Frequently Asked Questions
What is My Media for Alexa?
My Media for Alexa allows you to stream your home music library from your computer to an Amazon Alexa device, such as an Alexa Echo or Alexa Dot.
How do I add music to My Media? What is a Watch Folder?
Watch Folders monitor your music library for new and changed tracks. Add a Watch Folder for each music library you want to play with your Alexa device. My Media will scan each folder, index the media, and make it ready for Alexa. See Watch Folders for details.
What music formats does My Media support?
My Media supports MP3 and M4A music files natively. You can optionally enable support for FLAC, WMA, and OGG files in Settings, which requires installing FFmpeg.
What Alexa voice commands can I use?
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Alexa, open My Media | Plays all indexed music |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play the album [album] | Plays all tracks on that album |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play music by [artist] | Plays all tracks by that artist |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play [genre] music | Plays all tracks tagged with that genre |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play the song [title] | Plays all tracks with that title |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play the song [title] by [artist] | Plays the specific track |
| Alexa, ask My Media to play my [playlist name] playlist | Plays a named playlist |
| Alexa, ask My Media what's playing | Announces the current track and artist |
| Alexa, pause | Pauses playback |
| Alexa, resume | Resumes paused playback |
| Alexa, skip | Skips to the next track |
| Alexa, previous | Goes back to the previous track |
| Alexa, ask My Media to set looping on | Enables loop mode |
| Alexa, ask My Media to set shuffle on | Enables shuffle mode |
| Alexa, ask My Media to switch servers | Switches to a different registered My Media server |
| Alexa, ask My Media to list my invitations | Accepts a pending sharing invitation |
Alexa doesn't recognise My Media as a skill
See Troubleshooting → Alexa Doesn't Recognise My Media as a Skill.
When I ask Alexa to play music, there is silence
See the dedicated guide: Troubleshooting: Alexa Responds But No Music Plays.
I can't locate my iTunes Library file
See Troubleshooting → I Can't Locate My iTunes Library File.
How often does My Media check for new music?
My Media rescans your Watch Folders and iTunes/Apple Music library every 6 hours automatically. To force an immediate rescan, click Trigger Rescan on the Watch Folders page.
Can My Media index M3U / PLS playlists?
Yes. My Media automatically indexes any M3U or PLS playlist files found within a Watch Folder. Add the folder containing your playlists as a Watch Folder. My Media will crawl the media files referenced in the playlist even if they are stored outside the Watch Folder itself. Discovered playlists appear on the Playlists page.
How does My Media index my music?
My Media reads the embedded ID3 tags in MP3 and M4A files to index track title, artist, album, genre, disc number, and track number. Alexa queries are then matched against this metadata.
Do my media files leave my network?
By default, My Media streams locally across your local network. Your Alexa device and My Media server must be on the same routable network. If they aren't, you can:
- Open port 52050 on your internet router to allow direct external streaming.
- Enable cloud proxy in Settings to route media through My Media's cloud servers.
Alexa doesn't recognise some albums or artists
See Troubleshooting → Alexa Doesn't Recognise Some Albums or Artists.