SoX is a command-line audio processing tool that can convert, apply effects, and play audio files in various formats.

This repository includes build scripts for compiling SoX with statically linked codec libraries, producing a single portable executable.

1. Dependencies
2. Build Instructions
3. Default Options
4. Available Arguments
5. Verification

Required:

• Visual Studio 2019 or 2022 (with C++ workload)
• CMake 3.14 or later
• Git (optional, for cloning)

CMake is usually included with Visual Studio. If not, install it from https://cmake.org/download/

Installation:

# Visual Studio Installer > Modify > Workloads > "Desktop development with C++"
# CMake is included with Visual Studio C++ tools

Required:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential cmake git curl

Optional (for audio drivers):

# ALSA (recommended)
sudo apt-get install -y libasound2-dev

# PulseAudio
sudo apt-get install -y libpulse-dev

# For AMR support
sudo apt-get install -y libopencore-amrnb-dev libopencore-amrwb-dev

Required:

sudo dnf install -y gcc gcc-c++ make cmake git curl

Optional:

# ALSA
sudo dnf install -y alsa-lib-devel

# PulseAudio
sudo dnf install -y pulseaudio-libs-devel

Required:

sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake git curl

Optional:

sudo pacman -S alsa-lib libpulse

Required:

# Install Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

# Install Homebrew (if not installed)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install dependencies
brew install cmake

Optional:

# For autoreconf (needed by some libraries)
brew install autoconf automake libtool

Required:

sudo pkg install cmake git curl gmake

Required:

sudo pkgin install cmake git curl

Required:

doas pkg_add cmake git curl

Windows (PowerShell):

cd C:\path\to\sox-repo
.\build_static_libs.ps1

Linux/macOS/BSD (Bash):

cd /path/to/sox-repo
chmod +x build_static_libs.sh
./build_static_libs.sh

1. Clone or download the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd sox-repo

2. Run the build script:

   The script will automatically:

   • Download all required codec libraries
   • Compile each library as a static library
   • Configure and build SoX with all codecs
   • Copy the final binary to the output/ directory
   • Clean up temporary build files

3. Find the output:

   • Windows: output\sox.exe
   • Linux/macOS/BSD: output/sox

Windows:

# Build without MP2 and ID3 tag support
.\build_static_libs.ps1 -NoMp2 -NoId3tag

# Build with 4 parallel jobs
.\build_static_libs.ps1 -Jobs 4

# Clean build directories
.\build_static_libs.ps1 -Clean

Linux/macOS/BSD:

# Build without AMR and MP2 support
./build_static_libs.sh --no-amr --no-mp2

# Build with 4 parallel jobs
./build_static_libs.sh --jobs 4

# Add PulseAudio support (Linux)
./build_static_libs.sh --with-pulseaudio

# Clean build directories
./build_static_libs.sh --clean

Codec Exclusion:

Audio Drivers:

Codec Exclusion:

Audio Driver Exclusion:

Audio Driver Inclusion:

After the build completes, verify the installation:

# Windows
.\output\sox.exe --version

# Linux/macOS/BSD
./output/sox --version

Expected output:

sox:      SoX v14.4.3

# Windows
.\output\sox.exe --help-format all

# Linux/macOS/BSD
./output/sox --help-format all

This will list all supported audio formats. Look for:

• flac - FLAC support
• mp3 - MP3 support
• ogg - OGG/Vorbis support
• opus - Opus support
• wav - WAV support
• wavpack - WavPack support

# Windows
.\output\sox.exe --help-device all

# Linux/macOS/BSD
./output/sox --help-device all

# Convert a WAV file to MP3
./output/sox input.wav output.mp3

# Convert a WAV file to FLAC
./output/sox input.wav output.flac

# Generate a test tone (5 seconds, 440Hz sine wave)
./output/sox -n test.wav synth 5 sine 440

# Linux: Check for dynamic dependencies
ldd ./output/sox

# macOS: Check for dynamic dependencies
otool -L ./output/sox

On Linux, a statically compiled binary should show only system libraries like:

• linux-vdso.so
• libc.so
• libm.so
• libpthread.so
• libdl.so
• libasound.so (if ALSA enabled)

On macOS, you should see only system frameworks:

• CoreAudio.framework
• libSystem.B.dylib

# Generate and play a test tone
./output/sox -n -d synth 3 sine 440

# Play an audio file
./output/sox input.wav -d

CMake not found (Windows):

• Ensure Visual Studio is installed with C++ workload
• Or install CMake separately and add to PATH

Build fails with missing headers (Linux):

• Install development packages: sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev

Permission denied (Linux/macOS):

• Make script executable: chmod +x build_static_libs.sh

Homebrew not found (macOS):

• Install Homebrew first (see macOS dependencies section)

autoreconf not found (macOS):

• Install autotools: brew install autoconf automake libtool

If you encounter issues, try a clean build:

# Windows
.\build_static_libs.ps1 -Clean
.\build_static_libs.ps1

# Linux/macOS/BSD
./build_static_libs.sh --clean
./build_static_libs.sh

The build scripts download and compile the following library versions:

SoX is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). See LICENSE.GPL and LICENSE.LGPL for details.