News, Tutorials, Howtos for Ubuntu Linux
Audacity audio editor announced 3.6.2 release a week ago, then version 3.6.3 a day ago with a quick-fix.
As you may know, Audacity 3.6.0 introduced new compressor and limiter effects, replacing the old ones. For those who prefer the classic effects, the new point release added a “Legacy” effects section, under “Effects” menu, that contains the old Limiter, Compressor and Classic Filters.
Audacity audio editor announced new major 3.6.0 release few days ago. Here are the new features and how to install guide for Ubuntu users.
The new release features new Master Effects. By clicking “Effects” button in app window, it will now show you Realtime Effects and Master Effects options for choice. While, the new Master Effects allows to apply effects to the entire project at once.
Audacity, the popular free open-source audio editor, release version 3.5.0 (then 3.5.1 with quick-fixes) few days ago.
Audacity 3.5.0 is a major release with new features. They include a new cloud-saving feature. By going to menu ‘File -> Save To Cloud …’, user can save Audacity project to audio.com via a free account. So, user can access the project from any other devices, and/or share and collaborate with others.
NOTE: this feature does NOT work in my PPA package, since it’s built with Debian upstream rule that disables network access! If you do prefer this feature, please leave comment below, or use the official AppImage package instead.
Audacity audio editor announced the first point release for the Audacity 3.4.0 feature release today!
The release can now built again in ARM devices and BSD. And, it has various stability and other fixes that 3.4.0 users are urged to upgrade to the new release.
They include:
Option 1: AppImage (official)
It provides official macOS .dmg, Windows .exe, and Linux .AppImage packages available to download at the link below:
For Linux, click expand the “Assets” section and choose download the .AppImage package.
Then, right-click on the .AppImage file and go to its ‘Properties’ dialog. Add executable permission by enable ‘allow executing file as program‘. Finally, right-click on it and select “Run” to launch Audacity.
Forgive me for the old image.
Option 2: Ubuntu PPA
For choice, I’ve uploaded the new release package into unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04, 23.04, and Ubuntu 23.10 with amd64, arm64, and armhf support.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. For Linux Mint users, you may manually update system package cache by running command:
sudo apt update
3. Finally, install Audacity 3.4.1 either by running the command below in terminal:
sudo apt install audacity audacity-data
Or, launch ‘Software Updater’ to update from an existing version:
Option 3: Flatpak
Audacity is also available to install as universal Flatpak package, that run in sandbox.
First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then, Ubuntu users can install Audacity as Flatpak by running the 2 commands below one by one:
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.audacityteam.Audacity.flatpakref
To uninstall Audacity 3.4.1 PPA package, you have 2 choices:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
sudo apt remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data
Then, remove the Ubuntu PPA via command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
To uninstall the Flatpak package, use command:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.audacityteam.Audacity
Also run flatpak uninstall --unused to remove useless runtimes.
Audacity audio editor released the Beta version of the next 3.4.0. Here’s how to try it out in Ubuntu.
According to the project release page, the new release now features several music related features, such as switching between hh:mm:ss time and Beats & Measures, and time-stretching clips to align them to a song’s tempo.
The release also features Time stretching. Just hold “Alt” (macOS: Option) while hovering over the top third of a clip edge to stretch it.
The 3.4.0 also features a new export dialog with easier access to options such as sample rate and custom mapping (for 5.1 or 7.1 audio). Additionally, the “Browse” button uses the native file browser now!
New Export dialog
Other changes include:
Option 1: AppImage
It provides official macOS .dmg, Windows .exe, and Linux .AppImage packages available to download at the link below:
For Linux, click expand the “Assets” section and choose download the .AppImage package.
Then, right-click on the .AppImage file and go to its ‘Properties’ dialog. Add executable permission by enable ‘allow executing file as program‘. Finally, right-click on it and select “Run” to launch Audacity.
Option 2: Ubuntu PPA
For choice, I’ve uploaded the new release package into unofficial PPA for x86_64 (amd64) bit Ubuntu 22.04, 23.04, and Ubuntu 23.10 support.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity-unstable
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. For Linux Mint users, you may manually update system package cache by running command:
sudo apt update
3. Finally, install Audacity 3.4.0 Beta via command:
sudo apt install audacity audacity-data
To uninstall Audacity 3.4.0 Beta, you have 2 choices:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity-unstable
sudo apt remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data
Then, remove the Ubuntu PPA via command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity-unstable
Audacity audio editor released version 3.3.3 a day ago.
The new release fixed the Filter Curve EQ and Graphic EQ scaling when resizing the dialog. Previously, resizing it only cause large blank area while leaving EQ unchanged.
The release also fixed audio.com upload flow. It added track title field which is required for upload, and audio.com link is opened immediately upon upload. However, anonymous uploads that was disabled in the last release is still NOT allowed.
Audacity offers official AppImage package available to download at the link below:
It’s a non-install package that runs in most Linux. Just right-click on it in file manager, go ‘Properties’ and add “Allow executing file as program” permission, finally, click Run it to open the audio editor.
Tip: Ubuntu 22.04 and higher, need to enable AppImage support first by running command below in terminal:
sudo apt install libfuse2
Audacity is also available to install as Flatpak package. Ubuntu user can press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run the 2 commands below one by one to get it.
First, run command to enable Flatpak support:
sudo apt install flatpak
Then, run command to install Audacity as Flatpak:
flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.audacityteam.Audacity.flatpakref
Flatpak takes so much disk space (2 GB+ in my case) for this single application, so here’s an unofficial PPA contains native .deb package for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 22.10, and Ubuntu 23.04. Support for Ubuntu 20.04 is still NOT available due to compile bug.
