Building from Source¶

Prerequisites¶

Python 3.12 or later
Git
NSIS (only for building the Windows installer)

Setup¶

git clone https://github.com/ragb/accessdr.git
cd accessdr
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Build Tasks¶

AccessDR uses Invoke for build automation. Run invoke --list to see all available tasks.

Fetch RTL-SDR Library¶

invoke fetch-dlls

Downloads the static librtlsdr build from GitHub. Skips the download if the DLL is already present. This is required before running the app or building.

Run from Source¶

invoke run

Or directly:

python main.py

Build Executable¶

invoke build

This runs the full pipeline: fetch DLLs, compile translations, then freeze the app with PyInstaller. Output: dist\AccessDR\AccessDR.exe

Build Installer¶

invoke installer

Runs the full build, then creates an NSIS installer. Requires NSIS to be installed. Output: dist\installer\AccessDR-<version>-setup.exe

Clean Build Artifacts¶

invoke clean

Removes build/, dist/, and compiled .mo translation files.

Translations¶

AccessDR uses GNU gettext for internationalisation.

Add a New Language¶

invoke i18n-extract
invoke i18n-init --lang=fr_FR

This creates locale/fr_FR/LC_MESSAGES/accessdr.po. Translate the strings in that file, then compile:

invoke i18n-compile

Update Existing Translations¶

After changing translatable strings in the source code:

invoke i18n-build

This extracts new strings, updates existing .po files, and compiles to .mo.

Continuous Integration¶

The GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/build.yml) automatically:

Builds the installer on every push to master
Attaches the installer to GitHub releases when a release is published

Project Structure¶

accessdr/
  main.py                  # Entry point
  core/
    sdr_device.py          # RTL-SDR hardware abstraction
    audio.py               # Audio output via sounddevice
    scanner.py             # Frequency scanner
    dsp/
      demodulator.py       # WFM/NFM/AM/SSB/CW demodulators
      filters.py           # Decimation and filtering
      spectrum.py          # FFT spectrum analyser
  accessibility/
    speech.py              # Screen reader output
    sonification.py        # Spectrum-to-audio tone mapping
  config/
    settings.py            # JSON-persisted settings
    bookmarks.py           # Bookmark storage
    bands.py               # Band definitions
    paths.py               # App data paths
  ui/
    main_window.py         # Primary window
    dialogs/               # Settings and tool dialogs
  locale/                  # Translations (.po/.mo)
  installer/               # NSIS installer script
  docs/                    # Documentation (MkDocs)