Platforms

RadioCLI requires Node.js 22 or newer. Local audio needs a working player. The reference matrix below covers Node.js 22 and 24. Runtime eligibility, installed tools, and verified RadioCLI behavior are tracked separately for each OS version, CPU, libc, and Node release line.

Run radiocli doctor --json to inspect the capabilities of the current machine. Use radiocli setup --dry-run to preview the native playback packages and commands for the detected operating system.

Support Tiers

A package recipe, a mocked platform test, or a downloaded binary does not establish a verified installation. A Linux container exercises its host kernel; a full BSD guest exercises a BSD kernel. Foreign-CPU emulation is recorded as emulation. Each result applies to the configuration and artifact actually tested.

The upstream Node rating is a separate axis: repeatable project evidence can establish a supported configuration on a community runtime. Known runtime requirements still apply.

Doctor reports support.scope=current-installation. It checks runtime requirements and available tools without running packed-install or audio acceptance tests, and does not import a reference machine's CI evidence. Its support.tier therefore remains experimental for an unverified local installation, even when the reference configuration below is supported or first-class. A known runtime blocker is reported as unsupported. Individual capability results explain what can be used in the current session.

Tested Configurations

The required CI matrix covers macOS, Ubuntu, and Windows on Node.js 22 and 24. BSD package checks run in full guest kernels. The table describes exactly what those checks exercise; it does not imply support for unlisted desktop, audio, terminal, or hardware combinations.

The native matrix contains 12 required OS, CPU, and Node combinations: macOS arm64 and Intel, Ubuntu x64 and arm64, and Windows x64 and arm64, each on Node 22 and 24. A configured job counts as first-class only while its installation, test, packaging, and playback checks remain required release gates.

The mpv checks verify decoding and IPC through null audio output. Physical audio devices, terminal applications, screen readers, desktop window opening, and actual wake delivery depend on the user's hardware and operating-system policy. The visual regression suite verifies terminal output at fixed sizes.

Node.js Runtime Reference

The version numbers here are upstream binary or build baselines. Node.js also excludes OS releases whose vendor support has ended, even if they meet a listed minimum. A newer Node major may meet RadioCLI's package minimum while remaining outside this Node 22/24 reference matrix. The primary references are the Node 22 platform list and Node 24 platform list.

The glibc release binaries also need a compatible libstdc++; the reference symbol version is GLIBCXX_3.4.25, or GLIBCXX_3.4.28 for Node 22 ARMv7. Linux ppc64le is little-endian; it is distinct from both Linux big-endian ppc64 and the big-endian POWER runtime used by AIX. A generic arm label alone does not establish ARMv7 compatibility.

Node 24 publishes x64-musl archives while retaining an experimental musl rating. Its current release files do not include ARMv7 binaries. Use the Node 24 release manifest and distribution image architecture records to check the available build; a glibc Linux archive is not a musl or Android Bionic archive. Distribution images do not establish RadioCLI audio or desktop verification.

Additional OS Runtime Routes

These routes come from the FreeBSD Node ports, OpenBSD Node port, pkgsrc Node 22 and Node 24 recipes, Termux installation requirements, Termux Node LTS recipe, and HaikuPorts Node catalog. They describe available routes, not completed RadioCLI tests.

Installation And Playback Prerequisites

After installing a compatible Node runtime and npm, the standard package command is npm install -g @ciphore/radiocli. mpv provides IPC playback controls; ffplay and VLC are limited-control fallbacks. Custom player installations can use the absolute path overrides.

The recipes below were checked against package sources. Only the recorded configurations in the evidence table have completed RadioCLI verification. System package commands need the host's appropriate administrator access; Termux pkg and Haiku pkgman run without sudo.

Homebrew applies its own support-tier policy to Intel macOS. That policy is independent of Node's x64 runtime eligibility. Likewise, a Windows x64 media package does not establish native ARM64 or x86 playback; use an executable built for the target architecture.

The optional AirPlay sender has native installation dependencies. A package installed with --omit=optional retains the normal local-player path but omits that sender. Installs with and without optional dependencies are separate acceptance checks; neither establishes an AirPlay receiver connection. The recorded BSD guests installed the packed tarball with --omit=optional in fresh temporary projects and executed the generated npm bin link. For a manual registry installation, use npm install -g --omit=optional @ciphore/radiocli; that global registry route and normal optional-dependency installation were not the recorded guest checks.

Playback And Desktop Compatibility

These tables describe implemented adapters and their prerequisites. Tool discovery is checked separately from successful execution. Shared TUI code supports Unicode, ASCII decoration, limited color, screen-reader output, and reduced motion; it still needs interactive keyboard input. See TUI Controls for rendering options.

The Termux helper contracts are defined by termux-open-url and termux-clipboard-set. Clipboard access also requires the helper package and a compatible, correctly signed Termux:API app; Android permission and execution checks still apply.

Alarm, Power, And Output Paths

Finding systemctl does not prove a working systemd user manager. Finding a mixer or inhibitor command does not prove it can control this session. Player volume remains separate from system output volume, and local playback can remain usable when optional desktop or scheduling features are unavailable.

Use radiocli alarm doctor and Verify alarm setup for the current machine. The latter performs native actions and bounded sample playback. The Alarms guide, Reliability, and Troubleshooting describe repair paths and delivery limits.