Install sdr–

sdr– is distributed as a desktop application, a portable headless server, and a container. All three run the same receiver engine and serve the same interface.

Desktop application

The desktop app is the simplest option for a radio connected directly to your computer. Download the installer for your platform from GitHub Releases:

The app starts its receiver server on a private loopback port and opens the interface in a native window. Desktop installers include SoapySDR and the supported hardware modules. SDRplay receivers also require the separately installed vendor API; see SDRplay receivers. CR-8 receivers need the vendor library.

Portable server

Portable sdrmm archives are useful on a Raspberry Pi, home server, or machine you want to access from another browser. Unpack the archive and run:

./sdrmm

The server listens on every interface at port 8080 by default. Open http://<server>:8080 from a browser on the same network.

Portable archives require the host’s SoapySDR 0.8 runtime. Receivers handled through SoapySDR also need their hardware module; native drivers do not. Run sdrmm --doctor to check available drivers and devices.

Homebrew

On macOS, both packages come from the project’s tap:

brew tap newspicel/tap
brew install --cask sdrminusminus
brew install sdrmm

The cask installs the desktop application into /Applications. The formula installs the sdrmm server and Homebrew’s SoapySDR alongside it; brew services start sdrmm runs the server in the background and restarts it at login.

The formula also works on Homebrew for Linux. It installs the same portable binary published on the releases page, not a source build.

Nix

On NixOS or another Linux system with flakes enabled, install the Tauri desktop application directly from GitHub:

nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' \
  profile install github:Newspicel/sdrminusminus
sdrmm-desktop

The flake supports x86_64 and aarch64 Linux and exposes sdrmm-desktop, sdrmm, and default packages for each system. From a checkout, the following creates result/bin/sdrmm-desktop:

nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' build

The package links to Nixpkgs’ SoapySDR core and bundles no SoapySDR hardware modules. On NixOS, select the modules and device permissions in your system configuration. For example, with this repository declared as the sdrminusminus flake input:

environment.systemPackages = [
  (inputs.sdrminusminus.packages.${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.system}.sdrmm.override {
    soapyPlugins = with pkgs; [
      soapyrtlsdr
      soapyhackrf
    ];
  })
];

hardware.rtl-sdr.enable = true;
hardware.hackrf.enable = true;
users.users.your-user.extraGroups = [ "plugdev" ];

Remove whichever module and hardware option you do not need. The selected plugins remain separate Nix store packages managed by NixOS; the application wrapper only points SoapySDR at them.

Container

The published container includes the web interface, SoapySDR, and the supported open-source hardware modules:

docker run --rm \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v sdrmm-data:/data \
  --device /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb \
  ghcr.io/newspicel/sdrminusminus:latest

On Linux, USB access still depends on host udev permissions. The repository’s docker-compose.yml also includes a device cgroup rule that keeps replugged USB devices accessible. See Containers and remote radios for a durable setup.

Stable and nightly builds

Stable releases use semantic versions and are suitable for persistent installations. The rolling nightly release is rebuilt from main when it changes. Nightlies use a date version and should be treated as prereleases.

Desktop builds check stable releases for updates at startup. Nightly releases are not offered as updates to stable installations.

Build from source

To contribute, choose a custom set of backends, or package another platform, follow Build and test.

Next step

Every installation includes a virtual signal source. Continue with Your first receiver before connecting hardware.