The audiorecord utility copies audio data from the audio device to a named audio file (or the standard output if no filename is present). If no output file is specified and standard output is a tty, the volume, balance, monitor volume, port, and audio format settings specified on the command line will be applied and the program will exit.

By default, monaural audio data is recorded at 8 kHz and encoded in -law format. If the audio device supports additional configurations, the -c, -s, and -e options may be used to specify the data format. The output file is prefixed by an audio file header that identifies the format of the data encoded in the file.

Recording begins immediately and continues until a SIGINT signal (for example, Ctrl-C) is received. If the -t option is specified, audiorecord stops when the specified quantity of data has been recorded.

If the audio device is unavailable (that is, another process currently has read access), audiorecord prints an error message and exits immediately.

The following options are supported:

-a

Append: Appends the data on the end of the named audio file. The audio device must support the audio data format of the existing file.

-f

Force: When the -a flag is specified, the sample rate of the audio device must match the sample rate at which the original file was recorded. If the -f flag is also specified, sample rate differences are ignored, with a warning message printed on the standard error.

-v vol

Volume: The recording gain is set to the specified value before recording begins, and is reset to its previous level when audiorecord exits. The vol argument is an integer value between 0 and 100, inclusive. If this argument is not specified, the input volume will remain at the level most recently set by any process.

-b bal

Balance: The recording balance is set to the specified value before recording begins, and is reset to its previous level when audiorecord exits. The bal argument is an integer value between -100 and 100, inclusive. A value of -100 indicates left balance, 0 middle, and 100 right. If this argument is not specified, the input balance will remain at the level most recently set by any process.

-m monvol

Monitor Volume: The input monitor volume is set to the specified value before recording begins, and is reset to its previous level when audiorecord exits. The monval argument is an integer value between 0 and 100, inclusive. A non-zero value allows a directly connected input source to be heard on the output speaker while recording is in-progress. If this argument is not specified, the monitor volume will remain at the level most recently set by any process.

-p mic | line | internal-cd

Input Port: Selects the mic, line, or internal-cd input as the source of the audio output signal. If this argument is not specified, the input port will remain unchanged. Please note: Some systems will not support all possible input ports. If the named port does not exist, this option is ignored.

-c channels

Channels: Specifies the number of audio channels (1 or 2). The value may be specified as an integer or as the string mono or stereo. The default value is mono.

-s rate

Sample Rate: Specifies the sample rate, in samples per second. If a number is followed by the letter k, it is multiplied by 1000 (for example, 44.1k = 44100). The default sample rate is 8 kHz.

-e encoding

Encoding: Specifies the audio data encoding. This value may be one of ulaw, alaw, or linear. The default encoding is ulaw.

-t time

Time: The time argument specifies the maximum length of time to record. Time can be specified as a floating-point value, indicating the number of seconds, or in the form: hh:mm:ss.dd, where the hour and minute specifications are optional.

-i info

Information: The `information' field of the output file header is set to the string specified by the info argument. This option cannot be specified in conjunction with the -a argument.

-d dev

Device: The dev argument specifies an alternate audio device from which input should be taken. If the -d option is not specified, the AUDIODEV environment variable is consulted (see below). Otherwise, /dev/audio is used as the default audio device.

-\?

Help: Prints a command line usage message.

file

File Specification: The named audio file is rewritten (or appended). If no filename is present (and standard output is not a tty), or if the special filename `-' is specified, output is directed to the the standard output.

See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior of audiorecord when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2³¹ bytes).

AUDIODEV

The full path name of the audio device to record from, if no -d argument is supplied. If the AUDIODEV variable is not set, /dev/audio is used.

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

audioconvert(1), audioplay(1), mixerctl(1), attributes(5), largefile(5), usb_ac(7D), audio(7I), mixer(7I)