chords#
chords is a self-hosted songbook for guitarists. It keeps your chord charts as plain text and groups them into playlists you can share with your band. When you play, one device leads and the others follow: the song the leader opens appears on every follower's screen and scrolls in step with it.
You run the server yourself. The web app comes from that server, and a desktop app, an Android app and a browser extension connect to it.
What it does#
- Songbook. Every song is a chord chart with a title, artist, key, capo, tempo, auto-scroll speed and tags. The chart is plain text with the chords inline.
- Playlists. Group songs and reorder them. Invite other users to edit a playlist with you, or share a read-only public link.
- Sessions. One device leads a playlist and the others follow. This works between people on a shared playlist, and between your own devices on a playlist you have not shared.
- Sharing. Send a song or a whole playlist to another user, who accepts it from their inbox. New accounts are made through single-use invite links.
- Import. Give chords a link, paste a chart, or upload a photo of one, and it is parsed into a clean chart. If you only know the title, a web search finds a source. The import runs on OpenRouter with your own key.
The pages#
| Page | Read it when |
|---|---|
| Running chords | You want your own server, and the first account on it. |
| Charts | You write or edit a chart by hand, or want to know what is stored. |
| Playlists and sessions | You play with other people, or across your own devices. |
| Importing songs | You bring in songs from the web, a paste or a photo. |
| Apps and the extension | You want chords on a desktop, a phone, or in your browser. |
chords is MIT-licensed.