Headless radio automation for Linux and Windows Server

Set it up

Install RadioMaster Server in three steps

1. Download the Linux tar.gz or Windows zip from the latest release and unpack it. On Linux it needs libasound2 (ALSA), which nearly every distribution has.
2. Run the setup once. It asks for the station name, the username and password the desktop apps sign in with (at least 12 characters), the port (9259 unless you choose another), and whether to use HTTPS and the web portal.

   RadioMaster-Server --setup

   Without a terminal, for example in a script or a container, give the answers as options; the password can come from the RADIOMASTER_PASSWORD environment variable.

   RADIOMASTER_PASSWORD='a long password' RadioMaster-Server --setup --user studio --name "My Station"

3. Start it with RadioMaster-Server. The station log goes to the console, and Ctrl+C (or stopping the service) saves everything and stops the encoders.

Options

Run it as a service

Linux (systemd): the package includes radiomaster-server.service, with the steps at the top of the file. journalctl -u radiomaster-server -f shows the station log.

Windows Server: run RadioMaster-Server.exe --setup once in a console, then start it at boot, for example with Task Scheduler (At startup, Run whether user is logged on or not) or a service wrapper such as NSSM. Allow the port through Windows Firewall.

Move an existing station to the server

The server keeps its own data folder, so it never mixes with a desktop RadioMaster on the same machine. Copy config.json, playlists.json, library.json, cues.json and plays.json from the desktop's data folder into the server's, then fix any music folder paths.

Connect from the desktop app

1. In RadioMaster, choose File → Connect to Server… and type the server's address (for example 192.168.1.20:9259), the username and the password.
2. RadioMaster asks whether to save your local session as a station profile, so your own playlists and settings come back when you disconnect.
3. While connected, a green button with the station's name sits next to the RadioMaster logo. Click it for the details or to disconnect. File → Server settings… changes the station name, sound output, autoplay and password.

Music files, folders and the library are the server's, so a library folder is typed as the server sees it (for example /srv/music). Previews, waveforms in the fade editor and the microphone need the files on your own computer and don't work while connected.

Security

The password is checked with Argon2 and only its hash is stored. Sign-ins expire after a day without use, and repeated wrong passwords are slowed down. Whoever signs in can do everything the station can, so use a strong password and run the server under its own unprivileged account (the systemd unit does). On a network you don't trust, or over the internet, turn on HTTPS (--https) with your own certificate or one the server makes, or put it behind an HTTPS reverse proxy or a VPN.

Everything else

The RadioMaster Server documentation covers every option, the data folder, HTTPS with Let's Encrypt, the web portal, nginx, Caddy and IIS reverse proxies, sound output and troubleshooting.