[{"content":"The frustrating part of managing AdGuard Home is rarely a lack of features. It is opening a browser, finding the admin page, signing in, and navigating back to the information you wanted.\nAdGuard Home Manager was built to remove those steps with a native iPhone client that connects directly to the server you host. The latest update takes that idea further: useful status and controls no longer need to stay inside the app.\nDownload AdGuard Home Manager on the App Store Widgets, Live Activity, and Control Center # Optional VIP brings server status to the Home and Lock Screens. Live Activity helps when you want to keep an eye on activity, while Control Center and Siri Shortcuts make frequent actions easier to reach.\nThe goal is not to add more dashboards. It is to make server management interrupt your day less often.\nStatistics built for longer observation # More top rankings help reveal active clients, frequently requested domains, and changes in filtering behavior. When you want to keep your own records or explore the data elsewhere, statistics can be exported as CSV.\nComplete management for one server remains free # The free tier still includes the dashboard, query log search, clients, filters, DNS rewrites, upstreams, access rules, Safe Browsing, Parental Control, and DHCP for one saved server.\nVIP adds Home and Lock Screen widgets, Live Activity, Control Center, Siri Shortcuts, custom theme colors, more rankings, CSV export, and unlimited server instances. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription.\nThe app still connects directly to your own AdGuard Home server. There is no app account and no cloud intermediary handling your household DNS data.\nAdGuard Home is a trademark of AdGuard Software Ltd. This is an independent third-party client, not affiliated with or endorsed by AdGuard Software Ltd.\n","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/adguard-home-manager-vip-widgets/","section":"Posts","summary":"Optional VIP is a one-time purchase with no subscription, adding widgets, Live Activity, Control Center, Siri, richer rankings, CSV export, and unlimited servers.","title":"AdGuard Home Manager: DNS controls that no longer stop at the app","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/apps/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Apps","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/apps/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Apps","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dnshome/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dnshome","type":"tags"},{"content":"Welcome. www.ihomei.life is the home for soft-launch stories around the apps I build — what shipped, why it matters, and how to get the most out of each release.\nNew posts land here first: feature walkthroughs, version highlights, and occasional behind-the-scenes notes (no spoilers, no jargon dumps).\n","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"ihomei","summary":"Welcome. www.ihomei.life is the home for soft-launch stories around the apps I build — what shipped, why it matters, and how to get the most out of each release.\nNew posts land here first: feature walkthroughs, version highlights, and occasional behind-the-scenes notes (no spoilers, no jargon dumps).\n","title":"ihomei","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/release/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Release","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"16 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/design/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Design","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"16 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tanukibeats/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tanukibeats","type":"tags"},{"content":"Some updates fit neatly into a list of new features. Others are better described as a slow process of getting closer to the experience we had in mind.\nWe have been refining the TanukiBeats Now Playing screen again. It did not suddenly become a completely different player. Instead, it gradually found its shape through real listening sessions and many moments of thinking, “This could still feel better.”\nDownload TanukiBeats on the App Store Let the music remain at the center # The first thing you notice on the refined iPad player is still the album artwork.\nWe tried smaller artwork and layouts that placed more information on screen. After listening to a few albums, however, the player started to feel more like a control panel than a place for music. The artwork, the song, and the moment of listening deserved the visual focus.\nThe left side now gives the cover enough room to breathe. Track information, favorite, progress, and playback controls remain easy to reach without competing for attention. Colors from the current release settle naturally into the background, helping the screen feel like an extension of the music.\nLyrics that move with the song # The synchronized lyrics on the right went through just as many revisions.\nThe current line needs to be unmistakable, while the surrounding lyrics should remain available as context. Type size has to work from a comfortable viewing distance, and the scrolling should never feel as if the screen is chasing the music.