This tutorial is gonna teach you how to record audio using the power of Python on your trusty ol’ Linux machine.
To kick things off, let’s make sure we have all the necessary tools installed. Open up your terminal and type in this magical command:
# This line installs the python3-pip package using the apt-get command with sudo privileges.
#!/bin/bash
# This line specifies the interpreter to be used for executing the script.
sudo apt-get install python3-pip
# This line installs the python3-pip package using the apt-get command with sudo privileges.
# The following lines are commented out as they are not necessary for the functionality of the script.
# echo "This tutorial is gonna teach you how to record audio using the power of Python on your trusty ol' Linux machine."
# echo "To kick things off, let's make sure we have all the necessary tools installed."
# echo "Open up your terminal and type in this magical command:"
This will install pip for Python 3 (if you don’t already have it) which is what we need to download some packages later on. Next, let’s make sure PulseAudio is installed by running this command:
# Install pip for Python 3 if not already installed
sudo apt-get install python3-pip
# Install pulseaudio and pavucontrol for audio control
sudo apt-get install pulseaudio pavucontrol
This will install both the PulseAudio sound server and a graphical tool called PavuControl that we can use to configure our audio settings.
Now, let’s create a new Python file in your favorite text editor (I recommend using Atom or VS Code) and save it as `record_audio.py`. Inside this file, add the following code:
# Import the necessary module for audio recording
import pyaudio
# Import the sleep function from the time module
from time import sleep
# Set up audio stream with a callback function
p = pyaudio.PyAudio(stream_callback=callback)
# Define the callback function to handle incoming audio data
def callback(indata, frames, time, status):
# Write the audio data to a file named 'output.wav'
with open('output.wav', 'wb') as f:
# Loop through the audio data and write it to the file
for i in range(len(indata)):
# Convert the audio data to bytes and write it to the file
f.write(bytes([indata[i]]))
# Return a boolean value to indicate if the recording is done or not
return (not done)
# Add a 3 second delay before starting the recording
sleep(3)
# Start the audio stream
p.start_stream()
# Set a boolean variable to indicate if the recording is done or not
done = False
# Keep recording until the boolean variable is set to True
while not done:
# Add a 1 second delay between each iteration of the loop
sleep(1)
# Stop the audio stream and close it
p.stop_stream()
p.close()
This code sets up an audio stream using the `PyAudio` library, which allows us to record audio from our microphone or other input devices. The `callback` function is called every time new data becomes available (in this case, we’re just writing it directly to a file).
To run this script, save your changes and open up your terminal again. Navigate to the directory where you saved your Python file using the `cd` command:
#!/bin/bash # This line specifies the interpreter to be used for executing the script
cd /path/to/your/directory # This line changes the current working directory to the specified path
# The following lines are commented out as they are not necessary for the script to function properly
# input devices. The `callback` function is called every time new data becomes available (in this case, we're just writing it directly to a file).
# To run this script, save your changes and open up your terminal again. Navigate to the directory where you saved your Python file using the `cd` command:
# The following line is commented out as it is not necessary for the script to function properly
# Here is the script:
# The following line is commented out as it is not necessary for the script to function properly
# Replace `/path/to/your/directory` with the actual path to your script (you can use tab completion or copy and paste if it’s easier). Once you’re in the right directory, run this command:
# This script is used to run the record_audio.py script using python3.
# The record_audio.py script is used to record audio.
# The script should be run from the directory where it is located.
# Change directory to the location of the script.
cd /path/to/your/directory
# Run the record_audio.py script using python3.
python3 record_audio.py
This will start recording audio after a 3-second delay and save it as `output.wav`. You can adjust the delay time by changing the value of `sleep(3)` to something else (in seconds). When you’re done, press Ctrl+C in your terminal window to stop the script.
And that’s it! You now have a basic understanding of how to record audio using Python and PulseAudio on Linux.