Audio Recording
Python Quick Start

Platforms

• Linux (x86_64)
• macOS (x86_64, arm64)
• Windows (x86_64, arm64)
• Raspberry Pi (Zero, 3, 4, 5)

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• PIP

Quick Start

Setup

1. Install Python 3.

2. Install the pvrecorder Python package using PIP:

pip3 install pvrecorder

Usage

Initialize and begin recording:

from pvrecorder import PvRecorder

recorder = PvRecorder(frame_length=512)
recorder.start()

Read a frame of audio:

while True:
    frame = recorder.read()
    # process audio frame

To stop recording:

recorder.stop()

Once you are done, free the used resources. You do not have to call stop() before delete():

recorder.delete()

Selecting an Audio Device

To get a list of available audio devices:

devices = PvRecorder.get_available_devices()

The index of the device in the returned list can be used in __init__() to select that device for audio capture:

recorder = PvRecorder(frame_length=512, device_index=2)

Demo

For the PvRecorder Python SDK, we offer a demo application that demonstrates how use PvRecorder to record audio to an output audio file.

Setup

Install the pvrecorderdemo Python package using PIP:

pip3 install pvrecorderdemo

This package installs command-line utilities for the PvRecorder Python demo.

Usage

Use the --help flag to see the usage options for the demo:

pv_recorder_demo --help

Run the following to see what devices are available for audio capture:

pv_recorder_demo --show_audio_devices

Run the demo with the desired audio device (or -1 for the default one) and an output file path:

pv_recorder_demo --audio_device_index ${DEVICE_INDEX} --output_wav_path ${OUTPUT_WAV_PATH}

For more information about our PvRecorder demo for Python, head over to our GitHub repository.

Resources