# spatialaudio/python-sounddevice

:sound: Play and Record Sound with Python :snake:

Repository: https://github.com/spatialaudio/python-sounddevice
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/python-sounddevice
Homepage: https://python-sounddevice.readthedocs.io/
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: audio, soundcard, portaudio, python
Last push: 2026-08-17T08:23:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 90/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 74, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4092, "days_push": 16, "days_rel": 16, "gap_med": 155, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1267, forks 163 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:11.392304+00:00)

## What it is
A Python module providing bindings for the PortAudio library to play and record audio. It offers convenience functions for working with NumPy arrays containing audio signals.

## Use cases
- play audio from numpy arrays in python
- record microphone input to numpy arrays
- access soundcard playback and capture from python
- stream audio in real time with python
- build a simple audio recorder or player script
- process audio signals with numpy and play them back

## When to choose
- you need cross-platform audio I/O in Python with minimal setup
- you want NumPy-based audio buffers for signal processing
- you prefer a thin, MIT-licensed wrapper around PortAudio

## When to avoid
- you need high-level audio features like effects, mixing, or codecs
- you are not using Python or NumPy
- you need audio playback in a browser or mobile app

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: audio-processing, sdk
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: python, windows, cross-platform
- tags: portaudio, numpy, soundcard, playback, recording, audio, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- spatialaudio/python-sounddevice (main) score 90

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.392304+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 2026-08-30T05:03:44.243911+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/spatialaudio/python-sounddevice (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:11.392304+00:00, sha 034b25d7a320)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.