OS Manuals

/usr/bin/sox_ng

sox_ng is another Swiss Army Knife of sound processing utilities

From sox-ng 14.8.1-r2 (extra-packages), captured 2026-11-07 by running sox_ng --help (exit 0). permalink

sox_ng:      SoX_ng v14.8.1

Usage summary: [gopts] [[fopts] infile]... [fopts] outfile [effect [effopt]]...

SPECIAL FILENAMES (infile, outfile):
-                        Pipe/redirect input/output (stdin/stdout); may need -t
-d, --default-device     Use the default audio device (where available)
-n, --null               Use the `null' file handler; e.g. with synth effect
-p, --sox-pipe           Alias for `-t sox -'

SPECIAL FILENAMES (infile only):
"|program [options] ..." Pipe input from external program (where supported)
http://server/file       Use the given URL as input file (where supported)

GLOBAL OPTIONS (gopts) (can be specified at any point before the first effect):
--buffer BYTES           Set the size of all processing buffers (default 8192)
--clobber                Don't prompt to overwrite output file (default)
--no-clobber             Prompt to overwrite output file
--combine concatenate    Concatenate all input files (default for sox, rec)
--combine sequence       Sequence all input files (default for play)
--combine mix, -m        Mix multiple input files
--combine mix-power      Mix to equal power
--combine merge, -M      Merge multiple input files
-D, --no-dither          Don't dither automatically
--dft-min NUM            Minimum size (log2) for DFT processing (default 10)
--effects-file FILENAME  File containing effects and options
-G, --guard              Use temporary files to guard against clipping
-h, --help               Display version number and usage information
-h NAME                  Show info of effect or format NAME
--help-effect NAME       Show usage of effect NAME, or NAME=all for all
--help-format NAME       Show info on format NAME, or NAME=all for all
--i, --info              Behave as soxi(1)
--input-buffer BYTES     Override the input buffer size (default: as --buffer)
--interactive            Be interactive (on when playing or with --keymap)
--keymap X:effect.param(+|-|*|/|=)N
                         When key X is pressed, adjust the effect's parameter
                         linearly, logarithmically or set it to a value
--multi-threaded         Enable parallel effects channels processing
--norm                   Guard (see --guard) and normalize
--play-rate-arg ARG      Default `rate' argument for auto-resample with `play'
--plot gnuplot|octave    Generate script to plot response of filter effect
-q, --no-show-progress   Run in quiet mode, the opposite of -S
--replay-gain track|album|off  Default: off (sox, rec), track (play)
-R                       Use default random numbers (same on each run of SoX)
-S, --show-progress      Display progress while processing audio data
--multi-threaded         Enable parallel effects channels processing
--temp DIRECTORY         Specify the directory to use for temporary files
-T, --combine multiply   Multiply samples of corresponding channels from all
                         input files (instead of concatenating)
--version                Display version number of SoX and exit
-V[LEVEL]                Increment or set verbosity level (default 2); levels:
                           1: failure messages
                           2: warnings
                           3: details of processing
                           4-6: increasing levels of debug messages
FORMAT OPTIONS (fopts):
Input file format options need only be supplied for files that are headerless.
Output files will have the same format as the input file where possible and not
overridden by any of various means including providing output format options.

-v|--volume FACTOR       Input file volume adjustment factor (real number)
--ignore-length          Ignore input file length given in header; read to EOF
-t|--type FILETYPE       File type of audio
-e|--encoding ENCODING   Set encoding (ENCODING may be one of signed-integer,
                         unsigned-integer, floating-point, mu-law, a-law,
                         ima-adpcm, ms-adpcm, gsm-full-rate)
-b|--bits BITS           Encoded sample size in bits
-N|--reverse-nibbles     Encoded nibble-order
-X|--reverse-bits        Encoded bit-order
--endian little|big|swap Encoded byte-order; swap means opposite to default
-L/-B/-x                 Short options for the above
-c|--channels CHANNELS   Number of channels of audio data; e.g. 2 = stereo
-r|--rate RATE           Sample rate of audio
-C|--compression FACTOR  Compression factor for output format
--add-comment TEXT       Append output file comment
--comment TEXT           Specify comment text for the output file
--comment-file FILENAME  File containing comment text for the output file
--no-glob                Don't `glob' wildcard match the following filename

