Radio Player

A lightweight system-tray online radio player built with C++ and Qt 6.

Features

✅ System Tray Integration - Runs quietly in the background, accessible from the system tray
✅ Online Radio Streaming - Supports HTTP/HTTPS streams (Icecast, Shoutcast, MP3, AAC, OGG)
✅ API Station Discovery - Browse and search 30,000+ radio stations worldwide via Radio Browser API
✅ Search by Country/Genre/Name - Find stations from Egypt, USA, or any country; filter by music genre
✅ Pre-configured Stations - Includes default stations (customizable via JSON file)
✅ Volume Control - Adjustable volume with persistent settings (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
✅ Notifications - Desktop notifications for playback events and track changes
✅ Auto-Reconnect - Automatically reconnects if the stream is interrupted
✅ Persistent Settings - Remembers your last station and volume level
✅ Metadata Display - Shows current track information when available

Platform Support

✅ Ubuntu/Linux - Primary platform, fully tested
✅ Windows - Cross-platform compatible (Qt 6)
⏳ macOS - Should work (untested)

Requirements

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Development Tools:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
    build-essential \
    cmake \
    git

Qt 6 Libraries:

sudo apt-get install -y \
    qt6-base-dev \
    qt6-multimedia-dev \
    qt6-base-private-dev \
    libqt6multimedia6 \
    libqt6multimediawidgets6

GStreamer Plugins (Audio Backend):

sudo apt-get install -y \
    gstreamer1.0-tools \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-base \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly \
    gstreamer1.0-libav

Optional Tools:

sudo apt-get install -y \
    librsvg2-bin \
    dpkg-dev

Windows

Requirements:

1. Qt 6 (6.2 or later) - Download from qt.io

   • Choose: Qt 6.x for Windows (MSVC 2019 64-bit or MinGW)
   • Install components: Qt Multimedia, Qt Network

2. CMake (3.16 or later) - Download from cmake.org

3. Compiler:

   • Option A: Visual Studio 2019/2022 with C++ Desktop Development
   • Option B: MinGW (included with Qt installer)

Building from Source

Ubuntu/Linux

1. Navigate to source directory

cd /root/Documents/RadioPlayer

2. Install dependencies (if not already installed)

./install_dependencies.sh

3. Build the application

./build.sh

Or manually:

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

4. Run

./build/RadioPlayer

Windows

1. Open Qt Command Prompt (from Start Menu → Qt → Qt 6.x for Desktop)

2. Navigate to source directory

cd C:\path\to\plyn

3. Create build directory

mkdir build
cd build

4. Configure with CMake

For Visual Studio:

cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64

For MinGW:

cmake .. -G "MinGW Makefiles"

5. Build

For Visual Studio:

cmake --build . --config Release

For MinGW:

mingw32-make

6. Run

For Visual Studio:

.\Release\RadioPlayer.exe

For MinGW:

.\RadioPlayer.exe

Installation

🚀 Quick Install (Recommended)

The easiest way to install RadioPlayer on Ubuntu/Linux:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/HossamSaberr/RadioPlayer.git
cd RadioPlayer

# Run the install script (builds and installs automatically)
sudo ./install.sh

This will:

• Check for required dependencies
• Build the application
• Install to /usr/local/bin/RadioPlayer
• Add RadioPlayer to your application menu

Without sudo (installs to ~/.local):

./install.sh

Ubuntu/Linux - Manual Installation

cd build
sudo make install

This installs:

• Binary: /usr/local/bin/RadioPlayer
• Icon: /usr/local/share/radioplayer/icon.png
• Stations: /usr/local/share/radioplayer/stations.json

Ubuntu/Linux - Creating a .deb Package

cd build
cpack -G DEB
sudo dpkg -i RadioPlayer-1.0.0-Linux.deb

Running After Installation

# From terminal
RadioPlayer

# Or find it in your application menu under "Sound & Video"

Windows - Portable Installation

No installation needed! Simply run RadioPlayer.exe from the build directory.

Optional: Create a shortcut:

1. Right-click RadioPlayer.exe
2. Select "Create shortcut"
3. Move shortcut to Desktop or Startup folder

Usage

Basic Operation

1. Start the application - The radio icon appears in your system tray
2. Left-click the tray icon to toggle Play/Stop
3. Right-click to open the menu with these options:
   • ▶ Play - Start playback of the current station
   • ⏹ Stop - Stop playback
   • 📻 Stations - Select from pre-configured stations
   • 🔊 Volume - Adjust volume (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
   • 📡 Discover Stations - Browse 30,000+ stations via API
   • ℹ About - Show app information
   • ✕ Quit - Exit the application

Discovering New Stations

Click 📡 Discover Stations to access the station browser:

• Search by Country: Find local stations (Egypt, USA, UK, etc.)
• Search by Genre: Browse by music style (pop, rock, jazz, etc.)
• Search by Name: Find specific stations
• Top Stations: Get the most popular worldwide stations

Double-click any station to play it instantly!

Keyboard Shortcuts

Currently, playback is controlled entirely through the tray menu. Global keyboard shortcuts are planned for a future release.

Configuration

Settings location:

• Linux: ~/.config/RadioPlayer/RadioPlayer.conf
• Windows: %APPDATA%\RadioPlayer\RadioPlayer.conf

Stored settings:

• Last played station
• Volume level
• Playback state (for auto-resume)
• Auto-start preference (future feature)

Troubleshooting

Linux: System Tray Icon Not Appearing

GNOME Desktop:

# Install GNOME Shell extension for tray icons
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
# Enable the extension
gnome-extensions enable [email protected]
# Restart GNOME Shell: Press Alt+F2, type 'r', press Enter

Alternative: Use GNOME Tweaks

sudo apt-get install gnome-tweaks
# Open Tweaks → Extensions → Enable "Ubuntu AppIndicators"

Linux: No Audio Output

1. Check GStreamer plugins:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-libav

2. Test stream URL manually:

gst-play-1.0 "http://ice1.somafm.com/groovesalad-128-mp3"

3. Check audio output:

pactl list sinks  # List available audio outputs

Windows: Qt DLL Not Found

Error: The code execution cannot proceed because Qt6Core.dll was not found

Solution: Add Qt bin directory to PATH or copy DLLs to app directory

# Option 1: Add to PATH (replace with your Qt installation path)
set PATH=C:\Qt\6.5.0\msvc2019_64\bin;%PATH%

# Option 2: Use windeployqt (recommended for distribution)
windeployqt.exe RadioPlayer.exe

Windows: System Tray Icon Not Showing

1. Check Windows notification area settings
2. Click the up arrow (^) in system tray to show hidden icons
3. Right-click taskbar → Taskbar settings → Other system tray icons → Enable RadioPlayer

Stream Won't Play (All Platforms)

• Verify the stream URL is correct and accessible
• Check your internet connection
• Some streams may be geo-restricted
• Try a different station from the Discover Stations browser
• Check firewall settings

Application Won't Start

Linux:

# Run with debug output
QT_DEBUG_PLUGINS=1 ./RadioPlayer

# Check Qt installation
qmake6 --version

Windows:

# Run from command prompt to see error messages
RadioPlayer.exe

# Check Qt installation
qmake --version

Known Limitations

• No global keyboard shortcuts (yet)
• No recording capability (planned)
• No equalizer or audio effects
• Windows version untested (should work)

Future Enhancements

• Global keyboard shortcuts (Play/Pause, Volume Up/Down)
• Settings dialog for auto-start and other preferences
• Station manager GUI for adding/removing stations
• Mini floating player window
• Stream recording capability
• macOS support