BearWave Logo BearWave Line Logo
Public Beta KDE Plasma 6 Qt 6 / KF6

Just radio. No bloat. Built for KDE Plasma.

A lean radio player that plays music and gets out of your way. Fast station browsing, solid playback controls, and native integrations for your Linux desktop and Android device.

Jump to Install Flatpak
GitHub GitLab

Looking for the Mobile App?

BearWave is also available for your Android device.

View Mobile App

Fast station access

Powered by the Radio Browser API. No nested menu labyrinths, just search and start listening.

Desktop-native controls

MPRIS, media keys, system tray icon, and cached state fit into your daily desktop workflow.

Strictly limited

BearWave will never manage podcasts, organize files, or scan a music library. It just plays radio.

Features

Built for Linux workflows, not for feature checklists.

Focused core capabilities for daily listening on KDE Plasma with reliable integration.

Clean desktop layout

A structured desktop layout with a persistent sidebar, compact player bar, and thoughtful navigation.

Search and filter

Quickly search by station name, genre, or country, and sort the results by bitrate or popularity.

Favorites & resume

Persistent local favorites and immediate resume of your last-played station for a fast start.

Now playing

All info at a glance: live track metadata, local cover caching, and native desktop notifications.

Playback history

Keep track of recently played streams and instantly restart any station straight from your history.

Free & open source

Built on Qt 6 and KDE Frameworks. Strictly GPLv3 licensed, completely open source, and tracker-free.

100% Free & Open Source Software

BearWave is licensed under the GPLv3. No ads, no tracking, no mandatory accounts. The entire source code is hosted on GitHub and GitLab and open for contributions.

GitHub GitLab
Go to Install

Technologies

Platform & integrations

BearWave stays Linux-first and integrates seamlessly into your desktop workflow.

Linux Platform
Arch Linux / AUR
KDE Frameworks 6
Qt 6 / QML
MPRIS Playback
Radio Browser API

System

Support matrix & project status

BearWave is currently in public beta. It is built for contributors, testers, and technically comfortable Linux users who prefer control over fully polished consumer packaging.

Arch Linux: actively tested
Android: actively tested
KDE Plasma 6: primary target
macOS (Swift): experimental test build
Other distros: best effort

Install

Get BearWave

Choose your preferred installation method. We recommend Flatpak for desktop users as it is the most secure option.

Recommended / Secure

Flatpak (Universal / Sandboxed)

For security (sandboxing) and ease of updates, we recommend installing BearWave from our independent repository. This is the ideal path for immutable distributions (like Fedora Silverblue or SteamOS) and on non-Arch distributions.

Prerequisite: Flatpak must be installed on your system. On many distributions it is already present; otherwise install it from your package manager first.

Install (recommended):
Confirm the prompts when Flatpak asks to install the runtime and app (first install also pulls the KDE Platform 6.10 runtime).
flatpak install --from https://flatpak.bearwave.app/bearwave.flatpakref
Alternative (manual remote):
flatpak remote-add --user bearwave-repo https://flatpak.bearwave.app/bearwave.flatpakrepo
flatpak install --user bearwave-repo de.nerdbear.bearwave
Download installation file

Arch Linux

AUR Package

For experienced Arch users. Due to potential supply-chain attacks in the AUR, we strongly advise manually inspecting the `PKGBUILD` before installation instead of blindly trusting AUR helpers.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/bearwave-git.git
cd bearwave-git
makepkg -si
Open AUR package

Source

Source Build

Build from source if you want the documented upstream path. Recommended for developers and contributors.
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j"$(nproc)"
cmake --install build --prefix "$HOME/.local"
Open repository
Important Security Notice
Official Distribution & Security Notice:
We only guarantee the security and integrity of our official distribution channels (Flatpak and AUR). We do not verify, support, or guarantee the security of any other third-party binary repositories (such as unofficial repositories on the openSUSE Build Service or other mirrors).

Installing from unofficial sources carries security risks, as the binaries are not compiled or controlled by the original author.

macOS (Swift)

v0.1.0-alpha.1

An experimental native port for macOS. Intended for advanced users only, as macOS Gatekeeper will block the unsigned app on first launch.

View Repository

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BearWave a general media player?

No. It is intentionally focused on internet radio and Plasma-friendly desktop playback.

Does it support non-KDE desktops?

In theory, it runs on almost any Linux desktop with Qt 6. However, integrations like the system tray and media keys are optimized specifically for KDE Plasma, where they work best together.

