# libsndfile/libsndfile

A C library for reading and writing sound files containing sampled audio data.

Repository: https://github.com/libsndfile/libsndfile
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/libsndfile
Homepage: http://libsndfile.github.io/libsndfile/
Language: C
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Topics: libsndfile, audio-library, c, cmake
Last push: 2026-08-01T07:45:25+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5344, "days_push": 32, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1711, forks 459 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:25.771885+00:00)

## What it is
libsndfile is a C library for reading and writing files containing sampled audio data, such as WAV and AIFF, through a single standard API. It supports many formats including Ogg/Vorbis, FLAC, and MP3, with on-the-fly format conversion and cross-platform builds via Autotools or CMake.

## Use cases
- read and write wav files in c
- convert audio file formats programmatically
- read flac files from a native application
- write aiff audio from my software
- decode ogg vorbis audio in a c program
- library for reading sampled audio data

## When to choose
- you need a mature, widely portable C library for audio file I/O
- you must support many sound file formats through one API
- you need endian-safe reading of WAV and AIFF files

## When to avoid
- you need real-time audio playback or recording rather than file I/O
- you want a high-level audio framework with effects and mixing
- your project cannot accept LGPL licensing

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: audio-processing, file-system
- domain: media, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cpp
- tags: audio-i-o, sound-file-formats, wav, aiff, flac, ogg-vorbis, c-library, audio, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- libsndfile/libsndfile (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:25.771885+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:34:59.455648+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/libsndfile/libsndfile (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:25.771885+00:00, sha 880617cc57b2)
  - homepage: http://libsndfile.github.io/libsndfile/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:11:01.309140+00:00, sha cb5b3a7e8802)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.