Internet Radio

Bòcan plays internet radio stations from the Radio section of the sidebar. The station list starts empty. For a starter list of twelve stations, paste https://bocan.app/radio/liminal-dial.m3u as a station list (see below).

Adding a station

Click Radio in the sidebar, then Add Station. Paste a stream URL and give it a name if you like. If you leave the name empty, Bòcan fills it in from the station itself after the first listen.

Adding a whole station list at once

Paste a .m3u, .m3u8, or .pls playlist link into the Stream or Playlist URL field. Every station in the list is offered with its name intact.

Importing or dropping a playlist file works too. Its stream entries become stations, and its local tracks become a normal playlist. An .m3u8 that is an HLS variant ladder is saved as one station, not as a station list.

Supported streams

Type	Detail
Transport	Plain HTTP and HTTPS streams, ICY and SHOUTcast metadata streams, HLS
Codecs	MP3, AAC (LC, HE-AAC, HE-AACv2), Ogg Vorbis, Opus, FLAC

All streams are decoded by the bundled FFmpeg engine.

Now playing

While a station plays, the song title arrives live from the stream and the station name moves to the artist line. The macOS Now Playing widget and Control Center show the same titles.

Live radio has no timeline, so there is no seeking. If a stream drops, Bòcan reconnects on its own before it gives up.

Stream details

Click the info button in the player, or the i on a station row, to see what you hear:

• Container, codec and profile
• Sample rate and channels
• The bitrate the station claims
• Whether the station sends song titles

The details are remembered for each station, with the name, genre, and homepage from the station's headers, so the sheet works offline too.

Managing stations

You can edit a station, delete it (with a confirmation), or open Get Info for it. Next and Previous move through the station list. The search box filters stations by name or stream address.

What radio does not do

• Stations never scrobble and never change your play history.
• Crossfade does not apply to streams.