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 and download music via Tor-routed onion sites
• Accessibility — ORCA screen reader support, keyboard navigation, audio feedback
• Cross-Platform — Runs on macOS, Linux (Debian/Arch), and Windows

---

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-3.14159-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_3.14159-1_amd64.deb

# Or if dependencies are missing:
sudo dpkg -i xfb_3.14159-1_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-3.14159-Setup.exe
   • ARM64 (Windows on ARM, e.g. Snapdragon): XFB-3.14159-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)

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

Support

• 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.

---

Made with ❤️ by Frédéric Bogaerts @ Netpack - Online Solutions