A free radio player, no account needed
RustMusic is a free, open source audio player (GPL v3 license) for Windows, macOS and Linux. Since version 0.4.0, it also plays live radio: stations sit alongside your library, with the same player, the same mini player and the same media keys.
- No account to create, no ads added by RustMusic: you hear the station’s programming, exactly as it broadcasts it.
- Stations come from Radio Browser, an open directory run by its community, which lists tens of thousands of stations from around the world.
- The sound comes straight from each station’s server, with no middleman.
Getting started in three steps
- 1
Install RustMusic
Download the version for your system from the Downloads page, or use winget on Windows (“winget install rustmusic”).
- 2
Turn radio on
In Settings → Online listening, turn on “Turn on radio”. It is off by default: as long as it stays off, the directory is never contacted.
- 3
Open the Radio page
It appears in the sidebar’s “Online listening” section. Click a station: it starts playing straight away.
Finding your stations
“Most popular” shows the chart for the country of your choice, filterable by genre: News, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Classical, Electronic, Dance, Hip-hop, Chill, Talk or Oldies. In the United Kingdom, for example, you’ll find BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1, LBC, Capital, Classic FM or BBC World Service.
- Searching by name covers the whole directory, across every language and country.
- A station missing from the directory? Paste its stream address (.mp3, .m3u or .pls) into the search field, then click “Open”.
- The star keeps a station in “My stations”; the last 30 stations you played are remembered.
Pausing live radio
The phone rings, someone talks to you? Hit pause: the radio keeps coming in in the background, for up to 30 minutes, and playback resumes exactly where you left it. The player shows “Delayed” with the delay; “Back to live” catches up in one click.
The pause counts wherever it comes from: the player button, the space bar, a keyboard media key or the sleep timer.
What the player shows
- The station’s logo and name, and the current song when the station announces it.
- A “Live” strip in place of the progress bar; Previous and Next move from one favorite station to the next.
- “Heard on air” keeps the latest songs you heard, so you can find a song afterwards.
- The stream’s format and bitrate. When a station offers several (AAC, MP3, bitrates), the “…” menu lets you choose.
AAC+ streams carry a badge: the decoder only plays them at reduced quality, and the sound seems muffled. Pick another stream from the station when there is one. HLS streams, such as Radio France’s, are supported.
Radio all around the house
If you listen on a UPnP network player (WiiM, network amplifier…) or a Sonos speaker, the radio goes to it like a track. After a network dropout, the station reconnects on its own. And the computer doesn’t go to sleep while a station is playing.
Frequently asked questions
Is RustMusic really free for listening to the radio?
Yes. RustMusic is free, open source software, with no subscription and no account. Radio is included like everything else.
Which stations can I listen to?
All those in the open Radio Browser directory, that is tens of thousands of stations worldwide, and any other station whose stream address you know.
Can I listen to the radio on Linux?
Yes. RustMusic works the same way on Windows, macOS and Linux, with the same stations and the same features.
How long can the pause last?
Up to 30 minutes of radio are kept while paused. “Back to live” catches up at any time.
Does my listening data go anywhere?
Your favorites and history stay on your computer. The Radio Browser directory receives your searches and counts listens for each station, anonymously; the sound comes straight from the station.
Radio, in a free and open source player
Thousands of live stations, time-shifted pause and your music in one place. Free, open source, no account.