NAudio.Alsa 3.3.0

Prefix Reserved
.NET 9.0 This package targets .NET 9.0. The package is compatible with this framework or higher.
There is a newer prerelease version of this package available.
See the version list below for details. 
dotnet add package NAudio.Alsa --version 3.3.0
                    


                    

                
NuGet\Install-Package NAudio.Alsa -Version 3.3.0
This command is intended to be used within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, as it uses the NuGet module's version of Install-Package. 
<PackageReference Include="NAudio.Alsa" Version="3.3.0" />
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package. 
<PackageVersion Include="NAudio.Alsa" Version="3.3.0" />
                    


                            Directory.Packages.props
                        

                    

                
<PackageReference Include="NAudio.Alsa" />
                    


                            Project file
For projects that support Central Package Management (CPM), copy this XML node into the solution Directory.Packages.props file to version the package. 
paket add NAudio.Alsa --version 3.3.0
                    


                    

                
#r "nuget: NAudio.Alsa, 3.3.0"
#r directive can be used in F# Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks. Copy this into the interactive tool or source code of the script to reference the package. 
#:package NAudio.Alsa@3.3.0
#:package directive can be used in C# file-based apps starting in .NET 10 preview 4. Copy this into a .cs file before any lines of code to reference the package. 
#addin nuget:?package=NAudio.Alsa&version=3.3.0
                    


                            Install as a Cake Addin
                        

                    

                
#tool nuget:?package=NAudio.Alsa&version=3.3.0
                    


                            Install as a Cake Tool

NAudio.Alsa

Nuget

ALSA playback and capture for NAudio on Linux.

This package provides:

Type Role
AlsaOut IWavePlayer — play any NAudio IWaveProvider through ALSA
AlsaIn IWaveIn — record from an ALSA capture device
AlsaDeviceEnumerator list playback / capture devices (AlsaDeviceInfo)
AlsaException thrown on libasound errors (exposes ErrorCode)

Platform

Linux only — the assembly is marked [SupportedOSPlatform("linux")]. It P/Invokes libasound; the runtime SONAME libasound.so.2 is resolved automatically (you do not need the -dev package). Install the ALSA runtime if it is missing:

sudo apt install libasound2t64  # Ubuntu 24.04+ (renamed from libasound2 in the t64 transition)
sudo apt install libasound2     # older Debian/Ubuntu

This package is not pulled in by the NAudio meta-package (there is no net9.0-linux TFM). Reference it explicitly:

dotnet add package NAudio.Alsa

Supported input formats

AlsaOut plays any IWaveProvider, so it is format-agnostic — what you can play depends on which decoder you feed it. MediaFoundationReader and the bundled Mp3FileReader / AudioFileReader are Windows-only, but the cross-platform NAudio.SoundFile package (libsndfile) decodes the compressed/free codecs on Linux:

Format Reader Status
WAV (PCM / IEEE float) WaveFileReader ✅ supported
AIFF (uncompressed PCM) AiffFileReader ✅ supported
Raw PCM RawSourceWaveStream ✅ supported
FLAC / Ogg-Vorbis / Opus SoundFileReader (NAudio.SoundFile) ✅ supported (needs system libsndfile)
MP3 SoundFileReader (libsndfile ≥ 1.1), or Mp3FileReaderBase + a managed IMp3FrameDecompressor (e.g. NLayer) ✅ / ⚠️
AAC / M4A / ALAC / WMA — ❌ no cross-platform decoder (FFmpeg territory)

SoundFileReader is the cross-platform MediaFoundationReader-style decoder (it is a WaveStream / ISampleProvider); add the NAudio.SoundFile package and a system libsndfile to play FLAC/Ogg/Opus/ MP3 through AlsaOut. NAudio.SoundFile also encodes those formats, so it pairs with AlsaIn to capture straight to FLAC/Ogg/Opus.

