Audacity
 Popular open source audio editor | |
| Developer(s) | Dominic Mazzoni |
| Release information | |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2.0.5 |
| Compatibility | |
| Operating system | Windows, Mac OS/X, Linux/BSD |
| Additional information | |
| Use | Digital Audio Editor |
| License | GPL |
| Website | http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ |
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
- To build Audacity yourself, download the Source Code,
- Optional SVN Repository
Optional components
- libmad
- libsndfile
- libvorbis