Hi everyone,
I'd like to gauge interest for something I've been thinking about for a while: a native macOS app dedicated to recording internet radio streams.
Let me be clear upfront: this would not be a radio player. The idea is a focused tool built specifically for capturing, scheduling, and organizing radio recordings — with full VoiceOver support baked in from day one.
What I Have in Mind
- Built-in station catalog — browse and pick from a large directory of radio stations
- Custom stream URLs — add any stream you want if it's not in the catalog
- Scheduled recordings — set up recurring or one-time captures (e.g., record a specific show every Tuesday from 2 to 3 PM)
- Automatic track splitting — use stream metadata to split recordings into individual songs or segments
- Recording library — tag, search, and organize everything you've captured
- Export with full metadata — artist, title, station, date, all properly tagged and ready for your music library
Why Not Just Use What Already Exists?
There are already some excellent tools out there. Audio Hijack is incredibly powerful, and kaillewaille's Acapture is a great accessible option. But they both cover a much broader scope — they're general-purpose audio capture tools. What I'm imagining is something purpose-built for radio listeners: simpler, more focused, and designed around radio-specific workflows like browsing stations, scheduling show recordings, and auto-splitting tracks.
A Bit of Background
I currently run rRadio in a Docker container on my NAS to handle this kind of workflow. It works well for my needs, but it's not exactly user-friendly or accessible. If there's enough interest from the community, I'd love to develop a proper native Mac app with accessibility as a core priority, not an afterthought.
I'd Love Your Input
- Is this something you'd actually use?
- What features would be must-haves for you?
- Anything I haven't thought of that would make this really useful?
- How do you currently record radio, if at all?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
Comments
would be interested in this
Yes I would be interested in something like this.
Have you used fast play?
https://github.com/masonasons/FastPlayMac/releases/
this is right up my alley!!!!!!
I'd totally use this. I use audio hijack now, but there are some caviats, not all players play at startup, so if I forget to start the station playing before I leave when something's scheduled, I'm out of luck. Also, I think in addition to metadata based splits, I think we should be able to input when we want the recordings to be split, ie every 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc. Oh, boy, I would totally use this!!!!! I used to pay for dar.fm to record WTOP and other news stations just for my personal archive, since I'm a geek. But you'd have to either use a podcast player to download them, or download them one by one from the web interface, plus, it cost a lot, especially if you wanted to record a ton of stuff like I like to do. Also, I realize it would be a paid app, and I'm totally fine with that, I'd be willing to pay for the app, just not something crazy like $300 some a year like dar.fm wanted, lol. Also, might we be able to record multiple stations at once? Sometimes, when there's a severe weather outbreak in multiple states/cities, I'll be recording the stations from those metro areas for my archives.
I really hope you get enough takers for this, because I'd totally go for it. If you do, and you need a tester, feel free to message.
Interested
This would be a fantastic idea. As someone who is blind and works heavily with audio every day, I can tell you there is absolutely a need for more **VoiceOver-native** Mac apps built from the ground up instead of accessibility being added later.
A lot of existing tools can technically do parts of this, but they often feel like using a Swiss Army knife when all you really need is the right screwdriver. Something focused specifically on internet radio recording, scheduling, metadata tagging, and organizing recordings in one clean interface would be a huge win.
What stands out most to me is your approach of making accessibility a core priority from day one. That matters more than people realize. Too many apps are “usable enough,” but not truly efficient for screen reader users.
A few thoughts that could make this even stronger:
* Ability to record multiple stations at once
* Simple recurring schedules for weekly shows
* Smart naming templates for files
* Fast keyboard shortcuts for everything
* Easy export into Music, Finder folders, or cloud storage
* Optional chapter/track splitting by metadata or time intervals
* Searchable station favorites with categories
Also, don’t underestimate sighted users here either. Plenty of people would love a streamlined radio recorder that isn’t bloated.
Bottom line: yes, there is interest. Build it right, keep it simple, keep it reliable, and I think you’d have something special. The Mac accessibility community needs more developers thinking exactly like this.