This music app learns your taste by analyzing how you listen, not through manual input. It creates personalized music stations based on your volume adjustments, skips, and playback duration, offering a unique way to explore your library and discover new music.
1.7
October 6, 2026
Two things this time: a new way to hand a song to somebody, and three bugs in the part that picks what plays next. SENDING A SONG • New button on the player. It sends one song to one person, along with a card showing what that song is actually worth to you — lifetime cranks, the plays you let run all the way, the date you first cranked it. • Those numbers travel phone to phone. They ride in the part of the link that no server ever receives, including ours. LEARNING • Searching for a song while another one was playing made Crankshaft blame the wrong song for the interruption. Twenty seconds of something you liked could get filed as a skip against it. Credit now goes to the song that was actually playing. STATIONS • Asking for an artist in the middle of a song used to kill the station Crankshaft was building around that artist, about a second after it started. It survives the request that created it now. • Fixed a split-second blip between station tracks. Two songs could land in the same slot, and you'd hear a piece of the one that lost. The engine work needs nothing from you. The send button is on the player, right next to whatever's playing.
MoreThanks! Novel was what I was hoping for, that’s awfully nice of you to say. Crankshaft reads how you actually listen instead of asking you to rate everything (double thanks for taking the time to write this, in context). If you hit anything you don’t like, I’m all ears, this is a one-person project, real feedback shapes it directly. Thanks for giving it a try! -Justin
Crankshaft is completely ad-free. As it is a free application and does not feature advertisements, users can enjoy an uninterrupted music listening experience.
Crankshaft is available for free. Users only need an active Apple Music subscription to utilize its features, as it plays through your existing library.
Crankshaft learns your taste by observing your listening habits, such as volume levels, song skips, and playback duration. It creates an 'affinity ledger' based on this behavioral data, rather than manual input like likes or genre selections.
No, Crankshaft requires an active Apple Music subscription to function. It integrates directly with your existing Apple Music library and catalog.
Crankshaft is supported on iPhone and iPad devices. This allows users to enjoy its personalized music discovery features across their Apple mobile devices.
Crankshaft was last updated on August 8, 2026, with version 1.0. As this is its initial release date, future update frequency is yet to be determined.
Crankshaft has an age rating of 12+. It also includes a 'Parent Mode' which creates a separate listening profile and visual theme, ensuring a tailored experience for younger users without affecting the main profile.
Yes, Crankshaft can incorporate artists you declare you love, even if their music isn't currently in your Apple Music library. The 'Discovery Dial' also allows you to blend new and unfamiliar music into your rotation.
