esdrec Command in Linux
esdrec is a classic command line utility in Linux that is used to record audio. It uses the Enlightened Sound Daemon (ESD) server to record audio. ESD is a classical sound server that was popularly used in old Linux systems.
In the latest Linux distributions, it has been replaced with modern sound servers like PulseAudio, ALSA, etc. Although ESD has been replaced by modern sound servers, you can still use esdrec on Linux if you prefer. In this article, well show you how to install and use the esdrec on different Linux distributions.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the esdrec command in linux −
- How to Install esdrec on Linux?
- How to use esdrec in Linux?
- Example of esdrec Command in Linux
- Important Consideration
How to Install esdrec in Linux?
Since esdrec is outdated, it is not pre-installed on most Linux distributions. We can install it by using a package manager depending on the distribution we are using.
Step 1: Install esound
We are using Ubuntu 24.04, so we can run the following command to install esound on our system −
sudo apt-get install esound
We encountered an error while running this command −
Step 2: Download esound From Source
We face an error because the esound installation requires additional steps to install and configure since esd is no longer maintained or included by default in most Linux distributions. In that case, you must download it from the source. For this purpose, use the following commands −
wget http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/esound/0.2/esound-0.2.41.tar.gz
The output shows that the esound has been successfully downloaded −
Step 3: Extract the Source Code
Now run the following command to extract the contents of the downloaded file −
tar -xvzf esound-0.2.41.tar.gz
Step 4: Navigate to the Extracted Directory
After this, navigate into the directory created by the extraction process using the following command −
cd esound-0.2.41
The output confirms that we are successfully navigated to the extracted directory −
Step 5: Configure and Install esdrec
Now lets run the following command to set up the necessary configuration options −
./configure
After this, run the following command to compile the source code −
make
Now execute the below-given command to install the compiled software on your system −
sudo make install
This command will install esdrec on your machine −
Step 6: Confirm the esdrec Installation
Finally, access the manual page of the esdrec command to verify its installation −
man esdrec
The manual page has been accessed successfully, which means esdrec has been installed on our system −
Once successfully installed, you can use it to record audio.
How to use esdrec in Linux?
You can use the following syntax to use esdrec on your Linux system −
esdrec [options] filename
All the specified options are optional and can be skipped.
Example of esdrec Command in Linux
Lets discuss a few examples of esdrec commands in Linux systems. This will help you in learning how to get started with the command.
Record Audio Using esdrec
Lets record audio using the esdrec command and save it in a file named audioFile.wav: −
esdrec > audioFile.wav
This command records audio using the esound daemon (esd) and saves it to a file named audioFile.wav.
Important Consideration
esdrec was a popular tool for recording audio on systems with the Enlightened Sound Daemon (EsounD), but now there are better options available. Tools like arecord, ffmpeg, sox, parecord, and audacity are more powerful and easier to use. You can use any of these tools to achieve high-quality audio recording on Linux (depending on your specific requirements).
This sums up the use of esdrec in Linux.
Conclusion
ESDrec is a command-line utility used to record audio on Linux systems through the Enlightened Sound Daemon (ESD). Although ESD has been replaced by modern sound servers like PulseAudio and ALSA, you can still use ESDrec by installing it manually.
In this tutorial, we explained how to install and use ESDrec on different Linux distributions. For this purpose, first, download the source code for esdrec, extract it, and then configure, compile, and install it on your system. Once installed, you can use ESDrec to record audio by following the provided syntax and example.