RetroNap is Antiga.net’s Napster server, developed and maintained by our team member Derik Lima. It lets you use the original Napster client to share and download music with other users — exactly the way it was done in 1999!

RetroNap is compatible with Napster 2.0 beta 6. The connection method uses the system hosts file to redirect the original Napster server address to the RetroNap server.

1. Download Napster 2.0 beta 6.
   One source is oldversion.com.
2. Edit your computer’s hosts file to redirect the original Napster server address to RetroNap. This usually requires administrator privileges.
   
   The hosts file is located at:
   

   - Windows 10/11/XP/Vista/7:	C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
   - Windows 98:	C:\WINDOWS\hosts or C:\WINDOWS\hosts.sam
   - macOS:	/private/etc/hosts
   - Linux:	/etc/hosts

3. Open the hosts file with a text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows, run as Administrator) and add the following line at the end:
   
   

   142.93.29.185 server.napster.com

4. Save the file and launch the Napster client. It should now connect to the RetroNap server.

Unfortunately, the Napster client on Windows 98 overwrites the hosts file every time it starts, undoing your changes.

To work around this, Derik developed a Python script that patches napster.exe directly, replacing the original server address with the RetroNap IP.

Download the script and full instructions on the project page:

» deriklima.com/projects/retronap_pt/

For P2P connections to work, both users must be able to reach each other. If both are behind a Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT) or have ports blocked by a firewall, direct file transfers may fail.

Questions? Join the community chat:
» chat.antiga.net or visit deriklima.com