Radio software for Linux

Everything technical about radio can be discussed here, whether it's transmitting or receiving. Guides, charts, diagrams, etc. are all welcome.
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Krakatoa
no manz can test innit
no manz can test innit
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:57 pm

Radio software for Linux

Post by Krakatoa » Mon Dec 29, 2025 2:35 pm

Hi folks,

I have scored an HP Z440 (intel Xeon, 32Gb RAM) from around 2015 that was to be retired from a CAD workplace at work...
I took it home and put Debian Linux on it. Works great and very fast, with a 500Gb Samsung SSD.
Now the question: what software would you install on it to make a good use of its computing power? I mean: audio processing, DJ playing, streaming...? What are today's options available?

oldtech
who u callin ne guy bruv
who u callin ne guy bruv
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Re: Radio software for Linux

Post by oldtech » Mon Dec 29, 2025 4:58 pm

https://www.clementine-player.org/ Clementine player interfaces with

butt http://danielnoethen.de/butt/

Icecast2 for streaming, and Mixxx https://mixxx.org/

You will probably find they are installable from apt install otherwise use the ppa's for Debian on the above sites

Albert H
proppa neck!
proppa neck!
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 1:23 am

Re: Radio software for Linux

Post by Albert H » Tue Dec 30, 2025 2:11 am

I have three Z440s. They're wonderful machines. One of them is my "daily driver", and runs Linux Mint. The others are used for various server functions and both run Fedora (they used to run Centos). One of them is a music server for my studio, and has about 40000 FLAC albums on board.

In all cases, I've fitted 480Gb SSDs for system and programs, and large spinning rust drives configured for RAID for storage. The Daily Driver has two large Asus hi-res screens connected, and I use Cherry keyboards with them all. They were redundant development machines from my old business, and I thought I'd give them a useful retirement. All of them have 24gB of RAM fitted! The only hardware I've added to two of them were some good sound cards.
"Why is my rig humming?"
"Because it doesn't know the words!"
;)

BlackBeard
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big in da game.. trust
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Re: Radio software for Linux

Post by BlackBeard » Tue Dec 30, 2025 9:39 pm

My setup:
Dell OptiPlex 3050 (i3-7100 @ 2x3.9GHz), 16gb RAM + 256gb Intenso SSD, nothing fancy. Linux Mint.
PipeWire (Qpwgraph & Cable to set the sample rate + buffer size) + Mixxx + ST for sound processing (I've heard the cr*ck** version should be working great on Linux too, just need to block it using a firewall like OpenSnitch they said) + Butt.

My streaming server (rented VPS running Ubuntu server) runs Icecast2.

Krakatoa
no manz can test innit
no manz can test innit
Posts: 123
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:57 pm

Re: Radio software for Linux

Post by Krakatoa » Wed Dec 31, 2025 10:00 am

Thanks for there replies.
Mixxx named twice. I never used that software because I currently use the paid version of Zara radio (on windows). Can Mixxx be set to run completely automated? Or is it targeted at live DJ'ing?

Albert H
proppa neck!
proppa neck!
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2016 1:23 am

Re: Radio software for Linux

Post by Albert H » Wed Dec 31, 2025 10:57 am

Mixx is meant to be used live. For automation, I've used Rivendell (though it demands particular hardware), because it's unbreakable.
"Why is my rig humming?"
"Because it doesn't know the words!"
;)

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