📻 BrowSDR
A blazing fast, next-generation browser-based Software Defined Radio (SDR) receiver for HackRF, HackRF Pro, RTL-SDR, Airspy, and LimeSDR devices. Connect a compatible SDR directly to your browser via WebUSB and tune into FM, AM, SSB, CW, and more — no drivers, no native software, no hassle.
Enjoy the power of a desktop SDR platform fully within your web browser.
- 🎯 Multi-VFO Mastery Tune into multiple frequencies simultaneously! Create an unlimited number of Virtual Frequency Oscillators (VFOs), each with independent demodulation, volume, squelch, and DSP settings. Listen to multiple broadcasts without dropping a single packet.
- ⚡ High-Speed Rust & WASM Architecture Built for raw performance. FFT and DSP pipelines are written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly (WASM). Running inside Web Workers off the main thread ensures a crystal-clear, smooth UI and buttery 60 FPS performance, even with multiple active VFOs.
- 🎙️ Live Transcribe Built-in AI-powered live transcription of demodulated audio right in your browser.
- 📟 POCSAG Decoder Instantly decode paging networks straight from the UI.
- 📊 Frequency Activity Visually spot active signals and quickly jump to transmissions using the dynamic frequency activity scanner and interactive waterfall display.
- 🔖 Advanced Bookmarking System Save, organize, and quickly recall your favorite frequencies. Group your bookmarks into custom categories to effortlessly manage airbands, ham frequencies, repeaters, or emergency services.
- 🌊 Real-time WebGL Waterfall & Spectrum Monitor the entire RF band visually with an ultra-responsive, GPU-accelerated waterfall and spectrum analyzer. Waterfall scrolling and spectrum smoothing are time-based: higher FPS makes animation smoother without speeding up the history. The 512-row waterfall retains approximately 25.6 seconds of continuous reception at every target.
- 📻 Wide Demodulation Support Supports WFM, NFM, AM, USB, LSB, DSB, CW, and raw IQ modes.
- 📡 RDS Decoding on the Fly Instantly decode station name, programme type, and radiotext on WFM signals.
- 🎛️ Full DSP Toolset Control squelch, noise reduction, de-emphasis, and stereo output per VFO.
- 🌐 Remote Access Share your SDR with others via WebRTC using PeerJS.
- WebUSB — Communicates directly with your supported SDR device from Google Chrome or Edge.
- WebAssembly — Signal processing (FFT, filtering, decimation, mixer, demodulation) is handled by RustFFT and highly optimized Rust code compiled to WASM.
- Web Workers — Multi-threaded DSP via Comlink keeps the event loop entirely free of blocking tasks.
- WebGL — Hardware-accelerated FFT rendering.
- Vue 3 — A sleek, reactive UI powering complex per-VFO controls.
- Cloudflare Workers — Fast edge-deployed static assets and API proxy.
(Note: WebUSB requires a secure context — HTTPS or localhost)
BrowSDR includes receive drivers for the following device families. Driver availability does not mean every model, firmware version, or feature has been hardware-tested.
| Device family | Models / variants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HackRF | HackRF One, HackRF Pro | Uses the HackRF WebUSB driver; compatible devices using the same protocol and recognized USB IDs may also work. |
| RTL-SDR | RTL-SDR Blog V3 and V4, compatible Nooelec and generic RTL2832U dongles | Supports R820T, R820T2, R828D, E4000, FC0012, FC0013, and FC2580 tuners. Includes Blog V4-specific tuner configuration. Compatibility depends on the tuner and recognized USB ID, not just the brand. |
| Airspy | Airspy One, R2, Mini | Includes an Airspy receive driver with device-reported sample rates. |
| Airspy HF+ | Airspy HF+ family | Includes a separate HF+ receive driver; individual variants still require hardware verification. |
| LimeSDR | LimeSDR-USB | Uses the LimeSDR WebUSB receive driver with gain and antenna controls. See the Windows setup below. |
Use a WebUSB-capable browser such as Chrome or Edge, over HTTPS or localhost. On Windows, the SDR's USB interface may need WinUSB instead of a vendor or DVB-T driver. Close other applications using the device before connecting.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | TypeScript, Vue 3 (Options API), Vite |
| DSP | Rust, RustFFT, WebAssembly, Web Workers |
| Deployment | Cloudflare Workers (Wrangler) |
| Testing | Vitest, wasm-bindgen-test, cargo test |
| Tool | Purpose | Install |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | Build & dev server | Download from website |
| Rust | Compile WASM module | curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh |
wasm32-unknown-unknown target |
Rust → WASM | rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown |
| wasm-pack | Build & package WASM | cargo install wasm-pack |
| cargo-make | Task runner for Rust builds | cargo install --force cargo-make |
| A WebUSB-capable browser | Run the app (e.g., Google Chrome) | — |
# 1. Install dependencies
npm install
# 2. Build the WASM module (first time or after Rust changes)
cd hackrf-web && cargo make build && cd ..
# 3. Start the local dev server
npm run devThen open http://localhost:5173 in Google Chrome or any WebUSB-supported browser.
WebUSB requires the LimeSDR-USB to use WinUSB, rather than the native Cypress CYUSB3 driver. If connecting fails with Access denied, check the driver for the LimeSDR in Device Manager and close other SDR applications or browser tabs using it.
Use Device Manager to select an already-installed WinUSB driver, or install one for LimeSDR-USB only using Zadig. Do not replace drivers for USB hubs or unrelated devices. Reconnect the device and select it again in Chrome or Edge after changing the driver.
Changing to WinUSB can affect native SDR applications that require CYUSB3; switch back to the previous driver when those applications need it. See Chrome's Windows WebUSB requirements.
LimeSDR-USB reception supports sample rates up to 61.44 MSPS. Higher rates require a USB 3 connection and enough CPU capacity for the selected VFOs; reduce the sample rate if audio breaks up or the browser cannot keep up. The driver uses 2× internal oversampling and adjusts the analog receive filter to match the selected rate.
Choose RX1 or RX2 using RX Channel in the Radio panel, then select LNAH, LNAL, or LNAW under Antenna to match the H, L, or W connector in that receiver's antenna group. One receiver is streamed at a time; switching briefly restarts reception while retaining the current frequency, gains, and antenna path. The receiver and antenna selections are saved locally.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
npm run dev |
Start Vite dev server (http://localhost:5173) |
npm run build |
Build client assets into dist/ |
npm run deploy |
Build and deploy to Cloudflare Workers |
npm run typecheck |
Run TypeScript type checking |
npm run test |
Run tests with Vitest |
The Rust/WASM module must be built separately (requires Rust toolchain):
cd hackrf-web
cargo make build # Build for web (output: hackrf-web/pkg/)Note: The WASM build outputs in
hackrf-web/pkg/are committed to the repo, sonpm run deployworks seamlessly even without Rust installed on the CI/deployment machine.
- Connect a supported SDR to a USB port and complete any required USB driver setup.
- Open the application and click Connect Device.
- Select your SDR from the device picker; pair a new device through the browser's USB prompt if needed.
- Set your desired Center Frequency and hit Play.
- Click anywhere on the spectrum or waterfall to instantly tune a new VFO, or manually add as many VFOs as you want!
- Customize the demodulation mode (WFM, NFM, AM, USB, etc.) and DSP settings for each VFO.
- Adjust the device-specific gain and antenna controls for optimal signal reception.
# TypeScript / Worker tests
npm run test
# Rust / WASM tests
cd hackrf-web
cargo make testLicensed under the AGPL-3.0 — see LICENSE for details.