brew

Install ecasound with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix, pacman

Multitrack-capable audio recorder and effect processor. Version 2.9.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ecasound

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add ecasound

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · ecasound · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install ecasound

Debian stable package indexes · ecasound · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#ecasound

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ec/ecasound/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S ecasound

Arch Linux sync databases · ecasound · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Multitrack-capable audio recorder and effect processor

Project links

Commands and aliases

ecaconvert
ecafixdc
ecalength
ecamonitor
ecanormalize
ecaplay
ecasignalview
ecasound
libecasound-config
libecasoundc-config

history

Project history and usage

Ecasound is a long-running command-line audio processing package for playback, recording, format conversion, multitrack effects, mixing, and signal routing. It is one of the older Unix-style audio tools whose appeal comes from scriptability and composable command-line processing rather than a graphical workstation interface.

Project history

The official site states that Ecasound is designed for multitrack audio processing and includes a versatile console-mode user interface. The project page is copyrighted 1999-2020 by Kai Vehmanen, and the news archive marks June 30, 1999 as the date of the first public release, version 1.1.4r1.

Across the 2000s and 2010s, release notes show the project accumulating Unix audio integrations and operational polish: JACK-related fixes, LADSPA and LV2 plugin support, FLAC and sndfile work, Open Sound Control support, Python interface changes, and portability fixes for systems such as macOS and Cygwin.

The release advertised on the official home page is 2.9.3, released January 11, 2020. The official changelog points readers to release notes, the NEWS file, and the SourceForge gitweb source browser for detailed history.

Adoption history

Ecasound's adoption is rooted in Linux and Unix audio culture. The official site names GNU/Linux as the primary platform and also mentions FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Solaris, and limited Windows support through Cygwin.

Package metadata shows it is available across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Arch, and Nix, matching its role as a command-line audio utility that is often installed from an operating-system package manager rather than embedded as an application dependency.

How it is used

Ecasound is commonly used as a CLI engine for audio chains: users define inputs, outputs, chain operators, effects, controllers, and routing, then run or script processing from a shell. The documentation page points new users to examples, tutorials, the user guide, man pages, and programmer/API material.

The package also exposes helper tools such as ecaconvert, ecaplay, ecanormalize, ecalength, ecamonitor, and ecasignalview, which makes the Homebrew formula feel like a small Unix audio toolbox rather than a single executable.

Why package nerds care

Ecasound matters to package nerds because it preserves an old-school audio-processing model: GPL source releases, man pages, per-user rc files, plugin backends, shell automation, and a suite of small utilities. It is a useful contrast to GUI DAWs and newer plugin-host ecosystems.

Its packaging also captures dependency surface that audio users care about: JACK, LADSPA/LV2-era effects, sndfile/FLAC support, scripting interfaces, and cross-Unix build portability.

Timeline

1999: First public Ecasound release, 1.1.4r1.
2007: Ecasound 2.4.6 adds support for a custom configuration resource file.
2009: Project marks ten years since the first public release.
2012: Ecasound 2.9.0 released with LV2 support.
2020: Ecasound 2.9.3 released with Python 3 support and maintenance fixes.

Related projects

The Ecasound documentation and news archive place it near JACK, ALSA, LADSPA, LV2, libsndfile, FLAC, OSC, and scripting interfaces such as ECI.
The official news archive also mentions related front ends and tools such as TkEca and ecawave in the broader Ecasound ecosystem.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:audio,record

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: {prefix}/share/ecasound/ecasoundrc~/.ecasound/ecasoundrc

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`ecaconvert`	cli	global executable
`ecafixdc`	cli	global executable
`ecalength`	cli	global executable
`ecamonitor`	cli	global executable
`ecanormalize`	cli	global executable
`ecaplay`	cli	global executable
`ecasignalview`	cli	global executable
`ecasound`	cli	global executable
`libecasound-config`	cli	global executable
`libecasoundc-config`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version2.9.3

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://nosignal.fi/ecasound/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://nosignal.fi/ecasound/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ecasound
Version	2.9.3
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ecasound
Homepage	https://nosignal.fi/ecasound/
Repository	https://github.com/kaivehmanen/ecasound
Upstream docs	https://nosignal.fi/ecasound/Documentation
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://nosignal.fi/download/ecasound-2.9.3.tar.gz
Dependencies	jack, libsamplerate, libsndfile
Uses from macOS	ncurses
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	ecasound
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

ecasound 2.9.3-4+b5

multitrack-capable audio recorder and effect processor