How to listen to the radio on the Linux desktop with Gradio
Gradio is one of the best ways to listen to the radio on the Linux desktop. It can tune in to many publicly available radio stations via the internet. In this guide, we’ll go over how to set up the app on the major Linux operating systems, tune into radio stations and more!
Note: using Gradio requires Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, OpenSUSE or the Flatpak runtime.
Ubuntu instructions
The easiest way to get Gradio on Ubuntu is to install the Snap package on your machine. Snaps require no setup on Ubuntu, due to the OS supporting it out of the box support. To install, launch a terminal window and enter the command below.
Note: the Gradio snap is unstable, so, if you run into trouble, feel free to install the Flatpak instead.
sudo snap install gradio-ev --edge
Debian instructions
Need Gradio on your Debian Linux PC? Follow the Flatpak instructions below, or build it from source with the source-code instructions. Alternatively, set up Snap packages on Debian and do:
sudo snap install gradio-ev --edge
Arch Linux instructions
Gradio is installable on Arch Linux thanks to an AUR package. To install it, you’ll first need to set up the Git and Base-devel packages. Open up a terminal and use the Pacman package management tool to get them set up.
sudo pacman -S base-devel git
With Base-devel and Git up and running on your Arch Linux PC, it’s time to start building Gradio. Using the git command, grab the latest AUR snapshot of the Gradio program.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gradio/
Let Git download the code to your Arch PC. When the git tool finishes downloading, move the terminal into the gradio folder with the CD command.
cd gradio
Using the makepkg command, generate a new Gradio package for Arch Linux.
Note: building programs from the AUR doesn’t always go smoothly. Sometimes, the code fails to build, due to dependency errors. These errors are easily fixed by manually installing missing dependencies located on the program’s official AUR page.
makepkg -si
Fedora instructions
On the OpenSUSE Build Service, there is a Gradio package available for Fedora 28 and 27. However, it should work with future releases of Fedora Linux as well. To install it, open up a terminal and use the DNF package manager.
Fedora 28+
sudo dnf install https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/gasinvein:/fedora/Fedora_28/x86_64/gradio-7.1-1.150.x86_64.rpm -y
or
sudo dnf install https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/gasinvein:/fedora/Fedora_28/i686/gradio-7.1-1.150.i686.rpm -y
Fedora 27
sudo dnf install https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/gasinvein:/fedora/Fedora_27/x86_64/gradio-7.1-1.102.x86_64.rpm -y
or
sudo dnf install https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/gasinvein:/fedora/Fedora_27/i686/gradio-7.1-1.102.i686.rpm -y
OpenSUSE instructions
OpenSUSE is one of the few modern Linux distribution to support Gradio by making it available in their software repositories. To install it, open up a terminal window and run the following command.
sudo zypper install gradio
Flatpak instructions
There’s a Flatpak of Gradio up on Flathub available. To install it, follow the steps below!
Step 1: Follow our guide and learn how to set up the Flatpak runtime on your Linux PC.
Step 2: Add Flathub as a software source to the Flatpak software.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Step 3: Install Gradio via Flatpak.
flatpak install flathub de.haeckerfelix.gradio
Generic Linux instructions
Can’t use Flatpak and want to install Gradio? Building from source is the only option.
Start the process by installing the dependencies in the list below:
- glib
- gtk3 3.22.6 or newer
- libsoup
- json_glib
- gstreamer
- gstreamer-pbutils
- sqlite3
- git
- meson
- ninja-build
After installing the necessary dependencies required to build Gradio, use the Git tool and download the latest source code to your Linux PC.
git clone https://github.com/haecker-felix/gradio.git
Move the terminal to the gradio code folder with the CD command.
cd gradio
Use meson to start the code compiling process.
meson build .
Finish up the compilation process by executing the ninja command.
ninja
Install Gradio to your Linux system with:
sudo ninja install
Listen to the radio with Gradio
When the Gradio application opens up, you won’t see any radio stations. Instead, you must seek them out on your own. To find a radio station, make your way to the station search box.
Click the “add stations to library” button, and you’ll see a radio station browser. In the browser, look through and find a radio station you’d like to add to your Gradio library. Then, right-click and select the “Add to library” button.
Once the new station is in your library, click the arrow key and return to the start screen in Gradio. At the home screen, double-click on the station to tune in!
Remove a station from your library
Sick of a radio station? It happens! Thankfully, deleting saved stations from Gradio is very simple. To do it, right-click on a station in the library area. Check the box next to it, then click “remove station from library” to get rid of it!
If you don’t like Gradio, give our list of radio apps for Linux a try and you might find an app that works for you.
