Linux is a very, very powerful operating system that can perform wonders for you. One of the powerful parts is the Linux audio (aka Pulse Audio). With the proper tool at hand, you can perform almost all types of tasks you wish to do with your system. Here, we’ll be recording the system’s sound output. It’s a really useful trick for extracting a certain part of an audio without much hassle.
Installing necessary tools
Some tools are necessary for performing the task on your system. We’ll have to install Audacity for the recording purpose. It’ll also help you edit & modify the recorded track(s) for free. A volume control management tool is also important.
As the audio control software, Pavu Control is widely popular among Linux community. These tools are also available for almost all the Linux distros, so you don’t have to face much trouble getting your system ready. Run the following command(s) according to your Linux distro.
- Debian
sudo apt-get install pavucontrol audacity
- Ubuntu
sudo apt install pavucontrol audacity
- OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install pavucontrol audacity
- Fedora
sudo dnf install pavucontrol audacity
- Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S pavucontrol audacity
If your system was not on the list, you should look for “pavucontrol” and “audacity” in your distro’s repository. Now, it’s time to record the audio.
Recording with Audacity
- Start Pavu Control.
- Start your audio playing. Make sure that the audio loops so that even if you miss a few seconds, you can cut and get the complete audio. Here, I’m playing my favorite music from YouTube on Google Chrome.
- Make the following changes to Pavu Control settings.
- Start Audacity and change the marked options to “pulse”.
- Click the record button and start recording your audio!
Voila! There you go with your nice sound recording.
There are more things you can do to your Linux system. For having more enjoyment of heart, take a look at the beautiful themes available for almost all the Linux distros – Vimix, Paper. You’re also free to customize your distro from the collection of openDesktop.
Audacity is an insane piece of software, one of FOSS’es darling shining examples.
But why is the user interfae so terrible? I know for some people it doesn’t matter, and some say it “shouldn’t matter”.
But UI and design are large roles in commercial and free software for good reason.
As an alternative to Audacity, I use Ocen Audio, It’s not a 1:1 replacement, but it works well for a majority of use, and the interface is buttery smooth.
Hello
That looks easy, but on my system there are hundreds of possibilities!
Look here for the input possibilities [img]https://i.imgur.com/hNLAdpp.jpg[/img]
and here for the the output. I’ve tried several but I do not see and hear it recording sound!
Can you help me?