Python Terminal Audio Visualizer

Required:

• numpy
• scipy
• pyalsaaudio or SoundCard

Optional:

• asciimatics
• pygame

$ git clone https://github.com/bharris6/pytermvis.git
$ cd pytermvis
$ pip install .

Once installed, you need to set up the appropriate sampler for your machine.

ALSA support relies on the pyalsaaudio package and a loopback module snd-aloop being loaded. Then your ALSA configuration needs to support splitting sound output to the loopback interface as well as to your normal speakers.

$ pip install --user pyalsaaudio

Some resources for ALSA loopback configuration can be found below:

• Playing with ALSA Loopback Devices
• Building and Installing ALSA Loopback

NOTE: There's also the alsaloop command, but I have not played with that.

ALSA requires specification of the right sampler:

$ pytermvis -b alsa

SoundCard supports Linux/pulseaudio, Mac/coreaudio, and Windows/WASAPI.

$ pip install --user soundcard

SoundCard is the default sampler, but can be specified as well:

$ pytermvis -b soundcard

The install method will put a command pytermvis on your path that you can execute. Once you've installed pytermvis itself and installed an appropriate sampler, you can run it using that command:

$ pytermvis -r text

You can also run pytermvis using python's -m flag instead:

$ python -m pytermvis.run -r text

A basic install will only support a text-based renderer. To use the asciimatics or pygame renderers, you'll need to install their respective packages.

$ pip install --user asciimatics

Once installed, asciimatics can be selected as the renderer by using the -r flag:

$ pytermvis -r asciimatics

pip install --user pygame

Once installed, pygame can be selected as the renderer by using the -r flag:

$ pytermvis -r pygame

It will show the same prompt for selection of sound device as the other renderers. The difference is, a new window will be created in which the visualizer output is drawn.

pytermvis uses SoundCard's or pyalsaaudio's ability to record from "loopback" devices. This means it is basically catching the audio output of your speaker and passing those raw frames through numpy's/scipy's FFT to get the frequency domain representation. Then, that FFT data is split into buckets based on the terminal width and each bucket's amplitude is printed as vertical lines using one of the renderers: asciimatics, pygame, or a printline output.

Requires Python 3.x, preferable 3.6+.

ALSA support isn't really configurable.