\nAfter many adjustments to brightness, spacing, and position, the active line now rises naturally from the page while everything else stays quietly in place. You do not have to stare at the display, but when you look up, the right words are waiting.\nThe queue stays inside the listening experience # The right side can switch from lyrics to the playback queue. The current track, upcoming songs, shuffle, and repeat controls are visible without disturbing the player on the left.\nIt may look like a straightforward layout, but it took many small decisions: how many tracks should remain visible, how large each thumbnail should be, where durations belong, and how controls can stay useful without becoming the loudest part of the screen.\nSome versions looked impressive at first and felt crowded after an album. Others were clean but lost some of the atmosphere that makes listening enjoyable. So we kept changing things, then kept listening.\nThe happiest moment is not “finished” # Independent development rarely has one clear moment when something is permanently complete.\nMore often, we adjust a gap and listen to a few songs. We change a proportion and open the player again the next day. When something still feels awkward, we try another version.\nThen, during a familiar album, there is a small moment when the artwork, lyrics, and controls finally seem to sit exactly where they belong. The joy is not that we will never change the page again. It is seeing that all those experiments moved the product a little closer to what we hoped it could be.\nDifferent screens, lyric lengths, and artwork styles will continue to reveal new details. We will keep approaching them the same way: listen carefully, look closely, and improve one thing at a time.\nTry the complete Tanuki VIP experience # Local folders, iCloud Drive, SMB/WebDAV, and Wi‑Fi transfer remain available without Tanuki VIP. VIP adds cloud drives, library sync, cross-device playback continuity, and CarPlay for listeners who want their collection to move naturally between devices.\nThe current offer gives eligible new, existing, and returning subscribers two months of Tanuki VIP free. Apple shows eligibility, renewal pricing, and the full terms before confirmation. The subscription can be managed or canceled at any time from Apple account settings.\nRedeem two free months of Tanuki VIP If you enjoy giving album artwork room to breathe, following a lyric now and then, and seeing what will play next without leaving the music, open TanukiBeats and take a look at what all those small experiments became.\n","date":"16 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/tanukibeats-now-playing-refined/","section":"Posts","summary":"The refined TanukiBeats Now Playing screen grew through real listening, repeated experiments, and many small adjustments to artwork, lyrics, controls, and the queue.","title":"TanukiBeats: the joy of refining Now Playing, one small change at a time","type":"posts"},{"content":"Music rarely stays in one room. You may start an album on your iPhone while making coffee, then settle in with an iPad when the evening slows down. The awkward part has always been the handoff: find the album again, find the track again, and drag the progress bar back to where you were.\nTanukiBeats 6.0.225 is built around a simpler idea — the music should move with you.\nDownload TanukiBeats on the App Store Cross-device Continuity, one tap away # On iPad, the Mini Player runs along the bottom of the screen. At its far right is the playback continuity button. Tap it when you want to move the current session between iPhone and iPad, and the other device can continue from the same moment.\nIt is a small control, but it changes the rhythm of using a music app. There is no need to treat each device as a separate player with a separate listening session. The album, track, and position stay part of the same experience.\nThe iPad finally has room to be an iPad # The larger screen is not just a stretched phone interface. TanukiBeats now gives browsing and playback enough room to sit together: recently played music across the top, the library below, and the Mini Player always within reach.\nThat matters most with a large collection. You can keep the current track visible while moving through albums and songs, instead of repeatedly switching between a full-screen player and the library.\nOne library, wherever the files live # The layout is only half the story. TanukiBeats brings local files, iCloud Drive, NAS folders, and cloud drives into the same library. A track can be cached with a tap, while storage remains manageable from one place.\nCloud and NAS selection now follows the same pattern too: include the folders and tracks you want, leave out the ones you do not, and return later without learning a different workflow for every source.\nIf your collection lives on a home server, see the NAS guide. For Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, read the cloud import story.\nStill a music player first # The new continuity features sit on top of the things that make TanukiBeats useful every day: native FLAC playback, synchronized lyrics, AirPlay, background playback, and an offline-first library.