Can I use it as a background for studying or working?

That is what it is made for. Press F for fullscreen and H to hide the interface, or P for the mini player — a picture-in-picture window that keeps the scene floating over your other apps (on a computer, in browsers that support it). The controls also fade out on their own when you stop moving the mouse.

Can I change the weather or the season?

Yes. The Weather chip (or the W key) brings rain, snow, falling autumn leaves or a clear night to any city, or goes back to the weather the city was drawn with, such as winter snow in New York, autumn in London and Hamburg, or spring blossom in Tokyo and Sydney. The city sounds follow it, and your pick stays for the next visit.

How many people are listening right now?

The glowing pill under the city name shows, for example, '23 here now · 5 in Tokyo · 480 today · 12,345 all time': people with Lofi Cities open right now, how many of them are on your city, browsers that came by today since midnight where you are, and every browser since launch. The city picker shows how many people are in each city right now.

Lofi Cities — Pixel-art city nights with endless lofi music

Lofi Cities is a free web app that pairs animated pixel-art city nights (16 cities including Paris, Tokyo, New York, London, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Sydney, San Francisco, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Dubai, Madrid, Rome, Prague and Munich) with endless lofi music generated live in the browser via the Web Audio API. Each scene is a 480×270 pixel animation that loops seamlessly every four minutes, with its own weather, landmarks and ambient city sounds. There is nothing to install, no account and no sign-up; it works on computers, phones and tablets and is aimed at studying, working or winding down. Extra touches include a city tour mode that follows the night around the world, per-city sound mixers, focus and sleep timers, shared reactions, lanterns and chat with other listeners.

Key Features

Endless generative lofi music

Every track is composed on the spot with the Web Audio API — chord progression, drum groove, bass line and often a melody, finished with tape wobble and vinyl crackle. Everything is synthesized in real time with no samples or recordings, so the stream never runs out and every track is new.

16 animated pixel-art city nights

Scenes such as rain on a Paris attic window, neon rain by Tokyo Tower, snow over Brooklyn Bridge, fog over the Golden Gate, and a Christmas market in Munich, each with landmarks, local time and its own ambience layer of city sounds.

Vibe panel with 9 styles and band modes

Choose jazzhop (default, Rhodes and swung boom-bap at 68–88 BPM), piano, ambient, bossa, synth (80s city pop), house, guitar, sad lofi or medieval; set the mood chill or upbeat; and play the full band, no drums, or chords only. A new style starts with the next track.

City tour and 'follow the night' mode

The Tour chip moves to the next city every 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, or follows the night by showing whichever city is closest to 1 am local time, moving west from Sydney to San Francisco as the hours pass.

Weather control with matching sounds

Bring rain, snow, falling autumn leaves or a clear night to any city (or revert to the weather the city was drawn with); city sounds and track titles follow the pick, and the setting carries over to your next visit.

Per-city sound mixer

A slider for each individual sound of the city — turn the rain up, the traffic off or the bells down — with settings carried over to every city that shares that sound.

Focus and sleep timers

A Pomodoro-style focus timer (25/5 or 50/10 on repeat, with chime and call-back bell) and a sleep timer that fades music and city sounds out after 15 to 90 minutes, then pauses.

Shared presence, reactions and chat

See how many people are listening in each city, send floating hearts, notes, stars or moons to everyone on your city, release a paper lantern that rises for about a minute for all viewers, and chat via short 80-character messages under a random two-word name — no accounts, no links, and you can hide

How It Works

Pick a city and press play

Open loficities.com, choose one of 16 pixel-art city scenes (browsers block audio until you interact, so click, tap or press any key to start). The scene loops seamlessly every four minutes with its own weather and city sounds, while new lofi tracks are composed on the fly.

Tune the music with the Vibe panel

Press V to pick a style (jazzhop, piano, ambient, bossa, synth, house, guitar, sad or medieval), set it chill or upbeat, and choose full band, no drums or chords only. The Up next list shows coming tracks so you can pick one to play right away.

Shape the scene and let it run

Use the city tour, weather chip and per-sound mixer to tailor the atmosphere, add focus or sleep timers, then press F for fullscreen and H to hide the interface, or P for a floating mini player, while music and city sounds each keep their own volume slider.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Completely free with no download, no account and no pop-ups
Music is generated live in the browser, so the stream never runs out and every track is new
Works on computers, phones and tablets
Deep customization: 9 music styles, chill/upbeat mood, band modes, per-sound city mixer and weather control
Built-in focus and sleep timers make it a genuine study/work companion
Social touches (presence counts, reactions, lanterns, anonymous chat) without requiring accounts

Who It's For

Best for

Students and remote workers who want an endless, never-repeating lofi soundtrack with focus timers
People who enjoy lofi radio streams but want visuals, weather and ambience they can control
Pixel-art fans who like city-night scenes with real landmarks and local time
Streamers looking for a ready-made, audio-capable background source for OBS
Anyone wanting a free, account-free relaxation or sleep aid with a fade-out sleep timer

Not ideal for

Listeners who want specific named tracks, artists or playlists they can save and replay

Use Cases

Background music and visuals for studying or working

Winding down or sleeping, using the ambient style and sleep timer

Pomodoro-style focus sessions with the built-in 25/5 or 50/10 timer

A stream background in OBS via the ?obs page URL at 1920×1080

Casual browsing of pixel-art city scenes with a shared chat and lantern experience

FAQ

What is Lofi Cities?

A free website at loficities.com that shows animated pixel-art city nights (Paris, Tokyo, New York, London, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Sydney, San Francisco, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Dubai, Madrid, Rome, Prague and Munich) with endless lofi music composed live in your browser, plus each city's ambient sounds.

Is Lofi Cities free?

Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, with no download, no account and no pop-ups.

Where does the music come from?

It is generated in your browser while you listen. Chords, drums, bass and melody are synthesized with the Web Audio API, without samples or recordings, so every track is new and the music never runs out. The Vibe button picks the style (jazzhop, lofi piano, ambient, bossa nova, synth city pop, lofi house, chill guitar, sad lofi or medieval lofi), makes it chill or upbeat, and plays the full band, no drums, or the chords only.

Why doesn't the music start right away?

Lofi Cities