Get started

This is the simple, click-along path: download GopherTrunk, start it, and drive everything from the web interface in your browser — no command line, no Git, no editing config files by hand. New to the project? Read What is GopherTrunk? first for the big picture.

Prefer the terminal, or running on a headless server / Raspberry Pi? The per-OS install guides cover the command-line path: Linux · macOS · Windows.

1. Get a radio

You need an SDR dongle plugged into a USB port. An RTL-SDR (around $30) is the easiest and cheapest place to start. Connect an antenna suited to the band you want to listen to. Device-by-device advice is in the Hardware guide.

2. Download GopherTrunk

Go to the Downloads page and click the button for your computer:

  • Windows — click x64 Installer (.exe), then run the downloaded file (double-click it) and follow the wizard, just like any other program. It adds a GopherTrunk shortcut to your Start Menu.
  • macOS — click the Apple Silicon (newer Macs) or Intel button, open the downloaded file, and drag GopherTrunk out. The first time you open it, right-click the app and choose “Open” to get past the security prompt.
  • Linux — download the file for your machine and unpack it.

That’s the whole install — GopherTrunk is one self-contained program.

3. Windows only: turn on your radio driver

Windows needs a one-time driver step before it can see an RTL-SDR. The installer bundles a tool that does this for you:

  1. Open the Start Menu → GopherTrunk → “Install RTL-SDR driver (Zadig)”.
  2. In the window that opens, pick your dongle from the list and click the install button.

Do this once per dongle. (Full screenshots are in the Windows install guide.) macOS and Linux don’t need this.

4. Start GopherTrunk and open the web interface

Launch GopherTrunk (on Windows, use the Start Menu shortcut). It asks how you want to drive it — choose Web. Your browser opens to the GopherTrunk console, where everything from here on happens with clicks.

The program keeps running in the background while you use the browser. To stop it later, close the GopherTrunk window (or press Ctrl-C in its window).

5. Add a system to listen to — with the Config Builder

GopherTrunk needs to know which radio system to follow. The friendliest way to set this up is the Config Builder — a guided, browser-based editor. You never touch a config file.

Open it from the web console by clicking the 🛠 Config Builder button (top of the page) — it opens in a new tab. Inside, you can:

  • Browse RadioReference for your county/agency and pull a system straight in, or import a PDF/CSV you downloaded from RadioReference — the builder fills in the frequencies and talkgroups for you.
  • Build a system by hand — add a system, pick its protocol (for example P25 or DMR), and type in its control-channel frequency.

The builder checks your settings as you go and saves them when you’re done. More detail is in the Import guide.

Quick alternative: the web console’s own Settings page can also add a system inline, and small tweaks made anywhere in the console save automatically and mostly apply without a restart — see Live edits.

6. Watch your first call

Back on the dashboard, you’re looking for this to happen on its own:

  1. The control channel locks (GopherTrunk has tuned in to the system).
  2. A call appears in the active-calls list as people talk.
  3. The call is recorded and shows up in your history.

The Web console guide walks through what every panel shows.

7. Where to go next

From here, the guides pick up where this page leaves off and walk you through the rest of GopherTrunk, one step at a time:

  • Everyday basics — drive the console, listen and play back calls, tidy up your talkgroups, and share a feed. Start here.
  • Going further — multiple dongles, paging alerts, alias files, discovering unknown systems, and reaching the console from your phone.
  • Advanced — the terminal cockpit, signal scopes, offline analysis, every receiver, and the APIs.

In a hurry to reach a specific feature? Jump straight to Hunt (discover an unknown system), Hardening (passwords/encryption for network access), or Opt-in features (paging, aircraft, boats, and more).

If something’s not working

  • GopherTrunk can’t find your dongle — on Windows, re-run the Zadig driver step (#3); on any system, check the Hardware guide.
  • No sound when playing a call — make sure your computer’s audio output is selected and turned up.
  • Nothing is decoding — double-check the control-channel frequency and protocol you entered for the system in step 5.