How to install Audacity 3.7.3 on a Chromebook

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of installing Audacity 3.7.3 on your Chromebook. Audacity is a powerful, free, open-source audio editing software that can be incredibly useful for a variety of tasks, from recording podcasts to editing music.

Compatibility Check

Before we begin, it's important to note that this tutorial is specifically for Chromebooks with an Intel or AMD CPU that support Linux Apps. If your Chromebook has an ARM64 architecture CPU, unfortunately, this method won't work for you.

Video Tutorial

We've prepared a video tutorial to guide you through each step visually. Feel free to follow along with the video as you go through the written instructions below.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Here are the commands you'll need to run in your terminal to install Audacity. We'll explain each step in detail below.

1) sudo apt update
2) sudo apt install kmenuedit fuse
3) wget https://github.com/audacity/audacity/releases/download/Audacity-3.7.3/audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage
4) chmod 755 audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage
5) ./audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage
6) kmenuedit

1. Update Your System

First, we'll update your system's package list to ensure we're working with the latest information:

sudo apt update

This command refreshes the list of available packages and their versions, but it doesn't install or upgrade any packages.

2. Install Required Packages

Next, we'll install two necessary packages: kmenuedit (a menu editor) and fuse (a filesystem in userspace):

sudo apt install kmenuedit fuse

The kmenuedit will allow us to create a launcher for Audacity, while fuse is required to run AppImage files.

3. Download Audacity

Now, we'll download the Audacity AppImage file:

wget https://github.com/audacity/audacity/releases/download/Audacity-3.7.3/audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage

This command downloads the Audacity 3.7.3 AppImage directly from the official GitHub repository.

4. Make the AppImage Executable

We need to make the downloaded AppImage file executable:

chmod 755 audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage

This command changes the file permissions to allow it to be run as a program.

5. Run Audacity

Let's test if Audacity runs correctly:

./audacity-linux-3.7.3-x64-22.04.AppImage

This command should launch Audacity. If it opens successfully, you can close it and move on to the next step.

6. Create a Menu Entry

Finally, we'll create a menu entry for easy access to Audacity:

kmenuedit

This will open the KDE Menu Editor. Here's how to create the entry:

Choose a category for the Audacity launcher
Click on "New Item"
Choose a name for the desktop entry (e.g., "Audacity")
For the command, enter the full path to the AppImage file you downloaded
Save the launcher

Enabling Audio Input

After installation, you'll need to enable audio input for Audacity to function fully. Go to your Linux apps settings and enable the audio input option.

Using Audacity

Now that Audacity is installed, you can start using it for various audio tasks. Here are a few tips:

To record audio, click the red record button in Audacity's main interface.
To add existing audio files, you'll need to place them in your Linux folder for Audacity to access them.
When exporting your audio, the files will be saved in your Linux folder.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during installation or while using Audacity, here are a few things to try:

Make sure your Chromebook's Linux environment is up to date
Check that you have sufficient storage space for the installation
If Audacity doesn't launch, try restarting your Chromebook and attempting to run it again

If you're still having trouble, don't hesitate to reach out for help in the comments section of our YouTube video.

Additional Resources

To help you get started with Audacity, here are some useful resources:

We hope this guide helps you successfully install and start using Audacity on your Chromebook. Happy audio editing!

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