# Audio recording Source: [https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/gst-audio-encode-example-without-flac.html](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/gst-audio-encode-example-without-flac.html) The **gst-audio-encode-example** application encodes audio in FLAC or WAV formats. A common use case for this application can be to encode live audio data for streaming or storage. The following figure shows the pipeline, which captures the audio, converts the stream into FLAC or WAV formats, encodes the stream, and stores it in a file. For more information about the plugins used in the pipeline, see [Pipeline flow](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/gst-audio-encode-example-without-flac.html#gst-audio-encode-example-without-flac__section_uj5_4v5_4bc). Figure : gst-audio-encode-example pipeline Audio capture pulsesrc capsfilter audioconvert flacenc wavenc filesink Filter flac wav Convert Encode Audio capture Convert Encode Write file Open source ## Run the application For this use case, if you have a live audio source (such as a microphone or an internet radio stream), you can encode this audio data into a more compact or standardized format for efficient transmission or storage. 1. Ensure that you complete the [Prerequisites](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/mm_sample_apps_prerequisites.html). 2. In the terminal of the target device, run the following command for different audio formats: `gst-audio-encode-example -o --audio_format=` The following table provides a description of the command-line parameters: | Command-line parameter | Description | | --- | --- | | `-o` | Specifies the absolute path to the output audio
file. | | `-format` | Specifies the format of the audio file: | For example, use the following commands to run the application for FLAC and WAV audio formats: - Encode FLAC audio: gst-audio-encode-example -o /etc/media/.flac --audio_format=1Copy to clipboard - Encode WAV audio: gst-audio-encode-example -o /etc/media/.wav --audio_format=2Copy to clipboard 3. To stop the use case, use CTRL + C. 4. In the terminal of the target device, run the following command in the SSH shell to display the available help options: gst-audio-encode-example --helpCopy to clipboard 5. In the terminal of the host computer, run the following command to pull the files from the target device: scp root@:/etc/media/Copy to clipboard ## Expected output The captured audio is encoded and written to a file based on the chosen format (FLAC or WAV). ## Pipeline flow In the audio encoding, the pipeline differs slightly based on the encoding format. The following table lists the plugins used to run the audio recording pipeline: | Plugin | FLAC | WAV | | --- | --- | --- | | pulsesrc | Captures audio from the system
sound device. | Captures audio from the system
sound device. | | capsfilter | Ensures that the audio is in a format suitable for the FLAC
encoder. | – | | audioconvert | Converts the audio to the required
format. | Converts the audio to the required
format. | |

  • flacenc


  • wavenc


| flacenc encodes the audio into FLAC format. | wavenc encodes the audio into WAV format. | | filesink | Writes the encoded audio to a
file. | Writes the encoded audio to a
file. | ## Related information [Audio use cases](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/audio-use-cases.html) **Parent Topic:** [Run sample applications for video and audio](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70022-50/topic/audio-sample-applications.html) Last Published: Feb 20, 2026 [Previous Topic Audio playback](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-70022-50/topics/gst-audio-decode-sample.md) [Next Topic Video transformation](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-70022-50/topics/gst-transform-example.md)