a little GUI tool to render visualization videos of audio files

djfun djfun Last update: Feb 07, 2024

Audio Visualizer Python

We need a good name that is not as generic as "audio-visualizer-python"!

This is a little GUI tool which creates an audio visualization video from an input audio file. Different components can be added and layered to change the resulting video and add images, videos, gradients, text, etc. Encoding options can be changed with a variety of different output containers.

The program works on Linux, macOS, and Windows. If you encounter problems running it or have other bug reports or features that you wish to see implemented, please fork the project and submit a pull request and/or file an issue on this project.

Screenshots & Videos

Screenshot of program on Windows

A video created by this app

Video demonstration of the app features

Installation

Installation on Ubuntu 22.04

  • Install dependencies: sudo apt install ffmpeg python3-pip python3-pyqt5
    • You may wish to install the app within an isolated Python environment so it doesn't affect other Python packages on your system. You can do this easily using Pipx: replace python3-pip with pipx in the apt command above, then use pipx instead of pip to automatially install Python apps in isolated environments.
  • Download this repo and run pip install . in this directory (or use pipx for isolation)
  • Run the program with avp from terminal
  • Or try double-clicking the graphical shortcut ("run" or "execute" the file if asked)

Installation on Windows

  • Install Python from the Windows Store
  • Add Python to your system PATH (it should ask during the installation process)
  • Download this repo (extract from zip if needed)
  • Download and install FFmpeg. Use the GPL-licensed static builds.
  • Add FFmpeg to the system PATH as well (program will then work anywhere)
    • Alternatively, copy ffmpeg.exe into the folder that you want to run the program within
  • Open command prompt, cd into the repo directory, and run: pip install .
  • Now run avp or python -m avp from a command prompt window to start the app

Manual installation on macOS

  • [Outdated]: No one has updated these instructions for a while.
  • Install Homebrew
  • Use the following commands to install the needed dependencies:
brew install python3
brew install ffmpeg --with-fdk-aac --with-ffplay --with-freetype --with-libass --with-libquvi --with-libvorbis --with-libvpx --with-opus --with-x265
brew install qt
brew install sip --with-python3
brew install pyqt --with-python3
pip3 install --upgrade pip
  • Download this repository and install it using Pip: pip3 install . (or use pipx for isolation)
  • Start the app with avp or python3 -m avp

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Combo Effect
Ctrl+S Save Current Project
Ctrl+A Save Project As...
Ctrl+O Open Project
Ctrl+N New Project (prompts to save current project)
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y Redo
Ctrl+T or Insert Add Component
Ctrl+R or Delete Remove Component
Ctrl+Space Focus Component List
Ctrl+Shift+S Save Component Preset
Ctrl+Shift+C Remove Preset from Component
Ctrl+Up Move Selected Component Up
Ctrl+Down Move Selected Component Down
Ctrl+Home Move Selected Component to Top
Ctrl+End Move Selected Component to Bottom
Ctrl+Shift+U Open Undo History
Ctrl+Shift+F Show FFmpeg Command

Commandline Mode

Projects can be created with the GUI then loaded from the commandline for easy automation of video production. Some components have commandline options for extra customization, and you can save "presets" with settings to load if the commandline option doesn't exist.

Example/test command

  • Create a video with a grey "classic visualizer", background image, and text:
    • avp -c 0 image path=src/tests/data/test.jpg -c 1 classic color=180,180,180 -c 2 text "title=Episode 371" -i src/tests/data/test.ogg -o output.mp4
  • See more about commandline mode in the wiki!

Developer Information

Known Working Versions of Dependencies

  • Python 3.10
  • FFmpeg 4.4.1
  • PyQt5 (Qt v5.15.3)
  • Pillow 9.1.0
  • NumPy 1.22.3

Getting Faster Export Times

  • Pillow-SIMD may be used as a drop-in replacement for Pillow if you desire faster video export times, but it must be compiled from source. For help installing dependencies to compile Pillow-SIMD, see the Pillow installation guide. Then add the -SIMD suffix into setup.py and install as usual.

Developing a New Component

  • Information for developing a component is in our wiki: How a Component Works
  • File an issue on GitHub if you need help fitting your visualizer into our component system; we would be happy to collaborate

License

Source code of audio-visualizer-python is licensed under the MIT license.

Some dependencies of this application are under the GPL license. When packaged with these dependencies, audio-visualizer-python may also be under the terms of this GPL license.

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