Nuclear
Est. 2016

Nuclear is a music player
that's free and open-source|

Nuclear music player dashboard
Nuclear mascot Nuki waving

Desktop only

macOS Windows Linux

Downloads are only available on a desktop device.

17.4k ★ Learn more

Search

Look up artists, albums, and tracks across multiple sources. More sources can be added with plugins.

Search artists in Nuclear
Search albums in Nuclear
Search tracks in Nuclear

Playlists

Put together playlists from any source. Reorder, rename, and come back to them later. Import from any service, or from JSON files.

Nuki studying at a desk
Playlists view in Nuclear
Playlist detail view in Nuclear

Built-in themes

Nuclear dashboard with Aurora theme
Nuclear dashboard with Lagoon theme
Nuclear dashboard with Arctic Moss theme
Nuclear dashboard with Canyon theme
Nuclear dashboard with Molten Core theme
Nuclear dashboard with Midnight Terminal theme
Nuclear dashboard with Aurora theme
Nuclear dashboard with Lagoon theme
Nuclear dashboard with Arctic Moss theme
Nuclear dashboard with Canyon theme
Nuclear dashboard with Molten Core theme
Nuclear dashboard with Midnight Terminal theme

Plugins

Nuclear can be extended with a powerful plugin API. Auto-update is built in.

Nuki holding a wrench and toolbox
Plugin store in Nuclear
Installed plugins in Nuclear

Settings for everything

Preferences for everything. Power users can use the built-in log viewer for easy debugging and support.

Preferences in Nuclear
Log viewer in Nuclear
What's new in Nuclear

MCP

Nuclear has a built-in Model Context Protocol server. Connect your AI agent and let it control playback, search for music, manage queues and playlists.

claude mcp add nuclear --transport http http://127.0.0.1:8800/mcp

People love Nuclear

itismyjob, redditor

Yea this is 100% going to be shit-canned in no time. Either with cease and decists or threats of lawsuits.

Anonymous /g/ user

I used nuclear and had a horrible experience with it. It looks bad, you wait for 1 minute to play a 3 minute song, it's slow as fuck. Probably it's because of Electron, but it is used by so many people that I started cringing.

throwaway58576, HN user

I downloaded Nuclear (the AppImage, if that matters) and booted it up. Instant 300MB RAM usage. I think I'll pass.

kesor, HN user

Can I add a testimonial? Run the thing, clicked a song, it said it can't play it, removed the thing.

Rockytriton, redditor

As a musician, fuck everything about this

IllDecision, redditor

This is why I don't like Linux anymore. You guys are in some fucking sort of communist hippy paradise mode where you deserve everything now and only other people should pay for it. HACK THE WORLD!

itismyjob, redditor

Yea this is 100% going to be shit-canned in no time. Either with cease and decists or threats of lawsuits.

Anonymous /g/ user

I used nuclear and had a horrible experience with it. It looks bad, you wait for 1 minute to play a 3 minute song, it's slow as fuck. Probably it's because of Electron, but it is used by so many people that I started cringing.

throwaway58576, HN user

I downloaded Nuclear (the AppImage, if that matters) and booted it up. Instant 300MB RAM usage. I think I'll pass.

kesor, HN user

Can I add a testimonial? Run the thing, clicked a song, it said it can't play it, removed the thing.

Rockytriton, redditor

As a musician, fuck everything about this

IllDecision, redditor

This is why I don't like Linux anymore. You guys are in some fucking sort of communist hippy paradise mode where you deserve everything now and only other people should pay for it. HACK THE WORLD!

FAQ

Nuki peeking out with a magnifying glass
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. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

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.