\nLocal folders, iCloud Drive, SMB/WebDAV, and Wi‑Fi transfer remain available without Tanuki VIP. VIP adds cloud drives, library sync, cross-device continuity, and CarPlay for people who want the same library to travel further.\nTwo months of Tanuki VIP, on us # This release is a good moment to try the full experience. The current launch offer gives eligible new, existing, and returning subscribers two months of Tanuki VIP free. Apple handles the redemption and shows the complete terms before you confirm.\nAfter the free period, VIP Monthly renews automatically at the standard monthly price unless canceled. You can manage or cancel the subscription from your Apple account settings.\nRedeem two free months of Tanuki VIP The best device for music is often whichever one is already in your hand. TanukiBeats 6.0.225 makes changing that device feel less like stopping and starting — and more like simply continuing the song.\n","date":"16 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/tanukibeats-continuity-ipad/","section":"Posts","summary":"TanukiBeats 6.0.225 makes moving between iPhone and iPad feel natural, with playback continuity, a roomy iPad layout, and one library for every source.","title":"TanukiBeats: music that follows you from iPhone to iPad","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/guide/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Guide","type":"tags"},{"content":"Home NAS setups are great for hoarding FLAC — until every iOS player treats your share like a remote folder dump. Tanuki Beats (subtitle on the App Store: Offline FLAC \u0026amp; NAS Player) is built to index network shares into a real library, then play gapless with lyrics and AirPlay like a native offline player.\nDownload on the App Store New to the app? Start with your library in one place. Already use cloud drives? See cloud import.\nWhy NAS + Tanuki Beats # SMB — typical home shares on Synology, QNAP, TerraMaster, or a Linux box WebDAV — HTTPS folders on routers, Nextcloud, or hosted storage Same library — NAS tracks sit beside local files, iCloud Drive, and (with Tanuki VIP) Dropbox / Google Drive / OneDrive Private by design — audio stays on your phone or your NAS; Tanuki Beats does not upload your music files to our servers Add an SMB or WebDAV folder # Open Import Music in Tanuki Beats Choose SMB Share or WebDAV Enter host, share path, and credentials (save in Keychain if you want) Pick the music root folder — the app scans FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3, and more Tracks appear in Artists / Albums / Playlists like any other source Tip: keep a dedicated Music tree on the NAS so rescans stay fast after the first import.\nPlayback features that matter for lossless # Native decode for FLAC / ALAC without transcoding Gapless albums or crossfade between songs Lyrics from embedded tags, .lrc sidecars, or a shared Lyrics folder AirPlay to speakers and headphones (spatial audio when the output device supports it) Lock Screen and Control Center controls; background playback Tanuki VIP (optional) # Local folders, iCloud Drive, SMB/WebDAV, and Wi‑Fi transfer are free. Tanuki VIP adds cross-device sync and cloud streaming (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) if you want one subscription layer for sync — not required for NAS playback.\nQuick troubleshooting # Issue Try Share not found Confirm iPhone and NAS are on the same LAN; check SMB version on the NAS Slow first scan Large libraries take time once; later scans are incremental Missing artwork Use the in-app metadata editor or enable Online Library Enhancement Tanuki Beats — your music from local storage, iCloud, NAS, or cloud drives, in one offline-first player.\nLooking for search terms like FLAC player for iOS, offline music player for iPhone, NAS music player, Synology music player on iOS, or WebDAV music player? This guide is the NAS-focused path — local and cloud import are covered in the library overview and cloud import posts.\n","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/tanukibeats-nas-smb/","section":"Posts","summary":"Tanuki Beats — offline FLAC \u0026 NAS player. Connect Synology or any SMB/WebDAV share; play lossless without uploading files.","title":"Play FLAC from your NAS with Tanuki Beats","type":"posts"},{"content":"This TanukiBeats release is about where your music lives. It is not just local folders and iCloud anymore — you can sign into cloud drives directly, keep NAS imports, and play everything from one library.\nDownload TanukiBeats on the App Store New here? Read the TanukiBeats overview first. Homelab or Synology user? NAS SMB/WebDAV guide.\nCloud drive import # Under Import Music, alongside local folders and Wi‑Fi transfer, you can now sign in to:\nDropbox Google Drive OneDrive Pick a music folder in the cloud and TanukiBeats scans and imports automatically — no need to download everything to the phone first.\nWebDAV and SMB Share are still on the same screen for homelab and NAS libraries.\nLibrary experience # Your library now treats local, cloud, and NAS sources the same way: one set of artists, albums, and playlists — not a file-browser detour.