115 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
115 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
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# tuxrecord
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Record audio to a WAV file on **Linux** using **ALSA** as the recording source.
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`tuxrecord` is the Linux port of the former macOS-only **macrecord** tool. The
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Swift/AVFoundation code was rewritten in **C99** and now uses the native ALSA
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capture API (`libasound`); it builds with **GCC**.
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The port is derived from [macrecord](https://codeberg.org/armin/macrecord)
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which was created by my good friend armin.
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## Requirements
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- GCC and GNU make
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- ALSA development headers (`libasound2-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu,
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`alsa-lib-devel` on Fedora, `alsa-lib` on Arch)
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## Usage
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```bash
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# Record until q or Ctrl+C
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tuxrecord
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# Record for N seconds
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tuxrecord -d 30
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# Specify output directory
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tuxrecord -o /path/to/dir
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# Use a custom filename prefix
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tuxrecord -p myrec
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# Use a specific ALSA capture device
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tuxrecord -D hw:1,0
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```
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## Options
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| Option | Description |
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| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `-o <dir>` | Output directory (default: current directory) |
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| `-d <secs>` | Stop automatically after `<secs>` seconds |
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| `-p <prefix>` | Filename prefix instead of `tuxrecord` |
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| `-D <device>` | ALSA capture device (default: `default`) |
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| `-h, --help` | Show help |
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Run `arecord -l` to list available ALSA capture devices.
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## Controls
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- **q** - Stop recording and save the file
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- **Ctrl+C** - Stop recording and save the file
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The file is written as `<prefix>__<timestamp>.wav` (default prefix
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`tuxrecord`). The VU meter shows the input level of the left and right channels
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in real time when stderr is a terminal.
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## Recording system audio
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The default ALSA capture device (`default`) is usually the microphone. To
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record **system audio** (everything playing on the machine), route playback
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through the ALSA loopback driver `snd-aloop` and capture from the other side
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of the loop.
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```bash
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# 1. Load the loopback module (once per boot)
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sudo modprobe snd-aloop
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# 2. Play audio on the "playback" side of the loop
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aplay -D hw:Loopback,0 song.wav
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# 3. In another terminal, record from the paired "capture" side
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tuxrecord -D hw:Loopback,1
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```
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Audio written to `hw:Loopback,0` (playback) is heard on `hw:Loopback,1`
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(capture): the two subdevices form a loop and the samples pass straight
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through. Point your players at `hw:Loopback,0` (default sink) and record from
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`hw:Loopback,1` to capture the system mix. Subdevice pairing depends on the
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kernel version; if one direction is silent, try recording from
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`hw:Loopback,0` while playing to `hw:Loopback,1`.
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## Build
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```bash
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make
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# or directly:
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# gcc -std=c99 -O2 -Wall -Wextra tuxrecord.c -o tuxrecord $(pkg-config --libs alsa) -lm
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```
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Install (installs to `$(PREFIX)/bin`, default `/usr/local/bin`):
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```bash
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sudo make install
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# or: sudo cp tuxrecord /usr/local/bin/tuxrecord
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```
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Install to a custom prefix:
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```bash
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make install PREFIX=~/.local
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```
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Uninstall:
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```bash
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sudo make uninstall
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```
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## License
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Apache License 2.0 — see the LICENSE file for details.
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Copyright 2026 Johannes Findeisen
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