diff --git a/server/ctrladmin/ctrl.go b/server/ctrladmin/ctrl.go
index c8bd41c..1d542e4 100644
--- a/server/ctrladmin/ctrl.go
+++ b/server/ctrladmin/ctrl.go
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+// Package ctrladmin provides HTTP handlers for admin UI
 package ctrladmin
 
 import (
 	"encoding/gob"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"html/template"
 	"log"
@@ -150,7 +152,6 @@ type (
 	handlerAdminRaw func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 )
 
-//nolint:gocognit
 func (c *Controller) H(h handlerAdmin) http.Handler {
 	// TODO: break this up a bit
 	return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
@@ -272,26 +273,33 @@ func sessLogSave(s *sessions.Session, w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 // ## begin validation
 // ## begin validation
 
+var (
+	errValiNoUsername        = errors.New("please enter the password twice")
+	errValiPasswordAllFields = errors.New("please enter the password twice")
+	errValiPasswordsNotSame  = errors.New("passwords entered were not the same")
+	errValiKeysAllFields     = errors.New("please enter the api key and secret")
+)
+
 func validateUsername(username string) error {
 	if username == "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("please enter the username")
+		return errValiNoUsername
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
 func validatePasswords(pOne, pTwo string) error {
 	if pOne == "" || pTwo == "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("please enter the password twice")
+		return errValiPasswordAllFields
 	}
 	if !(pOne == pTwo) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("the two passwords entered were not the same")
+		return errValiPasswordsNotSame
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
 func validateAPIKey(apiKey, secret string) error {
 	if apiKey == "" || secret == "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("please enter both the api key and secret")
+		return errValiKeysAllFields
 	}
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/server/ctrladmin/handlers_playlist.go b/server/ctrladmin/handlers_playlist.go
index b7a633e..6d3c53b 100644
--- a/server/ctrladmin/handlers_playlist.go
+++ b/server/ctrladmin/handlers_playlist.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package ctrladmin
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"mime/multipart"
 	"net/http"
@@ -12,6 +13,10 @@ import (
 	"go.senan.xyz/gonic/server/db"
 )
 
+var (
+	errPlaylistNoMatch = errors.New("couldn't match track")
+)
+
 func playlistParseLine(c *Controller, path string) (int, error) {
 	if strings.HasPrefix(path, "#") || strings.TrimSpace(path) == "" {
 		return 0, nil
@@ -25,7 +30,7 @@ func playlistParseLine(c *Controller, path string) (int, error) {
 	err := query.First(&track).Error
 	switch {
 	case gorm.IsRecordNotFoundError(err):
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("couldn't match track %q", path)
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("%v: %w", err, errPlaylistNoMatch)
 	case err != nil:
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("while matching: %w", err)
 	default:
diff --git a/server/ctrlsubsonic/ctrl.go b/server/ctrlsubsonic/ctrl.go
index cc5bc16..9822fa1 100644
--- a/server/ctrlsubsonic/ctrl.go
+++ b/server/ctrlsubsonic/ctrl.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+// Package ctrlsubsonic provides HTTP handlers for subsonic api
 package ctrlsubsonic
 
 import (
diff --git a/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_folder.go b/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_folder.go
index 5f82c8b..b05561d 100644
--- a/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_folder.go
+++ b/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_folder.go
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ func (c *Controller) ServeGetMusicDirectory(r *http.Request) *spec.Response {
 	return sub
 }
 
+// ServeGetAlbumList handles the getAlbumList view.
 // changes to this function should be reflected in in _by_tags.go's
 // getAlbumListTwo() function
 func (c *Controller) ServeGetAlbumList(r *http.Request) *spec.Response {
diff --git a/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_tags.go b/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_tags.go
index 06300cf..49538ea 100644
--- a/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_tags.go
+++ b/server/ctrlsubsonic/handlers_by_tags.go
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ func (c *Controller) ServeGetAlbum(r *http.Request) *spec.Response {
 	return sub
 }
 
