libao ☆

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Description:
Cross-platform Audio Library

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Multimedia

Tags: audio library multimedia cross-platform c

Install: brew install libao

About:
Libao is a cross-platform, low-level audio library designed to provide a simple and consistent API for playing audio across various operating systems and output drivers. It abstracts away platform-specific complexities, allowing developers to easily add audio playback capabilities to their applications without worrying about the underlying hardware or driver implementations.

Key Features:

Cross-platform compatibility (Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.)
Pluggable driver architecture for flexibility
Simple, easy-to-use API for audio output
Supports multiple audio formats via plugins

Use Cases:

Adding audio playback to custom applications or games
Building command-line audio players
Serving as the audio backend for media applications

Alternatives:

SDL2 – SDL2 is a larger multimedia library that includes audio, graphics, and input handling, whereas Libao is focused solely on audio output.
PortAudio – PortAudio is another cross-platform audio library, often considered more feature-rich for complex audio I/O, while Libao prioritizes simplicity.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 10, 2025 10:21pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	0ebd7462
Nov 25, 2024 11:55pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	3b816c04