Is it really free and open source?

Yes. BearWave is 100% free software, licensed under the GNU GPLv3 license. You can find the entire source code on GitHub and GitLab.

Where does BearWave store its data?

To keep things simple and transparent, BearWave saves everything locally in standard directories:
Favorites~/.config/bearwave/favorites.json
Settings~/.config/bearwave/state.json
Caches & Covers~/.cache/bearwave/

Updates

Changelog

Version 1.1.0

2026-06-27

Added

  • Add Russian language support and translation (thanks to @aaly11).
  • Add a Mac-inspired desktop layout with persistent sidebar navigation, flat station rows, right-side station details, and a compact now-playing bar.
  • Add an embedded About page with full GPLv3 license text loaded from the bundled LICENSE resource and a third-party technologies section.

Changed

  • Flatpak repository signing key replaced with Bearwave App <dev@bearwave.app> (5BAA384577671E45).
  • Replace the modal About dialog with an in-app About page reachable from sidebar and compact navigation.
  • Refresh the QML visual theme toward a neutral dark palette and align the main layout more closely with the macOS BearWave structure.
  • Use the BearWave line logo asset in the sidebar and remove duplicate branding from the top search toolbar.
  • Make the top search/filter area and bottom player bar more responsive to narrower desktop window sizes.

Fixed

  • Fix German translation contexts broken after the QML refactor (thanks to @aaly11).
  • Fix the embedded GPL text failing to load in QML by loading the resource in C++ and exposing it to QML as context data.
  • Fix the About license view formatting so the text uses the available width without an oversized empty box.
  • Fix right-side station details and top toolbar clipping in the Mac-style layout.
  • Fix About-page navigation: sidebar logo returns home, header stays consistent with the main app, and search/filter actions leave About again.
  • Reduce Denglish in the German UI while keeping common tech terms such as Votes and Bitrate.
  • Restore German and Russian translations for tray, backend error, and notification strings.

Version 1.0.5

2026-06-22

Fixed

  • Fix unit tests aborting in headless CI/Docker by using Qt offscreen platform and FFmpeg media backend.
  • Fix QML resource paths so qrc:/qml/Main.qml loads in AUR and release builds (regression from 1.0.4 refactor).
  • Fix About, Add station, and Edit station dialogs not opening after QML refactor (missing property alias in Main.qml).
  • Fix About dialog version label binding and disable stale QML disk cache in development builds.
  • Fix About dialog crash when opening the license scroll area.
  • Fix startup when re-launching: MPRIS Raise now always shows the window (even without tray).
  • Flatpak: grant GPU access via --device=dri (fixes EGL/MESA warnings on some systems).
  • Flatpak: inject git build id into About when .git is unavailable in the builder sandbox.

Changed

  • Document 1.0.4 changes in README and CONTRIBUTING; run ctest and broader qmllint in CI.
  • About dialog shows app version and git build id; removed “Public beta” label.
  • Flatpak: upgrade to KDE Platform/SDK 6.10 (EOL 6.6 runtimes); GPG-sign repo summaries on build and deploy.

Version 1.0.4

2026-06-20

Fixed

  • Fix playback index for history, resume, and next/previous navigation.
  • Fix Radio Browser API race where stale responses could overwrite newer results.
  • Suppress error banner when cached station data is still available.
  • Fix search filter persisting across page changes and compact-mode debounce.
  • Fix stale list index after station list reload.
  • Fix Wayland system tray menu using native QSystemTrayIcon.
  • Fix MPRIS metadata publishing for desktop media widgets (e.g. PlasMusic).

Changed

  • Refactor monolithic Main.qml into reusable QML components and BearTheme.
  • Remove unused Kirigami, I18n, and CoreAddons dependencies.
  • Add backend unit tests for playback navigation and API race handling.

Contact & Legal Notice

Provider Information (Section 5 DDG)

Sebastian Palencsar

c/o Block Services

Stuttgarter Str. 106

70736 Fellbach

Germany

Contact

Email: dev@bearwave.app

Social Media

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This information is provided to meet legal provider identification requirements. For legal matters, please contact directly.

Legal Notices & Privacy

Copyright & Design

© 2026 Sebastian Palencsár. All rights reserved. This website is a project landing page for the BearWave desktop application.

All content, works, website design, and graphical elements created by me are protected by German copyright law. Reproduction or use of these elements without explicit permission of the author is not permitted.

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