Nuclear
Streaming music player that finds free music for you
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What is Nuclear?
Nuclear is a free, open-source desktop music player that streams music from multiple free internet sources without ads or tracking. It pulls content from platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, Jamendo, and Audius, allowing users to search for any song or artist, build playlists, and start listening immediately. The player features a plugin-based architecture where users install plugins to add music sources, lyrics providers, and discovery features.
Key features include cross-platform support for Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (Flatpak, AUR, AppImage), unlimited song downloads powered by YouTube, real-time lyrics, last.fm scrobbling, audio normalization, radio mode for automatic similar track queuing, browsing by genre and popularity, song queue that persists across restarts, and the ability to import/export playlists as JSON files. The built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server allows AI agents to control playback, search, and playlist management.
Nuclear is designed for users who want a free Spotify-like experience with a huge library, privacy-conscious listeners who want no trackers or ads, power users who appreciate customization through plugins and themes, and anyone who wants to stream and play local files within a single client. The application is released under the AGPL-3.0 license, making the entire codebase publicly auditable on GitHub.
Nuclear pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Completely free and open-source under the AGPL-3.0 license. There are no ads, no trackers, no premium tier, and no in-app purchases. Anyone can download, use, and audit the source code. All features are available at no cost.
Nuclear pros
- Completely free with no ads, trackers, or premium tier
- Open-source under AGPL-3.0 license with auditable code
- Streams from multiple sources: YouTube, SoundCloud, Jamendo, Audius
- Cross-platform: Windows, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Linux
- Plugin system for easy addition of more streaming sources
- Unlimited song downloads powered by YouTube
- Stream and play local files within a single client
- Built-in last.fm scrobbling with now playing status
- Real-time lyrics support
- Audio normalization for consistent volume
- Radio mode automatically queues similar tracks
- Browsing by genre and popularity
- Playlist import/export as JSON files
- Built-in MCP server for AI agent control
- Built-in themes with community theme store support
- No account required to use
- Queue persists across application restarts
- YouTube SponsorBlock integration for skipping sponsored segments
Nuclear cons
- Desktop only - no official Android or iOS version
- Resource intensive with high RAM usage (around 300MB)
- Slow performance due to Electron framework
- Search can be slow with inaccurate results
- Half the time playing songs fails with JavaScript errors
- Some songs cannot be played at all
- Lyrics often not displayed for many tracks
- Requires ongoing maintenance as plugins break frequently
- Auto-update not built-in for plugins in current version
- Automatic song lookup can be dodgy sometimes
Frequently asked questions about Nuclear
Is Nuclear music player free?
Yes. Nuclear is completely free and open-source, released under the AGPL-3.0 license. There are no ads, no trackers, no premium tier, and no in-app purchases. Anyone can download it, use it, and audit the source code.
What is Nuclear music player?
Nuclear is a free, open-source music player without ads or tracking. Search for any song or artist, build playlists, and start listening. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and streams music from free sources like YouTube, SoundCloud, Jamendo, and Audius.
Is Nuclear music player safe?
Yes. Nuclear is open source, so the entire code is publicly auditable on GitHub. Releases are built by GitHub Actions from the public repository. There is no telemetry, no analytics, and no data collection.
Is Nuclear music player available for Android?
No. Nuclear is a desktop application, available for Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (Flatpak, AUR, AppImage, and others). There is no official Android or iOS version.
How do I install Nuclear?
Download the latest release for your platform from the GitHub releases page. Linux users can also install Nuclear from Flathub, the AUR, or as an AppImage, while Windows users can use winget, and Mac users can use homebrew. Full installation instructions are available in the documentation.
What music sources does Nuclear support?
Nuclear supports streaming from YouTube (including SponsorBlock integration), Jamendo, Audius, and SoundCloud. Metadata is powered by Last.fm and Discogs. Users can install additional plugins from the plugin store to add more sources.
Does Nuclear require an account?
No. Nuclear has no accounts, no ads, no Code of Conduct (CoC), and no Contributor License Agreement (CLA). You can use the player immediately after installation without creating any account.
Can I download songs with Nuclear?
Yes. Nuclear offers unlimited downloads powered by YouTube. Click the DOWNLOAD tab to view downloaded MP3 files on your computer. This feature allows you to save songs locally for offline listening.
How does the plugin system work?
A fresh Nuclear install comes without any plugins installed. You need to install plugins from the store to get music sources. Plugins register providers: metadata providers for searching, streaming providers for audio, dashboard providers for recommendations, discovery providers for track suggestions, and playlist providers for importing external playlists. You can install multiple plugins and choose which providers are active.
What is the MCP feature in Nuclear?
Nuclear has a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you connect your AI agent to control playback, search for music, manage queues and playlists. You can add it using the command: claude mcp add nuclear --transport http http://127.0.0.1:8800/mcp