Audacity

Audacity

Popular open source audio editor
Developer(s)	Dominic Mazzoni
Release information
Initial release	May 28, 2000; 24 years ago
Stable release	2.3.2 (13 May 2019)
Preview release
Compatibility
Operating system	Windows, Mac OS/X, Linux/BSD
Additional information
Use	Digital Audio Editor
License	GPL
Website	audacityteam.org

Introduction

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use popular open source audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

Features

Recording

Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, digitize recordings from cassette tapes, vinyl records, and minidiscs. With some sound cards, it can also capture streaming audio.

• Record from microphone, line input, or other sources.
• Dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings.
• Record up to 16 channels at once (requires multi-channel hardware).
• Level meters can monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording.
• Intel Mac support

Import and Export

Import sound files, edit them, and combine them with other files or new recordings. Export your recordings in several common file formats.

• Import and export WAV, AIFF, AU, (Ogg) Vorbis, and FLAC files.
• Import MPEG audio (including MP2 and MP3 files) with libmad.
• Export MP3s with the optional LAME encoder library.
• Create WAV or AIFF files suitable for burning to CD.
• Import and export all file formats supported by libsndfile.
• Open raw (headerless) audio files using the “Import Raw” command.
• Note: Audacity does not currently support WMA, AAC, or most other proprietary or restricted file formats.

Editing

• Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete.
• Use unlimited Undo (and Redo) to go back any number of steps.
• Very fast editing of large files.
• Edit and mix an unlimited number of tracks.
• Use the Drawing tool to alter individual sample points.
• Fade the volume up or down smoothly with the Envelope tool.

DSP Effects

• Change the pitch without altering the tempo, or vice-versa.
• Remove static, hiss, hum, or other constant background noises.
• Alter frequencies with Equalization, FFT Filter, and Bass Boost effects.
• Adjust volumes with Compressor, Amplify, and Normalize effects.
• Other built-in effects include:
  • Echo
  • Phaser
  • Wahwah
  • Reverse

Sound Quality

• Record and edit 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit (floating point) samples.
• Record at up to 96 kHz.
• Sample rates and formats are converted using high-quality resampling and dithering.
• Mix tracks with different sample rates or formats, and Audacity will convert them automatically in realtime.

Plug-ins

• Add new effects with LADSPA plugins.
• Audacity includes some sample plugins by Steve Harris.
• Load VST plugins for Windows and Mac, with the optional VST Enabler.
• Write new effects with the built-in Nyquist programming language.

Screenshots

• Audacity Windows screenshot of the main editor window under Windows.
• Audacity Linux screenshot of the main editor window under Linux.

Development API

• Check out current and future Development
• To build Audacity yourself, download the Source Code

Optional components

• libmad
• libsndfile
• libvorbis

External links

• Audacity Home Page