Shortwave – The Best Internet Radio App for Linux

Internet radio is an underrated source of music discovery. While Spotify and co. keep you in your bubble, radio stations introduce new artists and genres you would otherwise never find.

Shortwave is the best app for this on Linux.

What is Shortwave?

Shortwave allows you to stream radio stations from all over the world and offers the ability to record and save individual songs.

Technical Background

• Based on libadwaita (native GNOME integration)
• Written in Rust (modern, secure, performant)
• Available as a Flatpak (officially via Flathub)
• Supports AMD64 and ARM

Installation

Flatpak (recommended):

flatpak install flathub de.haeckerfelix.Shortwave

Snap:

sudo snap install shortwave

The Flatpak version is recommended if you want the latest GNOME Background App API features.

How to Listen to Radio with Shortwave?

When you start the app, you see a minimalist interface. A "+" icon in the top left allows you to add stations.

Searching for Stations

The search function is comprehensive:

• Not just major stations
• Also niche and local stations
• Worldwide coverage

Station Information

For each station, you can see:

• Country of origin
• Transmission codec
• Current program

With "Add to Library", you can save stations permanently.

Manual Adding

Via the dropdown menu next to the "+" icon, you can also add stations manually if they don't appear in the search.

Recording Radio with Shortwave

Shortwave automatically caches all played tracks and displays them in a list on the right.

Saving Individual Songs

With the small arrow icon, you can save a song permanently.

Automatic Saving

In the settings, you can enable automatic saving. Then all tracks will be saved – but this takes up storage space!

Why Radio in the Age of Streaming?

Music streaming services like Spotify offer algorithmic recommendations – but they keep you in your comfort zone.

Internet radio brings you:

• New artists you would never search for
• Genres you don't know
• Random discoveries that become favorites

Radio is a valuable addition to streaming services, not their replacement.

Conclusion

Shortwave is a perfect GNOME app:

• Native integration
• Clean, uncluttered design
• Solid features without bloat
• Written in Rust (modern and secure)

Who is Shortwave for?

✅ You should use Shortwave if:

• You use GNOME
• You want to discover new music
• You want to listen to radio stations from all over the world
• You occasionally want to record songs

❌ You don't need it if:

• You only use Spotify/YouTube Music
• You have no interest in radio

My conclusion: Shortwave is the best internet radio app for Linux. If you use GNOME, it's a must-have.

Screenshots