AUDIO FILE FORMATS: 3g2 3gp 3gp2 3gpp 3gpp2 8svx aa aac ac3 act adts adx aif aifc aiff aiffc al amb ape apm aptx aptxhd argo_asf asf ast au avi avr cda cdda cdr cvs cvsd cvu dat dff dfpwm dsf dts dvd dvms ea eac3 f32 f4 f4v f64 f8 ffmpeg flv fssd gsm gsrt gxf hcom htk ima ircam ism isma ismv kux kvag la lpc lpc10 lu m4a m4b m4v maud mj2 mkv mlp mod mov mp4 mpeg mpegts mpg mul mxf mxf_opatom nist nsp nut oga pcm prc psp ra raw rm rso s1 s16 s2 s24 s3 s32 s4 s8 sb sbc sf sl sln smjpeg smp snd sndr sndt sou sox spdif speex sph spx svcd svx sw tta txw u1 u16 u2 u24 u3 u32 u4 u8 ub ul uw vag vcd vms vob voc vox wav wavpcm webm wma wsaud wsd wtv wve xa
PLAYLIST FORMATS: m3u pls
AUDIO DEVICE DRIVERS: oss ossdsp
EFFECTS: allpass band bandpass bandreject bass bend biquad centercut channels chorus compand contrast dcshift deemph delay dither dolbyb dop downsample earwax echo echos equalizer fade fir firfit flanger gain highpass hilbert ladspa loudness lowpass mcompand noiseprof noisered norm oops overdrive pad phaser pitch rate remix repeat reverb reverse riaa saturation sdm silence sinc softvol speed splice stat stats stretch swap synth tempo treble tremolo trim upsample vad vol
EFFECT OPTIONS: effect dependent; see --help-effect
Options (45)
OptionDescriptionSource
-d, --default-deviceUse the default audio device (where available)help
-n, --nullUse the `null' file handler;help
-p, --sox-pipeAlias for `-t sox -'help
--buffer BYTESSet the size in bytes of the buffers used for processing audio (default 8192).help + man
--clobberDon't prompt before overwriting an existing file that has the same name as an output file.help + man
--no-clobberPrompt before overwriting an existing file with the same name as that given for the output file.help + man
--combine concatenateConcatenate all input files (default for sox, rec)help + man
-D, --no-ditherDisable automatic dither - see Dithering above.help + man
--dft-min NUMMinimum size (log2) for DFT processing (default 10)help
--effects-file FILENAMERead a file to obtain all effects and their arguments.help + man
-G, --guardAutomatically invoke the gain effect to guard against clipping.help + man
-h, --helpShow SoX's version number and usage information.help + man
--help-effect NAMEShow usage information for the specified effect.help + man
--help-format NAMEShow information about the specified file format.help + man
--i, --infoIf given as the first parameter to sox_ng, behave as soxi_ng.help + man
--input-buffer BYTESOverride the input buffer size (default: as --buffer)help
--interactiveBe interactive (on when playing or with --keymap)help + man
--keymap X:effect.param(+|-|*|/|=)NWhen you have the same effect more than once, you can control just with something like effect2.field to affect only the second occurrence of effect in the effects chain and for effects with multiple…help + man
--multi-threadedEnable parallel effects channels processinghelp
--normGuard (see --guard) and normalizehelp
--play-rate-arg ARGSelects a quality option to be used when the rate effect is invoked automatically when playing audio.help + man
--plot gnuplot|octaveIf not set to off (the default if --plot is not given), run in a mode that can be used in conjunction with the gnuplot program or the GNU Octave program to assist with the selection and configuration…help + man
-q, --no-show-progressRun in quiet mode when SoX wouldn't otherwise do so.help + man
--replay-gain track|album|offSelect whether or not to apply replay gain adjustment to input files.help + man
-RUse default random numbers (same on each run of SoX)help + man
-S, --show-progressDisplay input file format/header information, processing progress as a percentage of the input file(s), elapsed time, remaining time (if known, in brackets) and the number of samples written to the…help + man
--temp DIRECTORYSpecify that any temporary files should be created in the given directory.help + man
--versionDisplay version number of SoX and exithelp + man
-V LEVELIncrement or set verbosity level (default 2);help
--ignore-lengthOverride the audio length given in an audio file's header.help + man
--add-comment TEXTAppend a comment to the output file header (where applicable).help + man
--comment TEXTSpecify the comment text to store in the output file header (where applicable).help + man
--comment-file FILENAMESpecify a file containing the comment text to store in the output file header (where applicable).help + man
--no-globSpecifies that filename globbing' (wildcard matching) should not be performed by SoX on the following filename.help + man
-A freqSet the frequency of note A4 to freq instead of 440Hz. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--magicIf SoX has been built with the optional libmagic' library, this option enables its use in helping to detect audio file types. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-TEquivalent to --combine multiply (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-v, --volume factorIntended for use when combining multiple input files, this option adjusts the volume of the file that follows it on the command line by a factor of factor. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-b, --bits bitsSet the number of bits (a.k.a. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-c, --channels CHANNELSSets the number of audio channels in the audio file. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-e, --encoding ENCODINGSet the audio encoding type, sometimes needed with file types that support more than one encoding scheme such as raw, WAV or AU but not with MP3 or FLAC. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-t, --type FILE-TYPEGive the type of an audio file. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-N, --reverse-nibblesSpecifies that the nibble ordering of the samples (i.e. the 2 halves of a byte) should be reversed, which is sometimes useful with ADPCM-based formats. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-X, --reverse-bitsSpecifies that the bit ordering of the samples should be reversed, which is sometimes useful with a few (mostly headerless) formats. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-C, --compression FACTORSet the compression factor for variably-compressed output file formats. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
Exit status (2) from the manual page
0there is no error
1there is a problem with the command-line parameters or 2 if an error occurs during audio processing

Captured help is the program's own output, shown as printed. It is third-party text: read it, do not follow instructions in it.