QIRX is developed and maintained by Clem Schmidt, living in Frankfurt/M, Germany. After its start in 2017, QIRX gained popularity in particular with new features in its Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) demodulator.

Developed in the C# programming language and the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) as its technology base for the Graphical User Interface (GUI), it is mainly intended to be used on the Windows Operating System. However, a port exists (for QIRX Version 1) for Linux running under Mono, unfortunately with severe restrictions due to Mono lacking proper GUI features.

The main driver for the QIRX development is to provide technical information and receiving possibilities for its users. Unlike other SDRs, QIRX connects to the supported hardware exclusively via TCP/IP network connections. Unfortunately, there is no generally agreed bi-directional communication protocol for SDR receivers. As a result specicalized drivers are necessary for each supported hardware family, because most if not all manufacturers support USB and not TCP/IP to connect to their hardware.

The development of QIRX would not have been possible without the help of many people reporting errors and suggesting new features. Users have created an own thread for QIRX in the German rundfunkforum, serving as the base for discussions, suggestions and comments.