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rtl_433: Decode Radio Transmissions

Decode 433mhz signals with rtl_433, useful for IoT and sensor projects, 7.5k+ GitHub stars

From the repo · “Program to decode radio transmissions from devices on the ISM bands (and other frequencies)”

intermediate⏱ 1-2 hours💵 Free
7,894 stars+17★ this week1,598 forksCGuide quality 9/10 · reviewed Jun 29Updated 10/20/2026100% free · open source
What it is

Decodes radio transmissions from devices on specific frequencies.

Real use case example

"A hobbyist inventor wants to monitor the temperature of a greenhouse. They set up a rtl_433 service, point it at the sensor on a weather station, and connect it to their home automation system to send alerts when the temperature gets too high."

Best insideSelf-hostedAny AI Client
When to use it
  • •You need to reverse-engineer or decode signals from a specific 433mhz device
  • •You want to integrate 433mhz sensors into your IoT project
  • •You're looking for a way to monitor and analyze 433mhz radio traffic
Ready-to-paste prompt
./rtl_433 -f 433.92M -R 33 -c config.json | tee output.txt
Heads up: rtl_433 requires a compatible SDR device, such as an RTL2832-based USB dongle, and may require additional setup or drivers to be installed
Saves to your device
Use with Claude
New

Skip the builder — one click puts this in Claude, Cursor, Antigravity and more.

🛠️ Technical setup

Expect 20–40 minutes in a terminal — or let your AI agent drive it.

Try it instantly — no install
Claude Code
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/rtl-433 && curl -fsSL https://workflowstacks.com/api/skills/rtl-433/claude-skill -o ~/.claude/skills/rtl-433/SKILL.md
Open in another AI app

Opens the app with this repo with the prompt ready to go — no copy-paste needed.

Connect the whole catalog (MCP)
claude mcp add --transport http workflowstacks https://workflowstacks.com/api/mcp

Adds a WorkflowStacks connector to Claude Code: search and load any skill here by chatting.

How rtl_433: Decode Radio Transmissions works
Codeflow
Free to inspect

Rtl_433: Decode Radio Transmissions is a very large C project (~97k lines across 461 code files, plus 12 test files). It is a full software project: use it through its install path rather than reading it end to end. Last commit this month, GPL-2.0 license, has a test suite.

Size
Very large codebase
~97k lines · 461 code files · days to read — use, don't read
Setup
Developer setup
A real software project. Use it via its install path; don't expect to read it all.
Runs on
C
No API keys detected
C 92%C++ 5%CMake 1%Shell 1%Python 1%
Where to start reading
  1. 1
    README.md
    Start here — what it does and how to install it
  2. 2
    src/abuf.c
    Inside src/ — the main logic begins here
  3. 3
    examples/README.md
    A worked example — copy this to get going
What's in each folder
src/Core code — the actual logic388 files
examples/Examples you can copy23 files
docs/Documentation18 files
conf/Folder72 files
include/Folder54 files
cmake/Folder11 files
man/Folder1 files
tools/Helper scripts1 files
READMEHas testsDocumentedCI checksExamples includedGPL-2.0 licenseUpdated this month
Quick Actions
Details
Creator
merbanan
Language
C
Category
local-ai
Published
1/19/2013

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Featured on WorkflowStacks
[![Featured on WorkflowStacks](https://workflowstacks.com/api/badge/rtl-433.svg)](https://workflowstacks.com/skills/rtl-433?utm_source=github&utm_medium=badge)
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