How to get MP3 working in Audacity

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Note: I'm retiring this tutorial. The last three releases of Ubuntu (including its current, 12.04) do not need you to associate anything any more. Once you have the appropriate codecs installed, all is just integrated, as it should be.

Audacity is a music recording program that's available for installation through the software repositories. If you've already installed the libmp3lame0 package, Audacity should automatically recognize the lame library is there and allow you to export to MP3, but if you want to double-check the association is there, just follow these steps.

Note: If you don't know what a repository or software package is, or how to install Audacity or libmp3lame0 read this guide to installing software.

Also, the screenshots here are for Ubuntu 10.04, but I checked this procedure for Ubuntu 10.10, and it is the same.

(For Ubuntu 11.04 and 11.10, you have only to install libmp3lame0 and you'll be able to export to MP3. You do not need to manually locate the library afterwards.)

In Audacity, go to Edit > Preferences

Under Libraries then Lame MP3 Library, click Locate

Then click OK

You should now be able to export recordings from Audacity to MP3 files.

Last updated 04/29/12 08:35