Audire Music Player
2025-08-23
Building a Cross-Platform Music Player with Go, Wails, and React: Why Embracing AI Matters
When I started studying Computer Science at university, one of the most valuable lessons I took away wasn’t a specific algorithm or data structure. It was learning how to learn quickly. Technology moves fast, and the tools we used in first year were already outdated by the time I graduated. The real skill was adaptability — understanding principles deeply enough to pick up new frameworks, languages, and paradigms with confidence.
That mindset is what led me to my latest project: a cross-platform music player I’m building using Go, Wails, and React.
Why Go + Wails + React?
- Go brings me performance, concurrency, and simplicity on the backend. It’s rock-solid for managing data, file I/O, and system integration.
- Wails gives me the ability to build a desktop application without the weight of Electron — using Go for native performance while still leveraging web technologies for UI.
- React is my frontend of choice: component-based, flexible, and supported by a rich ecosystem.
Together, they let me build something that feels modern, fast, and lightweight, while also staying maintainable for the long term.
Why Build a Player at All?
On the surface, a music player might not sound revolutionary — but for me, it’s a testbed. It’s where I can explore:
- Cross-platform development (Windows, Linux, Mac)
- Native integrations like system tray controls or media key handling
- Frontend-backend communication between Go and React through Wails
- Designing a clean UI with Tailwind CSS
It’s more than just playing audio files — it’s about proving I can deliver a polished desktop app that balances usability with technical sophistication.
Embracing AI Along the Way
What’s fascinating is how different this journey would have looked 10 years ago. Back then, I’d have spent weeks digging through scattered documentation, trial-and-error coding, and long forum posts to get the smallest things working.
Today, I can collaborate with AI as a kind of co-pilot. Instead of replacing the work, it accelerates the experimentation loop:
- I can explore boilerplate code and adapt it faster.
- I can quickly validate whether my design patterns make sense.
- I can focus less on boilerplate syntax and more on architecture and creative direction.
The role of a developer isn’t diminished by AI — it’s amplified. My Computer Science degree gave me the foundation to reason about systems, adapt to new paradigms, and know when to trust (or challenge) what AI suggests. Without that foundation, I’d be at the mercy of suggestions I couldn’t evaluate. With it, I can use AI as leverage to push projects forward in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.
Looking Ahead
The music player is just the start. Once the core features are in place, I want to explore:
- MetaData lookup and display of album artwork and album information from wikipedia
- Library management (import, export, and search)
- Smart playlist generation (AI-driven recommendations based on mood or activity)
- Audio visualization built with WebGL or Canvas
And more importantly, I want to keep embracing this balance: using solid fundamentals from my degree, staying adaptable with modern frameworks, and harnessing AI as a tool to move faster without losing control of the direction.
Final Thoughts
Building with Go, Wails, and React isn’t just about creating a music player — it’s a reflection of what being a developer today really means: combining adaptability, curiosity, and collaboration (with both people and machines).
Ten years ago, this project would have been out of reach for a single developer. Today, with the right mindset and the right tools, it’s not only possible — it’s fun.