NOTE: the PPA follows the build rule from the Audacity package in Debian/Ubuntu repository, which disabled networking! Meaning there’s NO audio.com sharing!! If you do need this feature, please leave comment for request.
1. First, open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, or by searching from start menu ‘Activities’ overview depends on your DE.
2. When terminal opens, paste the command below and hit run to add the PPA.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
Type user password when it asks (no asterisk feedback) and hit Enter to continue.
3. If an earlier version was installed via apt install command, you can then upgrade the package using Software Updater (Update Manager).
Or, just run command in terminal to install/update the Audacity .deb package:
sudo apt install audacity
NOTE: Linux Mint may need to run sudo apt update first.
Once installed, search for and open it from start menu or ‘Activities’ overview and enjoy!
For the AppImage, just remove the package file. For Flatpak, open terminal and run command:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.audacityteam.Audacity
And run flatpak uninstall --unused to free up disk space.
To uninstall the Audacity software packages installed from PPA, simply open terminal and run command:
sudo apt remove audacity audacity-date
Also, remove the Ubuntu PPA either by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
or by launching “Software & Updates” and removing source line under “other software” tab.
That’s all. Enjoy!
For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, I’ve revived the Ubuntu PPA for the latest Audacity audio editor packages.
I was previously maintaining a PPA for the Audacity packages. It was however discontinued. Because, the project depended its own fork of wxWidget library, that is hard to maintain. And, Debian/Ubuntu upstream even stopped updating (now revived) the software package due to policy changes.
Now, Audacity can be built with the wxWidget 3.2 library from Ubuntu’s system repositories. And, Debian/Ubuntu again keep updating the software package (v3.2.4 at the moment) in the new Distro releases.
So I decide to continue the PPA with the latest Audacity packages built against the rules from Debian upstream. And, now it’s updated to Audacity 3.7.0.
Audacity 3.3 installed as .deb package
For the release note, and the official AppImage package, see the Github Release page.
The PPA so far supports for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, and Ubuntu 24.10 on both x86_86 and ARM CPU platforms.
1. First, open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, or by searching from start menu ‘Activities’ overview depends on your DE.
2. When terminal opens, paste the command below and hit run to add the PPA.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
Type user password when it asks (no asterisk feedback) and hit Enter to continue.
3. If an earlier version was installed via apt install command, you can then upgrade the package using Software Updater (Update Manager).
Or, just run command in terminal to install/update the Audacity .deb package:
sudo apt install audacity
NOTE: Linux Mint may need to run sudo apt update first.
Once installed, search for and open it from start menu or ‘Activities’ overview and enjoy!
If you also installed Audacity as Flatpak, or create a shortcut for official AppImage, you may then have duplicated app icons. You can choose to either remove the other package, or start the .deb version from command line:
/usr/bin/audacity
To uninstall the Audacity software packages, simply open terminal and run command:
sudo apt remove audacity audacity-date
Also, remove the Ubuntu PPA either by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
or by launching “Software & Updates” and removing source line under “other software” tab.
That’s all. Enjoy!
The Audacity audio tag editor announced the new 3.3.0 release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 23.04.
Audacity 3.3.0 is a new major release that features initial version of Beats and Measures. Some built-in effects (such as, Bass & Treble, Distortion, Phaser, Reverb and Wahwah) are now realtime capable.
The new release also added “Shelf Filter” function which is vailable in ‘Effect -> EQ and Filters’ menu.
Other changes in Audacity 3.3.0 include:
Audacity now provides official Linux package through AppImage. It’s non-install software package that can be run directly to launch the application.
First, download Audacity from the link below (under ‘Assets’ section):
Then, right-click on the AppImage in file manager, go to “Properties” and enable ‘allow executing file as program‘ under Permissions tab. Finally, click run the AppImage to launch Audacity audio editor.
Ubuntu 22.04 and higher does not support AppImage out-of-the-box, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run command to enable it:
sudo apt install libfuse2
And, if you want to create app shortcut for this AppImage package, here’s an application to automate the process.
Audacity is also available to install as Flatpak package, though it’s not updated at the moment of writing.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, make sure Flatpak support enabled by running command:
sudo apt install flatpak
NOTE: Ubuntu 18.04 needs to add this Ubuntu PPA first before running the command above.
2. Then, just run the single command to install Audacity as Flatpak package:
flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.audacityteam.Audacity.flatpakref
For the future updates, just run flatpak update org.audacityteam.Audacity every time in terminal.
Once installed, search for and launch Audacity from start menu or ‘Activities’ overview depends on your desktop environment and enjoy!
For those who prefer the classic .deb package, I’ve upload the software package into this unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04 and higher.
Just launch terminal, and run commands below one by one to add PPA and install the editor:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
sudo apt update
sudo apt install audacity
For the Appimage package, just remove the file and done.
For Flatpak package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.audacityteam.Audacity
Also run command to remove unused runtime libraries to free up disk space:
flatpak uninstall --unused
For the PPA package, remove it via command:
sudo apt remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data
Also remove the Ubuntu PPA by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
By releasing version 3.0.3 RC1, Audacity digital audio editor finally adds official Linux binary support!
It’s the 64-bit Appimage package that runs in most Linux Distributions. Without installing, it’s a single executable that launches the software via double-click.
It is incompatible with the GPL license. Use it at your own risk!
Other changes in Audacity 3.0.3 so far includes:
To get the Audacity Appimage, go to:
Once you get it, add executable permission in file Properties dialog. Then click run to open the editor:
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.
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!
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