+// ServeGetAlbumListTwo handles the getAlbumList2 view.
 // changes to this function should be reflected in in _by_folder.go's
 // getAlbumList() function
 func (c *Controller) ServeGetAlbumListTwo(r *http.Request) *spec.Response {
diff --git a/server/ctrlsubsonic/spec/spec.go b/server/ctrlsubsonic/spec/spec.go
index 12cfc61..7b8c93b 100644
--- a/server/ctrlsubsonic/spec/spec.go
+++ b/server/ctrlsubsonic/spec/spec.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func NewResponse() *Response {
 	}
 }
 
-// spec errors:
+// Error represents a typed error
 //  0  a generic error
 // 10  required parameter is missing
 // 20  incompatible subsonic rest protocol version. client must upgrade
diff --git a/server/db/migrations.go b/server/db/migrations.go
index d19f395..b777777 100644
--- a/server/db/migrations.go
+++ b/server/db/migrations.go
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-//nolint:deadcode,varcheck
 package db
 
 import (
diff --git a/server/db/model.go b/server/db/model.go
index b6a1cec..9320cfe 100644
--- a/server/db/model.go
+++ b/server/db/model.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+// Package db provides database helpers and models
 //nolint:lll
 package db
 
diff --git a/server/encode/encode.go b/server/encode/encode.go
index 2d2cff6..bad408e 100644
--- a/server/encode/encode.go
+++ b/server/encode/encode.go
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ func writeCmdOutput(out, cache io.Writer, pipeReader io.ReadCloser) {
 	for {
 		n, err := pipeReader.Read(buffer)
 		if err != nil {
-			pipeReader.Close()
+			_ = pipeReader.Close()
 			break
 		}
 		data := buffer[0:n]
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func ffmpegCommand(filePath string, profile *Profile, bitrate string) *exec.Cmd
 		)
 	}
 	args = append(args, "-f", profile.Format, "-")
-	return exec.Command("/usr/bin/ffmpeg", args...)
+	return exec.Command("/usr/bin/ffmpeg", args...) //nolint:gosec
 }
 
 func Encode(out io.Writer, trackPath, cachePath string, profile *Profile, bitrate string) error {
@@ -116,22 +116,22 @@ func Encode(out io.Writer, trackPath, cachePath string, profile *Profile, bitrat
 		return fmt.Errorf("running ffmpeg: %w", err)
 	}
 	// close all pipes and flush cache file
-	pipeWriter.Close()
+	_ = pipeWriter.Close()
 	if err := cacheFile.Sync(); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("flushing %q: %w", cachePath, err)
 	}
-	cacheFile.Close()
+	_ = cacheFile.Close()
 	return nil
 }
 
-// generate cache key (file name). for, you know, encoded tracks cache
+// CacheKey generates the filename for the new transcode save
 func CacheKey(sourcePath string, profile, bitrate string) string {
 	format := Profiles[profile].Format
 	hash := xxhash.Sum64String(sourcePath)
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%x-%s-%s.%s", hash, profile, bitrate, format)
 }
 
-// check if client forces bitrate lower than set in profile
+// GetBitrate checks if the client forces bitrate lower than set in profile
 func GetBitrate(clientBitrate int, profile *Profile) string {
 	bitrate := profile.Bitrate
 	if clientBitrate != 0 && clientBitrate < bitrate {
diff --git a/server/jukebox/jukebox.go b/server/jukebox/jukebox.go
index 03390a2..be9a959 100644
--- a/server/jukebox/jukebox.go
+++ b/server/jukebox/jukebox.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ package jukebox
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"sync"
@@ -89,7 +90,9 @@ func (j *Jukebox) Listen() error {
 		case update := <-j.updates:
 			j.doUpdate(update)
 		case speaker := <-j.speaker:
-			j.doUpdateSpeaker(speaker)
+			if err := j.doUpdateSpeaker(speaker); err != nil {
+				log.Printf("error in jukebox: %v", err)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/server/lastfm/lastfm.go b/server/lastfm/lastfm.go
index 5a414ef..809f2b5 100644
--- a/server/lastfm/lastfm.go
+++ b/server/lastfm/lastfm.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/md5"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/xml"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ var (
 	client  = &http.Client{
 		Timeout: 10 * time.Second,
 	}
+	ErrLastFM = errors.New("last.fm error")
 )
 
