XFB - Radio Automation Software

The Open-Source Solution for Radio Broadcasting

XFB is an open-source radio automation software developed by Frédéric Bogaerts at Netpack Online Solutions.

Features

• Database Management — Catalog and organize music, jingles, advertisements, and programs
• Automated Scheduling — Create schedules for music playback, ad slots, and program airing
• Drag & Drop Playlist — Drag tracks from the music library directly into the playlist
• Multi-Player — Main player plus two auxiliary LP players for DJ mixing
• Audio FX — Per-player 10-band equalizer (with presets) and broadcast-style compressor, applied live (XFB → Audio FX, requires ffmpeg)
• 432 Hz Playback — Retune everything from A=440 to A=432 in real time without touching your files, or batch-convert one track, a selection, or the whole library (Database menu / music table right-click)
• Live Recording — Record programs directly within the application
• Streaming Client — Listen to any Icecast/Shoutcast stream or .m3u/.pls playlist from within XFB (with automatic reconnect), e.g. to monitor your station's output
• Torrent Search — Search music via Tor-routed onion sites (searching is anonymised; the BitTorrent download itself is not — your IP is visible to peers)
• Accessibility — ORCA screen reader support, keyboard navigation, audio feedback
• Cross-Platform — Runs on macOS, Linux (Debian/Arch), and Windows

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Installation

macOS

Option A — Homebrew (recommended):

brew install --cask netpack/xfb/xfb

This installs XFB.app into /Applications together with ffmpeg (required by the audio FX engine). Upgrade later with brew upgrade --cask xfb — or simply use the in-app update notification.

Option B — Manual:

1. Download XFB-3.141592653-macOS.dmg from GitHub Releases
2. Open the DMG file
3. Drag XFB.app into your Applications folder
4. Launch XFB from Applications (first launch: right-click → Open to bypass Gatekeeper)

Requirements: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later, Apple Silicon

Debian / Ubuntu

# Download and install the .deb package
sudo apt install ./xfb_3.141592653-1_amd64.deb

# Or if dependencies are missing:
sudo dpkg -i xfb_3.141592653-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt install -f

Requirements: Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+, Qt6 runtime libraries

Arch Linux (AUR)

# Using yay
yay -S xfb

# Or using paru
paru -S xfb

# Or manually
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/xfb.git
cd xfb
makepkg -si

Windows

1. Download the installer from GitHub Releases:
   • Intel/AMD 64-bit: XFB-3.141592653-Setup.exe
   • ARM64 (Windows on ARM, e.g. Snapdragon): XFB-3.141592653-arm64-Setup.exe
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts
3. Launch XFB from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut

Requirements: Windows 10 or later (64-bit Intel/AMD or ARM64)

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Uninstallation

macOS

Option A — Manual:

• Drag XFB.app from Applications to the Trash
• Optionally remove config: rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Netpack\ -\ Online\ Solutions/XFB

Option B — Script:

./uninstall-macos.sh

This removes the app, configuration, cache, and Tor data. Your music library is preserved.

Debian / Ubuntu

# Remove the application (keeps configuration)
sudo apt remove xfb

# Remove everything including configuration
sudo apt purge xfb

Arch Linux

# Remove the package
sudo pacman -R xfb

# Remove with unused dependencies
sudo pacman -Rns xfb

User configuration in ~/.config/XFB/ is preserved. Remove manually if desired.

Windows

• Installer version: Use "Add or Remove Programs" in Windows Settings, or run Uninstall.exe from the install directory
• Portable version: Run uninstall-windows.bat then delete the XFB folder

User data in %APPDATA%\Netpack - Online Solutions\XFB is preserved.

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Usage

Adding Music to the Playlist

1. Add music to the database via File → Add a single song or File → Add all songs in a folder
2. Browse your music library in the Musics tab at the bottom
3. Drag and drop a track from the music table onto the Playlist tab
4. Alternatively, right-click a track and select "Add to Playlist"

Playback

• Click Play to start playback from the playlist
• Use the Auto Mode button to enable automatic advancement through the playlist
• The progress slider shows current position; the volume slider controls output level

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Play/Pause	Space
Stop	Ctrl+S
Next Track	Ctrl+Right
Full Screen	F11
Add Music	Ctrl+M
Save Playlist	Ctrl+Shift+S

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• C++17 compiler (GCC 9+, Clang 10+, MSVC 2019+)
• CMake 3.16+
• Qt6 (Core, Gui, Widgets, Multimedia, Sql, Network, WebEngineCore, WebEngineQuick, QuickWidgets)

macOS

brew install qt@6 cmake
git clone https://github.com/netpack/XFB.git
cd XFB
./build-macos.sh

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt install build-essential cmake qt6-base-dev qt6-multimedia-dev qt6-webengine-dev libsqlite3-dev
git clone https://github.com/netpack/XFB.git
cd XFB
./build-deb-no-tests.sh

Windows

REM Requires: Qt6 (MSVC), CMake, Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools

REM x64 (default)
set QT_DIR=C:\Qt\6.8.3\msvc2022_64
build-windows.bat

REM ARM64 (Windows on ARM). Best built natively on an ARM64 machine.
set QT_DIR=C:\Qt\6.8.3\msvc2022_arm64
build-windows.bat --arch arm64

To cross-compile ARM64 on an x64 machine, install the ARM64 MSVC build tools plus both an x64 and an ARM64 Qt, then point QT_HOST_DIR at the x64 Qt so windeployqt can run while deploying the ARM64 libraries:

set QT_DIR=C:\Qt\6.8.3\msvc2022_arm64
set QT_HOST_DIR=C:\Qt\6.8.3\msvc2022_64
build-windows.bat --arch arm64

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Optional Dependencies

For full functionality, consider installing:

Tool	Purpose
tor	Anonymous torrent search via onion sites
aria2c	Torrent downloading
orca	Screen reader support (Linux)
exiftool	Automatic track duration detection
yt-dlp	Download media from online sources
ffmpeg	Audio format conversion

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Support Development

XFB is free and open source, and always will be. If it is useful to you or your station, you can support its continued development through GitHub Sponsors. Sponsorships fund the time spent on new features, cross-platform packaging, and keeping the project maintained.

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Help & Contact

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Email: info@netpack.pt
• Website: netpack.pt

License

XFB is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for details.

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Made with ❤️ by Frédéric Bogaerts @ Netpack - Online Solutions