PhD Software offers a free version and a licensed version for personal and non-commercial use. You can request a license via email. A personal license costs a one-time fee of 49 euros (to be paid via Paypal).

The free version limits the number of artists (max. 250), the number of artists per genre (max. 15) and the number of albums per artist (max. 5). The additional play modes like Autoplay, Listplay and Track mode are not supported.

The app does not share any data and does not store personal data.

How it works
First, an artist is randomly selected, so that every artist on your NAS has an equal chance. Second, an album is randomly selected and played. BluAS uses an own index containing all your available artists and its genre. This allows a quick selection of the albums!

To control album playback for autoplay, BluAS does not support simultaneous control of other controllers (such as the BluOS controller app). When BluAS takes control by selecting and playing an album, BluAS becomes standby, the Artist button is highlighted.

If BluAS detects another app being used, it will lose its standby status, any autoplay will not continue, and... the Artist button is again dimmed

The overview of all its functions (via the buttons) you can find below. You can get an overview in the BluAS app by tapping the logo at the top left of the screen.

Button layout overview
Artist	Shuffle	Skip	Play	Vol. up
Album	Repeat	Back	Info	Vol. dw
Long press functions button function Artist Create index for BluAS or re-index BluOS Play Set artist to randomize from Info Show app info (version & notes) Vol. up Select genre to randomize from Vol. dw Toggle Track mode on and off

How to use
When you start the player for the first time and have set the correct technical parameters (by BluAS or manually), you can check the status of your BluOS device with the Info button. If everything looks allright, you can create your BluAS index: long press the Artist button, select 'Re-index BluAS' and wait for BluAS to finish creating the index (watch its progress bar). The BluAS index is based on the BluOS index, which you can optionally re-index first. However this can take some (its progress is visualized by a flashing info text).

Tapping the Artist button randomly selects a new artist, and tapping the Album button randomly selects another album by the previously selected artist. Now that BluAS is in standby mode, the album's tracklist can be displayed using the Info button (otherwise the current playlist is displayed).

Additionally, the combination of the Shuffle button and Repeat button determines the Autoplay mode, when BluAS continues with playing another album after the selected album has finished playing.

• Shuffle only, BluAS plays random album of a random artist
• Shuffle+Repeat, BluAS plays random album of the current artist
• Repeat only, BluAS replays current album of the current artist

The Autoplay mode requires the app to remain active in the background. It starts a so-called foreground activity (indicated by its icon in the status bar) and requires the permission for unrestricted battery usage (Android 12+).

Although BluAS is an album controller, it offers with Track mode also the feature to autoplay just one track from a selected album, chosen at random, of course.

This autoplay feature is an unique way to randomly play music from your library. You can keep playing it endlessly if you want (as long as BluAS remains connected to your local network).

Play modes
BluAS offers different play modes (available via the Settings-menu, which requires a restart of the app). The default mode plays only the selected album or track and does not move to a next one. The Autoplay mode, however, continues playing with a random album (or track) by another random or current artist. You can also repeat the current album or track. The Autoplay mode is set by default but can be altered using the Shuffle and Repeat buttons (if standby).

The Listplay mode cannot be changed while the app is active (like the other play modes); you must restart the app after switching to this mode. Listplay mode creates a playlist of random albums or tracks, selected based on genre or artist. You can start this mode by tapping the Listplay button (which has replaced the Artist button).

The advantage of Listplay mode (compared to Autoplay mode) is that the app does not need to run continuously (so no foreground activity and standby control are needed), disadvantages may be the lack of surprise and its limited duration. The duration of a playlist created with the Listplay mode depends on the number of albums or tracks, which is maximized by BluAS (max. 10 albums or 100 tracks). The Listplay mode does not support the selection from favorites or latest albums.

Filters
To refine the random selection of albums, two filters are available.

With the first filter (long press Volume up button), you can select a genre from a list (with all available genres from your BluAS index). After selecting a genre, a popup appears with all the artists from this genre (if the Filter info setting is enabled).

Users of licensed version can also select 'Favorites' or 'Latest' as a kind of pseudo-genre to play at random albums from your favorites or latest albums, which number you can set as setting. Also a special feature of BluAS allows you to randomly select and play your favorite tracks, enable both the Track mode and the Favorite track mode setting.

With the second filter (by the input field in the right corner), you can select an artist from whom you want to play random albums. A list appears with the available albums of the artist. Tap the album from the list to show its tracklist, or long press to play the album. You may return from the tracklist to the list by tapping the close button of the popup window. Otherwise BluAS will decide which album to play (with the Album-button).

You can search quickly for only parts of an artist name. To select a specific artist name, you may prefix (or postfix) your search text with a dot. Example: enter '.Yes' to find artist Yes (instead to find f.i. 'Bright Eyes' by 'Yes').