Play a WAV file

using NAudio.Wave;
using NAudio.Wave.Alsa;

using (var audioFile = new WaveFileReader("test.wav"))
using (var outputDevice = new AlsaOut())          // default device
{
    outputDevice.Init(audioFile);
    outputDevice.Play();
    while (outputDevice.PlaybackState == PlaybackState.Playing)
        Thread.Sleep(200);
}

Play FLAC/Ogg/Opus/MP3 with SoundFileReader (cross-platform, needs a system libsndfile — dotnet add package NAudio.SoundFile):

using NAudio.SoundFile;

using var audioFile = new SoundFileReader("test.flac");
using var output = new AlsaOut();
output.Init(audioFile);
output.Play();

Or play MP3 by wiring a managed decompressor into Mp3FileReaderBase (no native dependency):

// using NLayer.NAudioSupport;  // dotnet add package NLayer.NAudioSupport
using var mp3 = new Mp3FileReaderBase("test.mp3",
    waveFormat => new Mp3FrameDecompressor(waveFormat));
using var output = new AlsaOut();
output.Init(mp3);
output.Play();

Record to a WAV file

using NAudio.Wave;
using NAudio.Wave.Alsa;

using var writer = new WaveFileWriter("captured.wav", new WaveFormat(44100, 16, 2));
using var input = new AlsaIn { WaveFormat = writer.WaveFormat };
input.DataAvailable += (s, a) => writer.Write(a.Buffer, 0, a.BytesRecorded);
input.StartRecording();
Thread.Sleep(5000);
input.StopRecording();

Swap WaveFileWriter for NAudio.SoundFile's SoundFileWriter to capture straight to FLAC/Ogg-Vorbis/Opus instead of WAV.

Enumerate devices

foreach (var d in AlsaDeviceEnumerator.GetPlaybackDevices())
    Console.WriteLine($"{d.Name} - {d.Description}");

AlsaDeviceInfo.Name is passed straight to new AlsaOut(name) / new AlsaIn(name).

Notes

  • Output is taken through a SampleChannel, so AlsaOut.Volume is a real software gain and mono sources are handled. The device format is negotiated as IEEE float, else 16-bit, else 24-bit PCM.
  • Pause() uses hardware pause where the driver supports it, otherwise it drops and re-prepares the stream on resume.
  • A dedicated streaming thread does blocking I/O and recovers from xruns; it is always joined before the device handle is closed.

Documentation

See the NAudio documentation site for tutorials and the full API reference, or the GitHub repository for source, issues and demos.

License

MIT.

Product Compatible and additional computed target framework versions.
.NET net9.0 is compatible.  net9.0-android was computed.  net9.0-browser was computed.  net9.0-ios was computed.  net9.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net9.0-macos was computed.  net9.0-tvos was computed.  net9.0-windows was computed.  net10.0 was computed.  net10.0-android was computed.  net10.0-browser was computed.  net10.0-ios was computed.  net10.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net10.0-macos was computed.  net10.0-tvos was computed.  net10.0-windows was computed. 
Compatible target framework(s)
Included target framework(s) (in package)
Learn more about Target Frameworks and .NET Standard.

NuGet packages (2)

Showing the top 2 NuGet packages that depend on NAudio.Alsa:

Package Downloads
Uniform.Matrix.Audio

Voice audio for Matrix calls: Opus encoding and decoding, 20 ms voice frames from a microphone and to a speaker over NAudio, with ALSA on Linux and WASAPI on Windows.
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GitHub repositories (1)

Showing the top 1 popular GitHub repositories that depend on NAudio.Alsa:

Repository Stars
purelogiccode/SimpleLauncher
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A packaging and nullability release. The `NAudio` meta-package is now a single
`net9.0` package that brings the Windows backends (WinMM and WASAPI) to plain
`netX.0` projects, so a `net10.0` console app on Windows gets working MP3
decoding and playback rather than a cross-platform subset that threw
`NotSupportedException`. In exchange it no longer pulls in `NAudio.Asio`,
`NAudio.Dmo` or `NAudio.WinForms`, which must now be referenced directly if
used. `NAudio.WinMM`, `NAudio.Asio`, `NAudio.Dmo` and `NAudio.Vst3` likewise
now target plain `net9.0`.

Every NAudio package is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled.
This is a source-level change with no binary breaks, but projects with
nullable enabled may see new warnings, and a number of members that used to
throw `NullReferenceException` now throw `ObjectDisposedException` or
`InvalidOperationException` instead.

The fixes centre on `WasapiRecorder`/`WasapiCapture` restarting cleanly after
both successful and failed starts, buffer and handle lifetime bugs in the
winmm MIDI backend, and frame-aligned seeking in `MediaFoundationReader`.

