thanks for your response!
i had ampache running in docker for like an hour or something but can't remember why i didn't give it a fair shot. i think it was because i was still looking for jukebox mode.
how long have you been running it?
i had gonic for a bit but ended up back at Navidrome as the playlists can be edited by the mopidy subidy extension.
still haven't figured out the smart playlists lol