Open-source Hindenburg alternatives

Audacity is a multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. It is designed to be easy to use for recording sound and editing it across separate tracks. This repository holds the project's source code, written in C++ with the wxWidgets toolkit.

The project is in the middle of a major transition. Audacity 4 brings an entirely new user interface along with extensive refactoring, while the 3.x line remains available and still accepts patches from a separate branch. Build instructions exist for both versions, and development updates are shared on YouTube, Discord and the project blog.

Audacity is open source software licensed under GPLv3, with most code files under GPLv2 or later. Third-party libraries and VST3-related code are noted exceptions, and the documentation is licensed CC BY 3.0. It runs locally as a desktop application, so no account or hosted service is involved.

Ardour is a digital audio workstation, free and open source, that runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. It is built for recording, editing, mixing and mastering audio and MIDI projects, from capturing vocals and live instruments to producing beats and preparing tracks for streaming.

Recording starts from an audio interface, microphone or keyboard, and material can be imported from a hard drive or the Freesound database. Editing tools include cutting, moving, stretching, trimming, crossfading, transposing and quantizing with unlimited undo and redo, while the mixer offers faders, automation, EQ, dynamics, sends, inserts and support for external control surfaces.

Its core audience is audio engineers who want full control of their tools for long sessions, along with musicians who record real instruments. Ardour supports plugin formats such as LV2 and VST and connects through JACK. It is written in C++, and the GitHub repository is a mirror of the project's source code.