What is Airwave?

Airwave is a self-hosted shared radio application that turns music links from YouTube, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Spotify playlists, and direct audio URLs into a single live MP3 stream. Multiple listeners hear the exact same audio in perfect sync across browsers and Sonos speakers. It features a collaborative queue with drag-and-reorder, playlist management with auto-sync from imported sources, local file browsing, and optional WLED light synchronization via LedFX. The stack uses FastAPI, Vue 3, yt-dlp, ffmpeg, and SQLite. It runs via Docker (recommended with host networking for Sonos discovery) or docker-compose, exposing the web UI on port 8000 and an optional SendSpin synchronization port on 8927. No user accounts or authentication are required.

Should you self-host Airwave?

Airwave scores 45/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #32 of 59 in Music Streaming. It has 139 GitHub stars.

It shipped 1 stable release in the past year. The latest, v1.0.0, came out on 14 April 2026.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is koel (75/100, 17 318 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Airwave vs koel side by side.

Features

Collaborative queue
Local file browsing
Multi-source playback
Playlist auto-sync
Playlist Management
SendSpin synchronized playback
Shared live audio stream
Sonos integration
Spotify playlist import
WLED/LedFX light sync

How to install Airwave

Install Airwave with Docker

Environment variables

AIRWAVE_HOST, AIRWAVE_PORT, AIRWAVE_PUBLIC_BASE_URL, AIRWAVE_FFMPEG_PATH, AIRWAVE_FFPROBE_PATH, AIRWAVE_YT_DLP_PATH, AIRWAVE_DENO_PATH, AIRWAVE_LOCAL_MEDIA_ROOTS, AIRWAVE_MP3_BITRATE, AIRWAVE_CHUNK_SIZE, AIRWAVE_STREAM_QUEUE_SIZE, AIRWAVE_LOG_LEVEL, AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_ENABLED, AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_PORT, AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_NAME, AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_MDNS_ENABLED, AIRWAVE_PLAYLIST_SYNC_INTERVAL_SECONDS, AIRWAVE_PLAYLIST_SYNC_MAX_CONCURRENT

docker run -d -p 8000:8000 ghcr.io/76696265636f646572/airwave

For full Sonos functionality, use host networking: network_mode: host

How to configure Airwave

AIRWAVE_CHUNK_SIZE4096Bytes read from ffmpeg stdout per pull into shared stream
Bytes read from ffmpeg stdout per pull into shared stream
AIRWAVE_DENO_PATH./bin/denoPath to deno executable
Path to deno executable
AIRWAVE_FFMPEG_PATH./bin/ffmpegPath to ffmpeg executable
Path to ffmpeg executable
AIRWAVE_FFPROBE_PATH./bin/ffprobePath to ffprobe executable
Path to ffprobe executable
AIRWAVE_HOST0.0.0.0Host address to bind the server
Host address to bind the server
AIRWAVE_LOCAL_MEDIA_ROOTSComma-separated or JSON array of server-side directories for local media browsing
Comma-separated or JSON array of server-side directories for local media browsing
AIRWAVE_LOG_LEVELinfoLogging level
Logging level
AIRWAVE_MP3_BITRATE128kMP3 bitrate for the shared stream
MP3 bitrate for the shared stream
AIRWAVE_PLAYLIST_SYNC_INTERVAL_SECONDS3600Target seconds between playlist auto-sync passes (minimum 30)
Target seconds between playlist auto-sync passes (minimum 30)
AIRWAVE_PLAYLIST_SYNC_MAX_CONCURRENT2Max playlists to sync concurrently within a pass (1-10)
Max playlists to sync concurrently within a pass (1-10)
AIRWAVE_PORT8000Port for the web UI and API
Port for the web UI and API
AIRWAVE_PUBLIC_BASE_URLPublic base URL for the service (required for Sonos and sharing)
Public base URL for the service (required for Sonos and sharing)
AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_ENABLEDtrueEnable SendSpin for browser clients and synchronized playback
Enable SendSpin for browser clients and synchronized playback
AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_MDNS_ENABLEDtrueEnable mDNS discovery for SendSpin
Enable mDNS discovery for SendSpin
AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_NAMEAirwaveName for SendSpin service
Name for SendSpin service
AIRWAVE_SENDSPIN_PORT8927Port for SendSpin synchronized playback
Port for SendSpin synchronized playback
AIRWAVE_STREAM_QUEUE_SIZE16Max depth of in-memory buffer between ffmpeg and listeners
Max depth of in-memory buffer between ffmpeg and listeners
AIRWAVE_YT_DLP_PATH./bin/yt-dlpPath to yt-dlp executable
Path to yt-dlp executable