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Focus Radio is a built-in music player widget that streams curated study music directly within ChaosPrep. It uses YouTube’s embedded player to provide distraction-free background music without leaving the app.

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What is Focus Radio?

Focus Radio provides access to popular study music stations like Lofi Girl, ambient soundscapes, and concentration-enhancing playlists. The widget:
  • Floats in the bottom-right corner of the screen
  • Plays audio in the background while you study
  • Requires no separate tabs or external players
  • Works across all views (Planner, Timer, Stats, etc.)
Focus Radio is optional. You can enable or disable it in Settings under Focus Radio.

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How to use Focus Radio

1

Enable Focus Radio

First, ensure Focus Radio is enabled:
  1. Open Settings (gear icon)
  2. Find Focus Radio under Preferences
  3. Toggle it ON (knob moves to the right)
The music widget button appears in the bottom-right corner (music note icon).
2

Open the player

Click the floating music button (circular button with music note icon) to expand the player card.The player shows:
  • Current station name (e.g., “Lofi Girl”)
  • Playback status (“Playing” or “Paused”)
  • Visual equalizer bars (animated when playing)
  • Playback controls (previous, play/pause, next)
3

Select a station

Browse available stations using the previous and next buttons (skip-back and skip-forward icons).Each station change loads a different YouTube stream optimized for studying.
4

Control playback

  • Play: Click the center play button to start audio
  • Pause: Click again to pause
  • Change stations: Use left/right arrows to switch streams
The player status updates in real-time, and the button icon animates when music is playing.

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Player interface

The Focus Radio player card displays:
ElementDescription
Visualizer barsAnimated bars indicating playback (bouncing when playing)
Station nameCurrent station title (e.g., “Lofi Girl”, “Deep Focus”)
Status indicatorRed dot showing YouTube player connection status
Playback status”Playing”, “Paused”, or “Loading”
Skip controlsPrevious/Next buttons to change stations
Play/Pause buttonLarge center button for playback control
When music is playing, the floating button shows:
  • Spinning ring around the icon (animated border)
  • Pulsing glow effect
  • Color change indicating active state

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Hiding the widget

You can minimize or completely disable Focus Radio: To minimize:
  • Click anywhere outside the player card to collapse it
  • The floating button remains visible for quick access
To disable completely:
  1. Go to Settings
  2. Toggle Focus Radio OFF
  3. The widget disappears from all views
You can re-enable it anytime from Settings.
If you prefer complete silence or your own music app, simply disable Focus Radio. ChaosPrep tracks your study time regardless of whether the widget is enabled.

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Available stations

Focus Radio curates YouTube streams optimized for studying:
  • Lofi Girl: Classic lofi hip-hop beats (24/7 stream)
  • Ambient soundscapes: Nature sounds, rain, white noise
  • Deep Focus: Instrumental concentration music
  • Study Jazz: Calm jazz for background ambiance
Stations are pre-selected for non-intrusive, focus-enhancing audio without lyrics or sudden volume changes.
Station availability depends on YouTube. If a stream is offline, try switching to another station using the next/previous buttons.

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Integration with Timer

Focus Radio works independently of the Focus Timer:
  • Music plays continuously even when timer is paused or stopped
  • Music doesn’t affect timer logs (audio playback is not tracked)
  • You can study with music or in silence without impacting tracked time
Use them together:
  1. Start the Focus Timer for your subject
  2. Open Focus Radio and play a station
  3. Study with background music while tracking time
Both features run simultaneously without interfering.

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Technical details

Focus Radio uses YouTube’s embedded iframe player API:
  • No ads during playback (embedded player behavior)
  • Background playback continues when ChaosPrep is minimized (on desktop)
  • Auto-reconnect if connection drops
  • Minimal bandwidth usage (audio-only streams when available)
The player is fully integrated into ChaosPrep, so you don’t need to manage separate tabs or windows.
Focus Radio requires an internet connection. If you’re studying offline, the widget won’t function. Use downloaded music or study in silence instead.

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Troubleshooting

Possible causes:
  • YouTube stream is offline → Try switching stations
  • Browser blocked autoplay → Click play manually after opening the player
  • Internet connection issue → Check your network
Solution: Refresh the page and try a different station.
This can happen if:
  • The YouTube stream ended or restarted
  • Your internet connection dropped
  • Browser throttled background tabs
Solution: Click play again to resume. The player will reconnect.
The button only appears if Focus Radio is enabled in Settings.Solution:
  1. Open Settings
  2. Enable Focus Radio toggle
  3. Refresh the page if needed

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Best practices

Keep volume moderate

Set volume just loud enough to mask distractions, not so loud it diverts attention from studying.

Try different stations

Experiment with stations to find what helps your concentration. Lofi works for some; ambient sounds work for others.

Use sparingly for deep work

For intense problem-solving, silence may work better than music. Save music for review or routine practice.

Combine with timer

Start both the timer and music for complete study session tracking with background audio.

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