You can also filter albums of a prefered artist by entering a matching value to the artist value prefixed with a '?'. Example: enter 'Beethoven?sym' as artist value for selecting all his symphony albums and not his guitar albums ;-).

Playing options
The number of BluAS playing options can be quite overwhelming, which is why the overview below has been compiled (click for larger image).

Important to know
The index created by and within BluAS is based on BluOS indexing results. If you've added a new album to your music library, be sure to re-index your BluOS music library first (by BluAS or BluOS). It's also important to note that BluAS uses an artist-centric approach. While an artist can belong to multiple genres, BluAS can only select them based on one genre.

BluAS can also display the album's year, if it's included in the album's file path on your network folder (4 characters starting with '/19' or '/20').

BluAS plays a randomly selected album by default without any confirmation, which can be changed via the Settings-menu. The different play modes can also be enabled through the Settings-menu. You can use the app in light or dark mode through the Settings-menu and perhaps also choose for dynamic coloring of the background.

BluAS randomization was initially completely random or 'memoryless', which means that for every choice, any artist or album can be selected (except the previous one). The randomization is now more 'memory-based'; choices made are excluded from subsequent choices as long as there are still other choices available that have not yet been made. For example: if you have selected 20 artists (for some genre), all 20 artists are randomly selected before an artist can be selected a second time (in autoplay). However, the randomization of tracks in Track mode is still 'memoryless'.

Occasional communication errors may occur with your BluOS device (such as timeouts due to overload or unexpected changes in its IP address). You can determine the actual technical cause of this - if it is persistent - by enabling the Collect log technical setting (which enables sharing the log via long pressing the Volume down button, replacing its default function).

BluOS compatibility
The app is at least compatible with BluOS firmware version 4.10.13 (July 2025). Since there is no way to revert to previous BluOS firmware versions, there is a small risk that upgrades may cause compatibility issues. Therefore, PhD Software greatly appreciates all comments and feedback when running BluAS on other BluOS versions. The BluAS app is developed with help of my own local music library for 30 genres with more than 2000 artists, 10000 albums and 100000 tracks.

Suggestions, questions or a license?
For suggestions, questions, a license, or even a customized version, send an email to info@phdsoftware.nl.

Release history
The first final version was created after a period of many step-by-step improvements. New improvements are added via update versions. After various functional, visual and technical improvements, I think version 1.8.3 will probably be the last public release...

Notes regarding the latest release v1.8.3: The Listplay playmode can now create playlists with a larger number of tracks. Therefore, it was necessary to add extra processing logic to BluAS. Progress can be viewed in a pop-up window; creating playlists with tracks, in particular, can take some time. The next step was to expand the settings with a new submenu (Number settings), where you can configure the length of the playlists. Furthermore, the BluOS re-index function is now combined with the Create index function (long press the Artist button). To select the current artist as selected artist (showing its albums) is now back by a long press of the Play button. Some nice visual changes have also been implemented in this release; the album art can now change size slightly during playback and the visual and controller settings can now be selected directly. For the free version, the max. number of artists per genre is decreased to 15 (enabling more genres) and the selection of favorites or latest has been removed from the genre select function.

Notes regarding release v1.7.6: Using a list of albums (from v1.7.5) made the interface a bit easier, but required still an update to show the tracklist by a tap and to play the album by a long press. By closing the popup, the list of albums is reshown, which makes a quicker select of another album possible. The setting Filter info is now renamed into Genre info, and can be disabled without blocking the Genre select function. Furthermore, the album cover is added to the tracklist popup. The long press to toggle the Track mode is switched to the Volume down button, which button is always available. The long press to set the current artist as selected artist (showing its albums) is now available via the Album button.

Some notes regarding release v1.7.5: Support is now being provided for landscape orientation, which seems better suited for tablet users. Album artwork is now also automatically scaled to a square format (if not square). Selecting a genre (including favorites and latest albums) is no longer done via an input field, but via a list selection. This required a redistribution of the long press functions to the buttons, which can now be shown by the new quick reference function (tap the logo in the top left). Finally, it is now also possible to select and play a specific album for the free version! Warning: Leave the Filter info setting enabled, otherwise no selection list is displayed!

Some notes regarding the latest release v1.6.4: With this release, an improved randomization algorithm has been introduced, which supports a less random but more spread-out selection. However you may turn it off (by a setting). Furthermore, a feature has become available to re-index your BluOS library (long-press of the Volume down button). A very handy feature is the ability to switch quickly between track mode and the standard album mode (long-press of the Album-button). The dynamic color option (especially when using the light theme) has also been improved like more cosmetics (like a flashing title when playing) and technical issues. PS the original idea to use a short, looping video as an indication of playback status has been scrapped due to higher battery consumption and its minimal but fun value.

BluAS examples (click for hi-res)

BluAS playing example (click for mp4)