 // TODO: remove this package's dependency on models/db
@@ -54,7 +56,7 @@ func makeRequest(method string, params url.Values) (LastFM, error) {
 		return LastFM{}, fmt.Errorf("decoding: %w", err)
 	}
 	if lastfm.Error.Code != 0 {
-		return LastFM{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing: %v", lastfm.Error.Value)
+		return LastFM{}, fmt.Errorf("%v: %w", lastfm.Error.Value, ErrLastFM)
 	}
 	return lastfm, nil
 }
diff --git a/server/scanner/scanner.go b/server/scanner/scanner.go
index c0c4e67..574ff0b 100644
--- a/server/scanner/scanner.go
+++ b/server/scanner/scanner.go
@@ -23,17 +23,18 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	ErrStatingItem = errors.New("stating item")
-	ErrReadingTags = errors.New("reading tags")
+	ErrAlreadyScanning = errors.New("already scanning")
+	ErrStatingItem     = errors.New("could not stat item")
+	ErrReadingTags     = errors.New("could not read tags")
 )
 
 func durSince(t time.Time) time.Duration {
 	return time.Since(t).Truncate(10 * time.Microsecond)
 }
 
-// decoded converts a string to it's latin equivalent. it will
-// be used by the model's *UDec fields, and is only set if it
-// differs from the original. the fields are used for searching
+// decoded converts a string to it's latin equivalent.
+// it will be used by the model's *UDec fields, and is only set if it
+// differs from the original. the fields are used for searching.
 func decoded(in string) string {
 	if u := unidecode.Unidecode(in); u != in {
 		return u
@@ -236,7 +237,7 @@ var coverFilenames = map[string]struct{}{
 func (s *Scanner) callbackItem(fullPath string, info *godirwalk.Dirent) error {
 	stat, err := os.Stat(fullPath)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("stating: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %v", ErrStatingItem, err)
 	}
 	relPath, err := filepath.Rel(s.musicPath, fullPath)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/server/scanner/scanner_test.go b/server/scanner/scanner_test.go
index aee0e06..24708d4 100644
--- a/server/scanner/scanner_test.go
+++ b/server/scanner/scanner_test.go
@@ -40,17 +40,17 @@ func resetTablesPause(db *db.DB, b *testing.B) {
 func BenchmarkScanFresh(b *testing.B) {
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
 		resetTablesPause(testScanner.db, b)
-		testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
+		_ = testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
 	}
 }
 
 func BenchmarkScanIncremental(b *testing.B) {
 	// do a full scan and reset
-	testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
+	_ = testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
 	b.ResetTimer()
 	// do the inc scans
 	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
-		testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
+		_ = testScanner.Start(ScanOptions{})
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/server/server.go b/server/server.go
index 2464723..1d68d40 100644
--- a/server/server.go
+++ b/server/server.go
@@ -179,11 +179,11 @@ func setupSubsonic(r *mux.Router, ctrl *ctrlsubsonic.Controller) {
 }
 
 type (
-	funcExecute   func() error
-	funcInterrupt func(error)
+	FuncExecute   func() error
+	FuncInterrupt func(error)
 )
 
-func (s *Server) StartHTTP(listenAddr string) (funcExecute, funcInterrupt) {
+func (s *Server) StartHTTP(listenAddr string) (FuncExecute, FuncInterrupt) {
 	list := &http.Server{
 		Addr:         listenAddr,
 		Handler:      s.router,
@@ -196,11 +196,11 @@ func (s *Server) StartHTTP(listenAddr string) (funcExecute, funcInterrupt) {
 			return list.ListenAndServe()
 		}, func(_ error) {
 			// stop job
-			list.Close()
+			_ = list.Close()
 		}
 }
 
-func (s *Server) StartScanTicker(dur time.Duration) (funcExecute, funcInterrupt) {
+func (s *Server) StartScanTicker(dur time.Duration) (FuncExecute, FuncInterrupt) {
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(dur)
 	done := make(chan struct{})
 	waitFor := func() error {
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ func (s *Server) StartScanTicker(dur time.Duration) (funcExecute, funcInterrupt)
 		}
 }
 
-func (s *Server) StartJukebox() (funcExecute, funcInterrupt) {
+func (s *Server) StartJukebox() (FuncExecute, FuncInterrupt) {
 	return func() error {
 			log.Printf("starting job 'jukebox'\n")
 			return s.jukebox.Listen()