How To Install The Latest Version Of Audacity On Ubuntu (Via PPA And FlatPak)

As you may know, Audacity is a free and open-source audio editor, allowing the users to record, edit and enhance audio files.

Main features:

• Cross-Platform: Audacity can be installed foe free on all the major desktop platforms, including Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.
• High-Quality Audio Recording: Audacity enables users to record audio via microphones, external devices or even computer playback, supporting both stereo and mono recordings, at various sample rates
• Powerful Editing Tools: Audacity supports cutting, copying, pasting, deleting audio segments, multi-track editing for complex projects and also has envelope tools for smooth volume adjustments
• Wide Format Support: It supports various audio file formats, including WAV, MP3, FLAC, AIFF and Ogg Vorbis but also handles more specialized formats via its integratyed FFmpeg library
• Real-Time Effects: Users can also apply various built-in effects, like equalization, noise reduction, reverb, and compression
• Plug-ins: Third-party plug-ins, including VST, LADSPA, and Nyquist, are supported and extend the software’s functionality.
• Spectrogram and Analysis Tools: The spectrogram and frequency analysis tools available enable the users to visualize audio frequencies and make precise adjustments, which is useful for cleaning up audio tracks or mastering projects.
• Batch Processing: It allows automating repetitive tasks like applying effects or converting file formats using batch processing, which saves a lot of time during large projects.
• Open-Source and Community-Driven: Audacity benefits from a vibrant community of developers and contributors who continuously update and enhance the software. This ensures stability, transparency, and ongoing innovation.

Why Choose Audacity on Ubuntu?

Audacity integrates seamlessly with Ubuntu, leveraging the operating system’s robust performance and flexibility. Its installation is straightforward, and being open-source aligns perfectly with Ubuntu’s ethos of free and accessible software.

Whether you’re editing a podcast, mastering a music track, or simply cleaning up audio files, Audacity provides all the tools needed to achieve professional results. Its combination of power, flexibility, and ease of use makes it an essential tool for anyone working with audio on Ubuntu.

In this article I will show you how to install the latest version of Audacity on Ubuntu and derivative systems, via PPA and Flatpak.

How to install the latest version of Audacity on Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Linux Mint, Elementary OS and derivative systems via PPA:

(Optional) Step 0: Update Your System

Before installing any new software, it is recommended to update your system to ensure you have the latest packages and security updates.

The following command updates your system and upgrades installed software while maintaining dependencies:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 1: Add the Audacity PPA Repository

Audacity 3.7.1 is available via a Personal Package Archive (PPA), which simplifies installation on Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based systems. To add the official Audacity PPA, run the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

Press Enter if prompted to confirm adding the repository. This ensures your system can fetch and install Audacity from the PPA.

Step 2: Update the Package List

Once the PPA has been added, update the package list to ensure your system recognizes the new software source:

sudo apt update

Step 3: Install Audacity

Now that the repository has been added and updated, install Audacity with the following command:

sudo apt install audacity -y

(Optional) Remove Audacity

If you want to uninstall Audacity, use the following command:

sudo apt remove audacity -y

To completely remove Audacity, including all configuration files, use:

sudo apt purge audacity -y

Additionally, to remove the PPA repository, run:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

Finally, to clean up unnecessary dependencies, execute:

sudo apt autoremove -y

This completes the installation and removal process. Enjoy using Audacity!

How to install the latest version of Audacity on Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Linux Mint, Elementary OS and derivative systems via FlatPak:

Flatpak is a powerful package management system that provides a consistent and secure way to distribute applications across various Linux distributions. Unlike Snap, which is maintained by Canonical, Flatpak is an open-source project supported by the Freedesktop community.

Flatpak applications run in a sandboxed environment, ensuring better security and system isolation. They are also distribution-independent, meaning they can run on any Linux system that supports Flatpak.

Step 1: Install Flatpak and Enable Flathub

If Flatpak is not already installed, set it up with the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Step 2: Install Audacity via Flatpak

Once Flatpak is installed and Flathub is enabled, install Audacious by running:

flatpak install flathub org.audacityteam.Audacity

Step 3: Run Audacity

To launch Audacious after installation, use:

flatpak run org.audacityteam.Audacity

(Optional) Uninstall Audacity

If you ever need to remove Audacious, use this command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.audacityteam.Audacity