# karlstav/cava **Attribution required: if you use, quote, or summarise this content, you must credit and link back to [awesome-repositories.com](https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/karlstav-cava).** 5,856 stars · 286 forks · C · mit ## Links - GitHub: https://github.com/karlstav/cava - awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/karlstav-cava.md ## Topics `alsa` `audio-visualizer` `freebsd` `glsl-shaders` `linux` `macos` `ncurses` `pipewire` `portaudio` `pulseaudio` `sdl2` `sndio` `windows` ## Tags ### Graphics & Multimedia - [Frequency Band Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/audio-recording/real-time-visualization/frequency-band-visualizers.md) — Displays real-time frequency spectrum bars from audio output or input directly in the terminal. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava#readme)) - [Audio Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/terminal-based-audio-playback/audio-visualizers.md) — Displays real-time frequency spectrum bars from audio output directly in the terminal. - [Audio Backend Extensions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-backend-extensions.md) — Captures audio data from multiple system sound servers including PulseAudio, PipeWire, ALSA, JACK, and CoreAudio. - [FIFO-Based Captures](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/audio-recording/system-audio-capture/fifo-based-captures.md) — Captures audio via FIFO pipes from system sound servers for decoupled processing. - [Audio Source Captures](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/multi-source-audio-playback/audio-source-captures.md) — Reads audio data from PulseAudio, PipeWire, ALSA, JACK, and CoreAudio for spectrum analysis. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava#readme)) - [Adjustable Bar Displays](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/synchronized-lyric-displays/status-bar-lyric-displays/adjustable-bar-displays.md) — Displays real-time audio bars with adjustable sensitivity, width, and colors via keyboard controls. - [Keyboard-Controlled Appearance Adjustments](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/audio-recording/real-time-visualization/keyboard-controlled-appearance-adjustments.md) — Allows keyboard-controlled adjustment of visualizer appearance without restarting. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava#readme)) - [Live Appearance Configurations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/audio-recording/real-time-visualization/live-appearance-configurations.md) — Adjusts visualizer appearance and reloads configuration on the fly without restarting. - [PipeWire Backend Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/terminal-based-audio-playback/audio-visualizers/pipewire-backend-visualizers.md) — Provides PipeWire integration for terminal-based audio spectrum visualization. - [Serial Connection Optimizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/terminal-based-audio-playback/audio-visualizers/serial-connection-optimizers.md) — Optimizes framerate, bar count, and height for smooth visualizations over slow serial connections. - [Standard Output Streaming](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/standard-output-streaming.md) — Outputs normalized bar amplitude values as plain text or binary data to standard output for piping. - [Amplitude Data Streamers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/standard-output-streaming/amplitude-data-streamers.md) — Outputs normalized bar amplitude values as plain text or binary data to standard output for piping. - [Serial Terminal Audio Renderers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/video-rendering-pipelines/terminal-video-renderers/serial-terminal-audio-renderers.md) — Renders audio frequency bars on serial terminals using runtime-generated character sets. - [PulseAudio Backend Analyzers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/visualization-mapping/heat-map-generators/audio-frequency-heat-maps/spectrum-analyzers/pulseaudio-backend-analyzers.md) — Captures audio from PulseAudio and other backends for real-time spectrum analysis. ### Part of an Awesome List - [Audio Spectrum Decompositions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/feature-extraction/frequency-domain/audio-spectrum-decompositions.md) — Implements FFT-based frequency decomposition to map audio samples to bar heights for spectrum display. - [Terminal and System Tools](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/terminal-and-system-tools.md) — Cross-platform audio visualizer for the terminal. - [Audio Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/media/audio-visualizers.md) — Console-based audio visualizer for ALSA. ### Data & Databases - [Audio FFT Analyzers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/data-databases/frequency-analyzers/audio-fft-analyzers.md) — Converts time-domain audio samples into frequency-domain magnitudes using a Fast Fourier Transform. ### System Administration & Monitoring - [Baud-Rate Adaptive Throttling](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/system-administration-monitoring/frame-rate-controllers/baud-rate-adaptive-throttling.md) — Provides adaptive throttling to maintain smooth audio visualizations over slow serial connections. ### User Interface & Experience - [Bar Column Renderers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/character-based-visual-elements/coordinate-based-character-rendering/bar-column-renderers.md) — Renders spectrum bars as columns of terminal characters with Unicode block glyphs. - [Runtime Glyph Generators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/character-encoding-support/unicode-version-providers/character-encoding-support/runtime-glyph-generators.md) — Generates custom terminal glyphs at runtime for spectrum rendering on limited terminals. - [Serial Terminal Renderers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/terminal-user-interfaces/rendering-output-engines/terminal-agnostic-renderers/serial-terminal-renderers.md) — Displays real-time frequency bars on serial-connected terminals by generating custom character sets at runtime. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava/blob/master/TERMINAL.md)) ### Development Tools & Productivity - [Live Configuration Reloading](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/keyboard-shortcut-mappings/live-configuration-reloading.md) — Applies config file changes immediately via key press or signal without restarting. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava#readme)) ### DevOps & Infrastructure - [Dynamic Configuration Reloading](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/devops-infrastructure/application-server-configurations/dynamic-configuration-reloading.md) — Listens for SIGUSR1 or key press to re-read config and apply changes without restarting. ### Hardware & IoT - [Baud Rate Adaptive Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/connectivity-iot/hardware-communication/serial-port-interfaces/serial-connection-watchers/baud-rate-adaptive-visualizers.md) — Optimizes framerate, bar count, and height for smooth audio visualizations over slow serial connections. - [Low-Bandwidth Serial Visualizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/hardware-iot/connectivity-iot/hardware-communication/serial-port-interfaces/serial-connection-watchers/low-bandwidth-serial-visualizers.md) — Optimizes audio visualizations for smooth rendering over low-speed serial connections. ### Networking & Communication - [Serial Data Minimizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/low-bandwidth-browsing/serial-data-minimizers.md) — Limits bars, height, spacing, and framerate to reduce data per frame and fit within serial link capacity. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava/blob/master/TERMINAL.md)) - [Amplitude Value Streams](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/networking-communication/raw-data-accessors/amplitude-value-streams.md) — Streams raw bar amplitude values to STDOUT for piping into external tools. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava#readme)) ### Software Engineering & Architecture - [Serial Bandwidth Optimizers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/software-engineering-architecture/performance-reliability/performance-optimization/data-handling-throughput/large-dataset-optimizations/high-frame-rate-rendering/mobile-ui-frame-rate-optimization/animated-image-frame-rate-optimization/serial-bandwidth-optimizers.md) — Reduces framerate, bar count, and height to keep visualizations smooth over slow serial connections like RS232. ([source](https://github.com/karlstav/cava/blob/master/TERMINAL.md)) ### Web Development - [STDOUT Data Streams](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/web-development/application-event-listeners/external-stream-subscriptions/stdout-data-streams.md) — Streams bar amplitude values to STDOUT for piping into external scripts or applications.