CrabBoss is a free, open-source radio automation application built for live and automated broadcast workflows. It emphasizes gapless playout with an equal-power crossfade engine, background decoding that keeps the UI responsive, and Auto-DJ continuity with a “Coming-Up” forecast. Live presenters get true PFL cueing - preview any track on an independent headphone bus and trigger it with an explicit On Air gate - while manual playlist building and stored rotations allow precise control over queued content. Missing files are detected and skipped so broadcasts stay uninterrupted.
The software includes built-in Icecast and Shoutcast source client support (MP3, Opus, HE-AAC) with TLS, auto-reconnect, and live encoder readouts, plus one-click apply-and-restart. Scheduling supports time/weekday events, expiries, named-playlist loads, dated ad blocks with intro/spot/outro chains, and an 8-pad cart wall with hotkeys. The library uses SQLite with search, health and loudness scans, duplicate flags, and watch-folder sync. DSP tools include a 12-band graphic EQ, brickwall limiter, and BS.1770 loudness normalization; optional Thimeo on-air processing is supported. The project is MIT licensed and hosted with documentation and sponsor options.
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