This quick tutorial shows how to install ‘Audio Recorder’, a simple lightweight audio recording utility, in all current Ubuntu releases.

Though there are a few audio recording apps available in Ubuntu Software, Audio Recorder is a good choice that features:

• small and lightweight.
• Record audio from system’s soundcard, microphones, Rhythmbox player, webcams & more.
• Built-in timer
• Output format support: OGG, M4A, FLAC, MP3, WAV, SPX.

Although Audio Recorder is available in Ubuntu Software via Snap package (runs in sandbox), it’s large in file size and not working very well.

To install the native Ubuntu .deb package, do following steps one by one:

1.) Open terminal from application menu, then run command to add the official PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:audio-recorder/ppa

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

2.) After adding the PPA, run command to install the recorder:

sudo apt install audio-recorder

For Linux Mint, you may run sudo apt update before this command.

Uninstall Audio Recorder:

To remove the PPA, open Software & Updates utility and navigate to ‘Other Software’ tab. Then choose the repository line and remove it.

To remove the audio recorder, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove audio-recorder

Looking for a sound recording software for Ubuntu Unity and/or Gnome Desktop? Well, Audio Recorder is a great free application allows you to record audio from your sound card, microphones, browsers, webcams, music players, Skype calls, and everything plays out of your loudspeakers.

This program supports several output formats such as OGG, M4A, FLAC, MP3, MP2, WAV, SPX. More features:

• a system tray indicator (enable it in settings page)
• automatic control via MPRIS2-compatible media players
• an advanced timer that can:
  • start recording on voice or sound
  • start, stop or pause recording on give time, or after a time period
  • stop or pause recording on “silence”
  • stop when the file size exceeds a limit.

How to Install Audio Recorder in Ubuntu:

The software is available in PPA repository for Ubuntu 15.10 and Ubuntu 16.04.

1. Add PPA

Launch terminal from App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:audio-recorder/ppa

Type in your password (no visual feedback when typing) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. Update and install the software via Synaptic Package Manager or following commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install audio-recorder

For those who don’t want to add PPA, select download the .deb package for 32bit (i386) or 64bit (amd64) Ubuntu 16.04 xenial, 15.10 wily from THIS PAGE, and click install via Software Center.

3. (Optional) To remove this recoder, use Synaptic Package Manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove audio-recorder

For Ubuntu 14.04, and Linux Mint 17.x, an old version is available HERE.

Audio-recorder is a handy tool allows to record your favorite music and audio to file. It supports for recording devices, such as microphone, webcam, audio card, music/movie players, Skype calls, browsers, etc.

With the Gstreamer plugins, the recorder supports output formats: OGG, Flac, MP3, AAC, and WAV.

Audio-recorder provides an advanced timer that can:

• Start, stop or pause recording at a given clock time.
• Start, stop or pause after a time period.
• Stop when the recorded file size exceeds a limit.
• Start recording on voice or sound (user can set the audio threshold).
• Stop or pause recording on “silence” (user can set the audio threshold and delay).

The recording can be automatically controlled by MPRIS2-compatible media players. It can also record all your Skype calls without any user interaction.

Install Audio Recorder in Ubuntu:

This amazing software has been made into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04. Old versions available from Ubuntu 10.10 to Ubuntu 13.10.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one to add the PPA, update package lists, and install the recorder:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:osmoma/audio-recorder

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install audio-recorder

If you don’t want to add the PPA, you can grab the .deb package from Launchpad Page and click open it with Ubuntu Software Center and finally install the program.

For more output audio formats support, install gstreamer plugins (ubuntu 14.04 & higher):

sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3