Powerful spot filtering
Filter by band, mode, continent, DX entity, spotter entity and custom distance-based spotter selections.
A native macOS DX Cluster client
DX spots without the clutter.
QCluster is a fast, focused Mac app for connecting to a DX Cluster, filtering the noise and showing the spots that matter to you.
Built for macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Apple Silicon and Intel.
Designed for everyday cluster use
Useful filtering and clear alerts.
Flexible alerts
Create alerts by DXCC, band, mode or callsign, with row highlighting and optional sound notifications.
Club Log integration
Build alert lists from your Club Log DXCC matrix, including not-worked and not-confirmed entities.
RBN control
Control Reverse Beacon Network spot types directly from QCluster without leaving the app.
Local telnet output
Pass the filtered spot stream to logging or other radio software through QCluster's local telnet server.
Native Mac experience
A proper SwiftUI macOS app with persistent settings, local and UTC time display, QRZ lookup and a responsive spot table.
LoTW upload status
See who's active on Logbook of the World without leaving the spot table. A tick in the LoTW column means the station has uploaded within the last year — hover over it for the exact date.
Spot and command console
Send your own spots to the cluster, or drop into a dedicated raw console for direct commands. It's kept cleanly separate from the spot table so nothing gets in your way.
Multiple, rate-limited alerts
Set up to five alerts. Four by DXCC entity, band and mode, plus one dedicated to callsigns with wildcard support. Each with its own highlight colour, optional sound, and a "maximum once every" limit so a busy band never floods you with pings.
Built to stay out of the way
Keep the spots moving, even when the display is paused.
QCluster continues receiving and filtering spots while the display is frozen, so you can scroll through the table without it jumping underneath you.
When you return to the top or resume the display, queued spots appear and alerts are processed normally.
Screenshots
See QCluster in action.
Requirements
What you need.
- macOS
- 14 Sonoma or later
- Mac
- Apple Silicon or Intel
- Connection
- Access to a DXSpider-compatible cluster
- Optional
- Club Log account for DXCC matrix imports
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is QCluster free?
Yes. QCluster is free to download and use.
What is a DX Cluster?
A DX Cluster is a network of radio amateurs sharing real-time spots of stations they've heard or worked, so other operators can find rare or distant contacts as they appear.
Which clusters does QCluster connect to?
QCluster connects to any DXSpider-compatible cluster over telnet, and can control Reverse Beacon Network spot types directly.
Does QCluster run on Intel Macs?
Yes. QCluster is a universal app that runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Why does macOS say QCluster can't be opened?
QCluster isn't notarised through a paid Apple Developer Program membership, so Gatekeeper blocks it the first time you open it. Allowing it once via Privacy & Security in System Settings is a one-off step — see the download section below for the exact steps.
Support
Get help from other QCluster users.
Connection trouble, feature requests, bug reports — there's a free groups.io community for QCluster where you can ask questions and hear about new releases first.
Download
Get QCluster for macOS.
QCluster.dmg · Universal (Apple Silicon & Intel) · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Download QCluster
currently in open beta, check back often for updates
Latest version - 0.60b (70)
3rd August 2026
Installing QCluster
Open the downloaded qcluster.dmg, then drag the QCluster icon onto the Applications shortcut in the window that opens. Once it's copied across, you can eject the disk image and launch QCluster from your Applications folder as normal.
First launch: allowing an unidentified developer
QCluster isn't distributed through the Mac App Store and I don't currently pay for an Apple Developer Program membership, so macOS Gatekeeper doesn't recognise it yet and will block it the first time you open it. This is a one-off step — after you allow it once, QCluster opens normally from then on.
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1
Double-click QCluster. macOS will say it can't verify the app — click Done, not Move to Bin.
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2
Open System Settings from the Apple menu or Spotlight.
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3
Select Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
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4
Scroll down and click Open Anyway next to the QCluster warning, then confirm you want to open it.