How to use the command 'soxi' (with examples)

The ‘soxi’ command stands for Sound eXchange Information and is used to display sound file metadata. It can be used to extract information such as the audio format, sample rate, bit resolution, channel count, and duration of a sound file.

Use case 1: Display the sound file metadata

Code:

soxi path/to/file.wav

Motivation: By using the ‘soxi’ command with the path to a sound file, you can quickly retrieve important metadata about the audio file without having to open it in a media player or audio editing software. This can be particularly useful when working with large collections of audio files or when scripting automation tasks.

Explanation:

• soxi: The command itself that is used to display the sound file metadata.
• path/to/file.wav: The path to the sound file you want to retrieve metadata from. Replace “path/to/file.wav” with the actual path to the desired file.

Example output:

Input File     : 'path/to/file.wav'
Channels       : 2
Sample Rate    : 44100
Precision      : 16-bit
Duration       : 00:03:32.87 = 9376105 samples = 15971.9 CDDA sectors
File Size      : 37.5M
Bit Rate       : 1.41M
Sample Encoding: 16-bit Signed Integer PCM

Conclusion: By using the ‘soxi’ command with the path to a sound file, you can easily retrieve crucial metadata about the audio file, such as channels, sample rate, duration, and more. This information can be helpful for various purposes, including media organization, audio processing, or scripting tasks.