\nAfter you connect a cloud account, the app jumps to account management so you can review linked services, change folders, or disconnect.\nEasier Wi‑Fi transfer # Sending tracks from a desktop is simpler: open Settings → Library → Wi‑Fi Transfer instead of hunting through extra menus.\nHelp and guides # New Help \u0026amp; Tips FAQ for import, sync, and permission questions User Guide import steps filled in (including Chinese localization in the app) UI polish # Fixed transparency slider mapping for smoother appearance controls Updated About copy and support contact details One line summary: your files may sit on disk, in the cloud, or on a NAS — TanukiBeats pulls them into the same offline library.\nDownload TanukiBeats on the App Store ","date":"4 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/tanukibeats-cloud-import/","section":"Posts","summary":"Tanuki Beats update: Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive sign-in import. NAS SMB/WebDAV, Wi‑Fi transfer, one offline FLAC library.","title":"Import cloud music into Tanuki Beats","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you run AdGuard Home on a NAS, router, or homelab box, you already know the web UI is powerful — and not always convenient on a phone.\nAdGuard Home Manager — remote DNS \u0026amp; query monitor on the App Store (portal: dnshome.ihomei.life/support) — is an unofficial native client: check protection, skim query logs, tweak filters and blocking, and switch between home servers without a browser tab.\nDownload on the App Store — screenshots, version history, and ratings live on the listing.\nNot affiliated with AdGuard Software Ltd. This is a third-party client for servers you host and control.\nWhat it does # The app mirrors the parts of AdGuard Home you actually reach for on mobile:\nArea On your phone Dashboard Today\u0026rsquo;s DNS stats, protection overview, quick health read Statistics Top clients, upstreams, domains, and traffic stats Query log Searchable, filterable log with pagination Settings Server management, protection, filters, rewrite rules, DHCP, security, network Pull-to-refresh on the main tabs keeps data current without constant polling noise.\nBuilt for multiple servers # Homelab people rarely stop at one instance. The app supports:\nMultiple saved servers — home, parents\u0026rsquo; house, a test VM Manage Instance — add, edit, test, delete, switch active server Explicit connect / disconnect — disconnect stays disconnected until you choose otherwise Keychain-backed credentials — passwords stay on device Self-signed HTTPS — approve a certificate fingerprint once, stored locally in Keychain Biometric App Lock (Face ID / Touch ID) is available under Manage Instance when you want an extra gate on sensitive controls.\nPrivacy by design # Per the privacy policy:\nNo ads, no cross-app tracking, no selling your data No developer-controlled backend that receives your home DNS traffic Connection details and preferences stay on your iPhone or iPad DNS queries flow between the app and your AdGuard Home servers — not through a vendor cloud Optional Support the App consumable IAP exists in Settings if you want to tip development. It does not unlock features or change how the app works.\nWho is it for? # This app is for people who:\nAlready run (or plan to run) self-hosted AdGuard Home Want a proper iOS UI instead of pinching a desktop web panel Need to manage more than one instance from the same phone Care that credentials and fingerprints remain on-device Requirements: iOS 17+ and an AdGuard Home instance with the web API enabled.\nLearn more # App Store: AdGuard Home Manager Support \u0026amp; FAQ: dnshome.ihomei.life/support Privacy: dnshome.ihomei.life/privacy More ihomei apps: Apps Questions welcome in the comments — release notes and tips will keep landing here on the blog.\n","date":"3 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/dnshome-adguard-pocket/","section":"Posts","summary":"AdGuard Home Manager — remote DNS \u0026 query monitor for iOS. Filters, blocking, logs, stats, upstream, DHCP, clients, rewrite.","title":"dnshome: AdGuard Home in your pocket","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you still keep lossless FLAC, ALAC, MP3, WAV, M4A, or AIFF on your phone or in iCloud Drive, you already know the pain: streaming apps want subscriptions, and generic file players treat albums like a folder dump.\nTanukiBeats is an offline music library player for that middle ground — a native iOS app where your files stay yours, but the experience feels like a real player, not a file browser with a play button.\nDownload on the App Store — screenshots, version history, and ratings live on the listing.\nRunning a home NAS? See play FLAC from your NAS (SMB \u0026amp; WebDAV).\nBuilt around local files # TanukiBeats imports audio from Local Files and iCloud Drive — folder import, library favorites, and clean metadata in one place. Drop in a folder, sync a collection, or move rips from your desktop — the app indexes them into a proper library with artists, albums, genres, and playlists.