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Anjeleno edited this page Jul 21, 2026 · 6 revisions

Installing Rivolution From the .deb Package

For installing a pre-built release .deb package instead of building from source. See Build From Source if you want to build from a checkout instead — that page's "Before you start: OS and desktop setup" section still applies here too (OS/hostname setup, creating the rd user, installing a desktop, xRDP if this is a cloud box); it isn't repeated on this page.

This walkthrough is based on a real install of v6.0.0-rc1-2 on a fresh Ubuntu 26.04 x64 DigitalOcean droplet, including the two gaps that tripped it up and how to get past them — both real, both required, neither obvious from the dashboard alone.

1. Download and install the package

Check the Releases page for the current version tag — the commands below use v6.0.0-rc1-2 as a real, concrete example; substitute whatever tag is current.

wget https://github.com/anjeleno/rivolution/releases/download/v6.0.0-rc1-2/rivolution_6.0.0.rc1-2_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./rivolution_6.0.0.rc1-2_amd64.deb

Note

The downloaded filename uses a plain dot (6.0.0.rc1-2), not the ~ the package's own internal version string uses (6.0.0~rc1-2) — GitHub Releases silently substitutes . for ~ in uploaded asset filenames. This is cosmetic only; apt/dpkg read the real version from the package's own control data, not the filename.

Verify it installed:

dpkg -l rivolution

The rivapi dashboard is reachable at http://<this-box's-address>:8080 once the install finishes — that's where the remaining steps happen.

2. Set the audio driver to JACK — required, every install

Warning

Skip this and Stereo Tool will fail every time it tries to open its audio device, repeating an "Error opening (2 ch, srate 48000): I/O error" for both its Input and Normal output in its own Log — every second, forever. This isn't a bug to work around later; it's a real manual step the installer doesn't do for you yet (tracked in BACKLOG.md).

Launch RDAlsaConfig — Applications menu → Rivendell → Configuration → RDAlsaConfig.

Important

On an xRDP virtual desktop specifically (not a physical desktop), RDAlsaConfig needs to run as root and will fail to open a window at all with an X11/xcb authorization error unless root has its own copy of your .Xauthority — a one-time, per-machine step:

sudo ln -s /home/rd/.Xauthority /root/.Xauthority

RDAlsaConfig shows an ALSA Sound Devices list of every real ALSA card it can see.

  • On a VM or cloud box with no audio hardware (the common case — confirmed on a real DigitalOcean droplet): the list is empty. This is expected, not an error. Click Save with nothing selected.
  • On a box that does list a device (real hardware, or a hypervisor-exposed one like "Intel HDA" under some VM platforms): if you want Rivolution to use JACK — the driver path this fork supports for routing audio between Jack aware sources and Destinations — leave it unchecked and click Save.

Either way, an empty selection saved is what tells Rivolution to use the JACK driver. This isn't labeled anywhere in the dialog itself (also tracked in BACKLOG.md as a real UI gap worth fixing) — deselecting is the current way to choose the JACK driver today.

Verify: open RDAdmin → the Audio Devices/Ports editor for your station. Card 0's Card Driver should read JACK Audio Connection Kit.

3. Set Program Source before your last Broadcast "Save & Deploy"

Warning

This is the second real trap, and it produces the exact same symptom as step 2 if missed (Stereo Tool repeating "Error opening ... I/O error"), even after step 2 is done correctly. If you hit this after already completing step 2, come back here.

Rivolution's audio routing has two separate controls that both need to be set, in the right order, for Stereo Tool to actually work:

  • /patchbay's Program Source field — what feeds Stereo Tool (or every stream directly, if you're not using Stereo Tool).
  • /broadcast's Save & Deploy button — the action that actually applies your current Program Source to Stereo Tool's live audio routing.

Setting Program Source on /patchbay does not, by itself, change anything live — by design, it only takes effect the next time you click Save & Deploy on /broadcast. On a fresh install, if you run Save & Deploy first (before ever touching Program Source), Stereo Tool's routing gets left pointed at nothing valid, and setting Program Source afterward doesn't fix it on its own.

The fix, either way:

  1. Go to /patchbay and set Program Source to whatever actually feeds your streams (typically Stereo Tool, if you're using it).
  2. Go to /broadcast and click Save & Deploy — even if nothing else on that page changed. This step is what actually applies the routing.

Verify: back on /patchbay, the Connections list should show real, Saved links — both rivendell_0 output ports connected to Stereo Tool's input, and both Stereo Tool output ports connected to your stream(s). If any of these are missing, Save & Deploy on /broadcast hasn't successfully run since Program Source was last changed.

Troubleshooting

Stereo Tool's own Log window shows "Error opening (2 ch, srate 48000): I/O error" repeating every second, for both Input and Normal output — this is steps 2 and 3 above, not a Stereo Tool bug. Confirm step 2's RDAdmin check (Card 0 driver = JACK Audio Connection Kit) first, then step 3's /patchbay Connections check.

RDAlsaConfig's ALSA Sound Devices list is empty — expected on any box with no real audio hardware (every bare cloud VM). Not an error; save with nothing checked, per step 2 above.

Stereo Tool shows up as an Input under /patchbay Connections but never as an Output — same root cause as the Log window error above; its output client can't fully register until its ALSA-JACK bridge actually has somewhere valid to connect to (step 3).

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