* **Breaking:** the `NAudio` meta-package is now a single `net9.0` package that pulls in `NAudio.Core`, `NAudio.Midi`, `NAudio.WinMM` and `NAudio.Wasapi` on every target framework. A plain `netX.0` project on Windows (e.g. a console app on `net10.0`) now gets `Mp3FileReader`, `WaveOut`, `WasapiPlayer` and an `AudioFileReader` that reads MP3, where previously it silently got a cross-platform subset that threw `NotSupportedException` (#1472). It **no longer includes `NAudio.Asio`, `NAudio.Dmo` or `NAudio.WinForms`**: add those packages if you use `AsioOut`/`AsioDevice`, `DirectSoundOut` or the DMO effects, or `WaveOutWindow`/`WaveInWindow`/the `NAudio.Gui` controls. `AudioFileReader` now chooses its Media Foundation/ACM paths at runtime, and off Windows its `NotSupportedException` messages point to `NAudio.SoundFile`. `NAudio.Extras` is now single-target `net9.0`, with `AudioPlaybackEngine` marked Windows-only (#1485)
* `NAudio.WinMM`, `NAudio.Asio`, `NAudio.Dmo` and `NAudio.Vst3` now target plain `net9.0` instead of `net9.0-windows`, matching `NAudio.Wasapi`. They remain Windows-only, enforced by `[SupportedOSPlatform("windows")]`, but can now be referenced directly from a plain `netX.0` project (calls show `CA1416` warnings unless guarded or the project is marked Windows-only) and built on Linux/macOS without `EnableWindowsTargeting`. No change for projects targeting `netX.0-windows` (#1482)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Core** - `NAudio.Core` is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled, so its public API carries nullability annotations (e.g. `WaveFileReader.ReadNextSampleFrame` and `Mp3Frame.LoadFromStream` return nullable types, and `Mp3Frame.RawData` is `byte[]?` when a frame is read without its data). This is a source-level change only: there are no binary breaks, but projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings, and overrides of NAudio.Core virtual members may need matching annotations. `XingHeader.LoadXingHeader` now returns `null` for a frame read without its data instead of throwing. Thanks to @Seb-stian (#1452)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Midi** - `NAudio.Midi` is now also compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. `MidiInMessageEventArgs.MidiEvent` and `NoteOnEvent.OffEvent` are nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. `MidiEvent.ReadNextEvent` now throws `FormatException` instead of `NullReferenceException` for running status with no previous event, and `RawMetaEvent` treats null data as empty (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.WinMM** - `NAudio.WinMM` is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. `AcmDriver.FindByShortName` and `WaveCapabilitiesHelpers.GetNameFromGuid` return nullable types, and `AcmDriver.ShowFormatChooseDialog` has nullable `out` parameters). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. `WaveOut.OutputWaveFormat` before `Init` now throws `InvalidOperationException`, `AcmStream` members throw `ObjectDisposedException` after dispose, and `GetNameFromGuid` returns null instead of throwing when the registry key is missing, where each previously threw `NullReferenceException` (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.SoundFile and NAudio.Sampler** - both packages are now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. the `SoundFileTags` fields, `SoundFileWriterOptions.Tags` and `SoundFileException.Function` are nullable, and the `TryLoad` methods on `WaveSampleLoader` / `ISfzSampleLoader` mark `left` as non-null on success and `right` as null for mono). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings, and custom `ISfzSampleLoader` implementations may need matching annotations (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.WinForms, NAudio.Alsa and NAudio.Extras** - these packages are now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. `WaveViewer.WaveStream`, `AlsaException.Function` and the control/device events are nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. `AlsaOut.OutputWaveFormat` and `WaveOutWindow.OutputWaveFormat` now throw `InvalidOperationException` before `Init` (previously null and `NullReferenceException` respectively), and `WaveOutWindow.Play` before `Init` throws `InvalidOperationException` instead of `NullReferenceException` (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Asio** - `NAudio.Asio` is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. the optional `AsioPlaybackOptions.OutputChannels` / `AsioDuplexOptions.InputChannels`, the `AsioDevice`/`AsioOut` events and the `AsioDriverExt` callbacks are nullable; required option members such as `Source` and `Processor` stay non-nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. `AsioOut` members now throw `ObjectDisposedException` after `Dispose` and `AsioOut.OutputWaveFormat` throws `InvalidOperationException` when no playback source is initialised, where they previously threw `NullReferenceException` or returned null (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Dmo** - `NAudio.Dmo` is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. `DirectSoundOut.PlaybackStopped` and `DirectSoundDeviceInfo.ModuleName` are nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. `DirectSoundOut.OutputWaveFormat` now throws `InvalidOperationException` before `Init` instead of returning null, and the `MediaObject` wrappers, `DmoResampler.MediaObject`, `WindowsMediaMp3Decoder.MediaObject` and `DmoOutputDataBuffer.MediaBuffer` throw `ObjectDisposedException` after `Dispose` instead of returning null or throwing `NullReferenceException` (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Wasapi (CoreAudioApi and MediaFoundation)** - the `NAudio.CoreAudioApi` and `NAudio.MediaFoundation` types are now annotated for nullable reference types (e.g. `AudioClient.TryGetAcousticEchoCancellationControl`, `MMDeviceEnumerator.TryGetDefaultAudioEndpoint`, `MfSourceReader.ReadSample`, `PropertyStoreProperty.Value` and `Part.AudioVolumeLevel`/`AudioMute`/`JackDescription` are nullable); `WasapiOut`, `WasapiCapture` and the other top-level classes follow in a separate change. Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. The CoreAudio and Media Foundation COM wrappers now throw `ObjectDisposedException` when used after `Dispose` instead of `NullReferenceException`, `AudioSessionManager.Sessions` throws `InvalidOperationException` instead of returning null when sessions are unavailable, and `AudioSessionControl.AudioMeterInformation` / `SimpleAudioVolume` throw `NotSupportedException` instead of returning null if the session does not expose those interfaces (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.Wasapi (playback, capture and Media Foundation classes)** - `WasapiOut`, `WasapiCapture`, `WasapiPlayer`, `WasapiRecorder`, their builders and `MediaFoundationReader`/`StreamMediaFoundationReader`/`MediaFoundationEncoder` are now annotated too, completing NAudio.Wasapi (e.g. `WasapiPlayer`/`WasapiRecorder.DeviceId` and `DeviceFriendlyName`, `LowLatencyUnavailableReason`, `WasapiRecorder.AcousticEchoCancellationControl`, `WasapiPlayer.GetSupportedExclusiveFormat`, `MediaFoundationEncoder.SelectMediaType` and the playback/recording events are nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. The WASAPI classes now throw `ObjectDisposedException` when used after `Dispose`, and report `InvalidOperationException` instead of `NullReferenceException` through `PlaybackStopped` when playback is started without `Init` (#825)
* **Nullable reference types in NAudio.MacOS** - `NAudio.MacOS` is now compiled with nullable reference types enabled (e.g. `AudioSystemObject.DefaultInputDevice`/`DefaultOutputDevice`, the `ConvertUIDToDevice`-style lookups, `AudioObject.Owner`, `AudioDevice.Icon`, `ExtendedAudioFileReaderSettings.OutputFormat`, `ExtendedAudioFileWriterSettings.FileType`/`ProvidingFormat` and the player, recorder and property-listener events are nullable). Source-level change only; projects with nullable enabled may see new warnings. Object-list properties such as `AudioSystemObject.Devices` now skip unknown object IDs instead of returning null entries, the parameterless `CoreAudioPlayer`/`CoreAudioRecorder` constructors throw `InvalidOperationException` instead of `ArgumentNullException` when there is no default device, and `ExtendedAudioFileWriter` captures `ProvidingFormat` when created rather than re-reading the settings object on every write (#825)
* Fixed `WasapiRecorder` and `WasapiCapture` failing with `AUDCLNT_E_ALREADY_INITIALIZED` when restarted after a start that failed late in initialization (e.g. no AEC reference control); the original error is now reported again (#1493)
* Fixed `WasapiRecorder` and `WasapiCapture` being left in the `Starting` state when initialization throws, so later `StartRecording` calls failed with `"Already recording"`. (#1490)
* Fixed `WasapiRecorder` not able to re-start after successfully stopping the recorder. (#1479)
* Fixed several buffer and handle lifetime bugs in the winmm MIDI backend: `MidiOut.SendBuffer` no longer frees a sysex buffer while the driver may still own it, `MidiIn` now stops input before resetting it, and neither class calls into winmm with a handle it never opened. `MidiOut.SendBuffer` now blocks until the driver releases the buffer and throws `MmException` if the send fails (#1478)
* Fixed `MediaFoundationReader` reporting a `Position` that was not a whole number of frames after seeking a compressed file (e.g. MP3 or AAC), up to a frame before the requested position, and a `Length` that could include a partial frame. Seeks now round down to a frame boundary and land exactly on it (#1488)