Documentation

Install LoveLofi from the Chrome Web Store. After installing, click the extension icon in your toolbar to open the popup player.

1. Click the LoveLofi icon in your browser toolbar
2. Choose a radio station from the station list
3. Press play — you're listening to lo-fi radio!
4. Explore presets or tweak individual effects

Every free user gets 5 hours of full Premium playback and 3 exports each week — no signup, no credit card. The trial resets every Monday at midnight in your local timezone.

The meter only counts down while a Premium feature is actively producing audio: Tab Audio capture, system audio capture (desktop), the lo-fi generator, or a Premium-only station. Listening to free stations or using free effects does not consume trial time.

What you'll see

• A thin trial meter strip above the popup header shows your remaining time
• Premium-gated items show a small ✦ sparkle while your trial has time left, and a 🔒 lock once it runs out
• When the trial runs out mid-listening, the audio fades out gracefully rather than cutting
• A one-time toast surfaces the next time you open the popup, explaining what happened and when the trial resets

LoveLofi includes 30 built-in radio stations tuned toward lo-fi, chillhop, ambient, lounge, synthwave, and late-night focus listening.

Nine of them are free; the full 30-station library unlocks with Premium. Your free weekly trial gives you access to the Premium stations too — see the Free Trial section.

The built-in station catalog can also be refreshed remotely, which lets LoveLofi replace dead streams and improve the lineup without waiting for a browser store release.

Adding Custom Stations

Premium can add custom stations by providing a direct stream URL (Icecast or Shoutcast format). Navigate to the station list, click "Add Custom Station", and enter your stream URL and station name.

LoveLofi processes audio through a chain of 12 real-time effects using the Web Audio API. Each effect has an enable toggle and an intensity slider (0-100%).

All built-in effects are available in free mode. Premium is focused on applying LoveLofi to your own audio sources via capture and export workflows.

Core Effects

• Low-Pass Filter — Rolls off high frequencies for warmth. Higher intensity = more muffled.
• Reverb — Adds room ambience using a synthetic impulse response.

Additional Effects

• High-Pass Filter — Cuts low frequencies for a thinner, "through the wall" sound.
• Tape Saturation — Adds warm analog-style harmonic distortion.
• Bitcrusher — Reduces bit depth for retro digital crunch.
• Chorus — Gentle pitch modulation for shimmer and width.
• Vinyl Crackle — Adds vinyl surface noise (mixes in parallel).
• Pitch Wobble — Simulates tape wow and flutter.
• Stereo Drift — Subtle stereo field movement.
• Dropout — Random brief volume dips, like worn tape.
• Slowdown — Simulates slowing/dying tape speed.
• Vocal Cut — Attenuates center-panned vocals.

Effects Chain Order

Effects are processed in a fixed chain: Low-Pass → High-Pass → Vocal Cut → Tape Saturation → Bitcrusher → Reverb → Chorus → Pitch Wobble → Stereo Drift → Dropout → Slowdown → Output. Vinyl Crackle mixes into the output in parallel.

Presets are pre-configured effect combinations that instantly set a mood. LoveLofi includes 25+ built-in presets across subtle, tape, vinyl, room, dreamy, degraded, and atmospheric categories.

Built-in presets are available in free mode. Premium is about deeper workflows like capture, upload/export, premium preset packs, and smoother station switching.

LoveLofi also suggests a preset based on the time of day: Dreamy in the morning, Rainy Cafe in the afternoon, Late Night Study in the evening, and Old Cassette late at night.

Tab Audio is a premium feature that captures audio from any browser tab and routes it through the LoveLofi effects chain. Listen to Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, or any website with lo-fi effects applied in real-time.

1. Open the LoveLofi popup and switch to the "Tab Audio" tab
2. Click "Capture Tab Audio" — the current tab's audio will be captured
3. Apply presets or tweak effects as usual
4. Click "Stop Capture" when done

Note: Tab capture uses the tabCapture permission and runs through an offscreen document as required by Manifest V3.

LoveLofi can open in a real always-on-top floating window using your browser's Document Picture-in-Picture API. The PiP window stays visible while you switch tabs or apps, with the full popup controls.

Open the PiP window in either of two ways:

1. Press the keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
2. Click the PiP button in the popup

The shortcut is the most reliable path — it grants the active tab the transient activation Chrome requires to open a true PiP window. The popup button tries the same approach and falls back to a regular popup window if the active tab can't host PiP (chrome:// pages, no active tab, etc.).

Change the default shortcut at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Upload mode lets you apply LoveLofi processing to your own audio files. Drop a track in, preview the result, and export to MP3 or WAV.

Three modes

• Quick FX — manually dial in the effects chain on your track
• Lo-Fi Cover — apply a curated "slowed + reverb" recipe: slowed down, warmed up, the classic lo-fi cover sound
• Packs — apply one of the Premium preset packs to your upload

Upload itself is a Premium feature. The free weekly trial includes 3 exports — past that, exports require Premium.

LoveLofi includes built-in playback shortcuts so you can control listening without leaving the keyboard.

LoveLofi includes 16 themes organized as 8 light/dark pairs:

• Cafe Nocturne / Cafe Eclipse
• Midnight Session / Morning Session
• Sakura Study / Sakura Night
• Vinyl Noir / Ivory Brass
• Forest Cabin / Forest Night
• Ocean Drift / Coastal Breeze
• Lavender Haze / Lavender Dusk
• Neon Tokyo / Neon Dawn

All 16 themes are included for everyone. Premium does not lock themes.

Premium licenses are managed through Polar.sh. After purchase, you'll receive a license key that you can activate in the extension settings.

• License keys sync across all Chrome profiles via chrome.storage.sync
• Validation happens weekly with a 7-day grace period if you're offline
• Monthly and annual plans can be cancelled anytime through your Polar.sh dashboard
• Lifetime purchases include all future updates at no additional cost