\nPlayback is the center of gravity: a full Now Playing screen with smooth transitions from the mini player, plus support for lyrics from .lrc sidecars or embedded tags. Sing along when you have them; ignore them when you do not.\nMetadata that respects your collection # Collectors care about tags. TanukiBeats includes a metadata editor and repair diagnostics so you can fix titles, artists, album art gaps, and other messy imports without leaving the app.\nWhen you want help filling in the blanks, turn on Online Library Enhancement (off by default). In the background, TanukiBeats can:\nSearch Apple Music for catalog metadata and artwork when there is a confident match Fall back to MusicBrainz for obscure or regional releases Apple Music may not know Optionally use AcoustID fingerprinting for hard cases — only a fingerprint and duration are sent, never the audio file itself Your music files never leave your device. Only search terms and optional fingerprint data are used to look up missing information.\nTanuki VIP (optional) # Core playback and library management work without a subscription. Tanuki VIP unlocks online services for people who want more:\nCloud library backup — keep a manifest of your library safe across devices Online Library Enhancement — automatic metadata and artwork repair Manual matching tools — when you want to pick the right catalog entry yourself Choose monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime unlock — whatever fits how you use the app.\nWho is it for? # TanukiBeats is for listeners who:\nOwn their music files and want a dedicated player on iPhone Keep libraries in iCloud Drive and need something that understands albums, not just filenames Care about lyrics, cover art, and clean tags without handing files to a cloud streaming service It runs on iOS 17+ and is designed as a focused library app — not a social feed, not a radio station, not an upsell funnel for someone else\u0026rsquo;s catalog.\nLearn more # App Store: TanukiBeats Product overview: TanukiBeats guide More apps from ihomei: Apps Questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below — or on future release posts as TanukiBeats evolves.\n","date":"2 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/tanukibeats-your-library/","section":"Posts","summary":"Tanuki Beats — offline FLAC \u0026 NAS player for iOS. Lossless FLAC, ALAC, MP3, WAV from local files, iCloud, SMB, and WebDAV.","title":"TanukiBeats: your library, finally in one place","type":"posts"},{"content":"This site is the ihomei product blog.\nIt tracks how products evolve during development: how features are designed, what each release changes, and why key decisions were made.\nChangelogs, support pages, and privacy policies stay with each app. This blog does not duplicate infrastructure or deployment write-ups.\nProducts covered today # TanukiBeats\nOffline FLAC \u0026amp; NAS player — on the App Store\nAdGuard Home Manager (dnshome)\nRemote DNS \u0026amp; query monitor for self-hosted AdGuard Home — on the App Store\nBrowse everything on the Apps page, or filter by TanukiBeats / dnshome tags.\nMore release notes and design records will keep landing here.\n","date":"2 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/welcome/","section":"Posts","summary":"The ihomei product blog — release changes, design notes, and why decisions were made.","title":"About this blog","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ihomei/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ihomei","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/meta/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Meta","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/meta/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Meta","type":"tags"},{"content":"ihomei builds small, focused apps. This blog is their editorial home — not a changelog mirror, but a place for readable launch stories, tutorials, and honest “why we built this” notes.\nIf you use our apps, start with the Apps page, then browse Posts by tag.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about/","section":"ihomei","summary":"ihomei builds small, focused apps. This blog is their editorial home — not a changelog mirror, but a place for readable launch stories, tutorials, and honest “why we built this” notes.\n","title":"About","type":"page"},{"content":"Products covered on this blog. Each app has its own site; articles here add context, tips, and release stories.\nTanukiBeats # Offline FLAC \u0026amp; NAS player for iOS — SMB, WebDAV, iCloud.\nApp Store: TanukiBeats Overview: TanukiBeats guide Latest: Cloud import update NAS guide: Play FLAC from NAS Blog tag: TanukiBeats dnshome # Remote DNS \u0026amp; query monitor for self-hosted AdGuard Home — AdGuard Home Manager on the App Store.\nApp Store: AdGuard Home Manager Overview: dnshome guide Portal: dnshome.ihomei.life/support Blog tag: dnshome More apps will appear here as they ship. Comments on posts use Giscus (GitHub Discussions).\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/apps/","section":"ihomei","summary":"ihomei apps on the App Store: Tanuki Beats (offline FLAC \u0026 NAS player) and AdGuard Home Manager (remote DNS \u0026 query monitor).","title":"Apps","type":"page"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]