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Install Audacity 3.0.2 From PPA in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04

Last updated: May 13, 2022

Audacity audio editor and recorder is easy to install in Ubuntu Software via Snap package. For those prefer the classic deb package, the Ubuntu PPA has updated for the latest Audacity 3.0.2.

Since Audacity 3.0, it requires the development branch of wxWidgets toolkit 3.1.x. However, Ubuntu provides only the stable v3.0 series packages.

Thanks to Pascal de Bruijn, I’ve successfully built wxWidgets 3.1.3 for Audacity. So the audio editor packages updated for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and Linux Mint 20.

Known issues:

There are however known issues in the PPA build. When starting Audacity in Ubuntu 21.04 or Linux Mint 20, it will popup “An assertion failed” dialog, which indicates:

./src/widgets/FileConfig.cpp(98): assert “mDirty == false” failed in ~FileConfig().

Just click on “continue” button, and the software should start.

Another issue is that the app window slow to open. It takes a few seconds to start due to AlSA issues and warning. However, it works once app window opens!

Install Audacity 3.0.2 via PPA:

Open terminal either from system application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When terminal opens, run following commands one by one:

1.) Run command in terminal to add the Ubuntu PPA: 

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

Type user password (no asterisk feedback due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then either upgrade from an old release (if exist) via Software Updater, or run following commands one by one to check updates and install (or upgrade) audacity 3.0.2:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install audacity

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA repository, launch Software & Updates utility and remove relevant line under ‘Other Software’ tab. Or simply run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

To remove Audacity audio software, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data
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    6 responses to Install Audacity 3.0.2 From PPA in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04

    1. Mitch Golden January 7, 2022 at 2:23 am

      The privacy policy linked says nothing about law enforcement nor litigation. The data they collect seems utterly useless for those purposes anyway. Perhaps your notice reflects an old document – if so, please update it.

    2. artjules January 16, 2022 at 5:11 pm

      Thank you for this guide, works perfectly on Linux Mint 20.3.

    3. Jim Ringle April 16, 2022 at 5:18 pm

      Thanks for your help

    4. vtgearhead May 12, 2022 at 9:27 pm

      Installs and seems to work on Ubuntu 18.04, but UI doesn’t render correctly on HDPI display. Text is very small and pulldowns (e.g. ‘Recording Channels’) do not display. A

      • Ji m May 13, 2022 at 9:39 am

        I’m not sure if Audacity added proper hidpi support in v3.0.2, since the packages in PPA is outdated (Audacity uses separated forked version of wxWidgets library that is hard to maintain).

        But you may try the latest 3.1.3 release using the Flatpak package:

        https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.audacityteam.Audacity

        Follow the setup guide link in that page, and use the bottom command will install the latest audio editor in your system.

    5. Francesco October 7, 2022 at 9:28 am

      is it an updated version to 3.1.3?