NAudio.SoundFile 3.4.0-preview.1

Prefix Reserved
This is a prerelease version of NAudio.SoundFile.
dotnet add package NAudio.SoundFile --version 3.4.0-preview.1
                    
NuGet\Install-Package NAudio.SoundFile -Version 3.4.0-preview.1
                    
This command is intended to be used within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, as it uses the NuGet module's version of Install-Package.
<PackageReference Include="NAudio.SoundFile" Version="3.4.0-preview.1" />
                    
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package.
<PackageVersion Include="NAudio.SoundFile" Version="3.4.0-preview.1" />
                    
Directory.Packages.props
<PackageReference Include="NAudio.SoundFile" />
                    
Project file
For projects that support Central Package Management (CPM), copy this XML node into the solution Directory.Packages.props file to version the package.
paket add NAudio.SoundFile --version 3.4.0-preview.1
                    
#r "nuget: NAudio.SoundFile, 3.4.0-preview.1"
                    
#r directive can be used in F# Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks. Copy this into the interactive tool or source code of the script to reference the package.
#:package NAudio.SoundFile@3.4.0-preview.1
                    
#:package directive can be used in C# file-based apps starting in .NET 10 preview 4. Copy this into a .cs file before any lines of code to reference the package.
#addin nuget:?package=NAudio.SoundFile&version=3.4.0-preview.1&prerelease
                    
Install as a Cake Addin
#tool nuget:?package=NAudio.SoundFile&version=3.4.0-preview.1&prerelease
                    
Install as a Cake Tool

NAudio.SoundFile

Nuget

Cross-platform audio file reading and writing for NAudio, backed by libsndfile.

Type Role
SoundFileReader WaveStream + ISampleProvider — decode WAV/AIFF/FLAC/Ogg/Opus/MP3
SoundFileWriter Stream sink — encode WAV/AIFF/FLAC/Ogg-Vorbis/Opus/MP3
SoundFileCapabilities query which codecs the installed libsndfile supports
SoundFileException thrown on libsndfile errors (exposes ErrorCode)

This is the first cross-platform FLAC/Vorbis/Opus encoder in NAudio, and on Linux/macOS the first general-purpose decoder (there is no Media Foundation off Windows).

Platform

Truly cross-platform — net9.0, no [SupportedOSPlatform]. It P/Invokes a system libsndfile, resolved automatically per OS (libsndfile.so.1 / libsndfile.1.dylib / sndfile.dll / libsndfile-1.dll). You must provide it:

sudo apt install libsndfile1     # Debian/Ubuntu
brew install libsndfile          # macOS
vcpkg install libsndfile         # Windows (or the official binaries)

Not pulled in by the NAudio meta-package — reference it explicitly:

dotnet add package NAudio.SoundFile

Supported formats

Format Read Write Requires
WAV, AIFF, AU, CAF, W64, RAW ✅ ✅ always
FLAC ✅ ✅ libsndfile built with libFLAC (typical)
Ogg/Vorbis ✅ ✅ libvorbis (typical)
Ogg/Opus ✅ ✅ libsndfile ≥ 1.0.29 + libopus
MP3 ✅ ✅ libsndfile ≥ 1.1.0

Codec availability depends on how libsndfile was built — query it:

foreach (var f in SoundFileCapabilities.GetSupportedMajorFormats())
    Console.WriteLine(f);
bool canFlac = SoundFileCapabilities.IsFormatSupported(SoundFileMajorFormat.Flac);

AAC / M4A / ALAC / WMA are out of scope (the MPEG-4 family is FFmpeg territory).

Read any file

SoundFileReader decodes to 32-bit float, so it is both a WaveStream and an ISampleProvider:

using NAudio.SoundFile;
using NAudio.Wave;

using var reader = new SoundFileReader("song.flac");
Console.WriteLine($"{reader.WaveFormat} {reader.TotalTime}");
// feed it into any NAudio output, mixer or sample pipeline

Write FLAC / Ogg / Opus

using (var source = new SoundFileReader("in.wav"))
    SoundFileWriter.CreateSoundFile("out.flac", source,
        SoundFileMajorFormat.Flac,
        new SoundFileWriterOptions { CompressionLevel = 0.8 });

// Ogg Vorbis at VBR quality 0.6, with tags
using (var source = new SoundFileReader("in.wav"))
    SoundFileWriter.CreateSoundFile("out.ogg", source,
        SoundFileMajorFormat.OggVorbis,
        new SoundFileWriterOptions
        {
            VbrQuality = 0.6,
            Tags = new SoundFileTags { Title = "Demo", Artist = "NAudio" }
        });

Read embedded metadata back:

using var reader = new SoundFileReader("song.flac");
Console.WriteLine($"{reader.Tags.Artist} – {reader.Tags.Title}");
Console.WriteLine(SoundFileCapabilities.LibraryVersion);

The output format is also inferred from the extension:

SoundFileWriter.CreateSoundFile("out.flac", source); // → FLAC

Streams

Both ends work over a System.IO.Stream (via libsndfile virtual I/O):

using var ms = new MemoryStream();
SoundFileWriter.WriteSoundFileToStream(ms, source, SoundFileMajorFormat.OggVorbis, null);
ms.Position = 0;
using var reader = new SoundFileReader(ms);   // stream not disposed by the reader

FLAC/Ogg/Opus/MP3 stream fine to a forward-only target; WAV/AIFF back-patch their header at close and require a seekable stream (the writer throws early if you pair a non-seekable stream with such a format).

Notes

  • The writer accepts 16-bit PCM or 32-bit IEEE float input — the two container types NAudio pipelines naturally produce. Convert other formats with SampleToWaveProvider16 or .ToSampleProvider() first.
  • AOT-compatible: source-generated [LibraryImport], SafeHandle lifetime, and [UnmanagedCallersOnly] virtual-I/O callbacks.
  • The wrapper is MIT; libsndfile itself is LGPL-2.1+ and supplied by the user as a system library (no binary is shipped) — the same model as NAudio.Alsa.

Tutorial

For a worked walkthrough (reading, encoding, format conversion, streams, tags, capability detection) see Cross-platform audio file reading and writing with NAudio.SoundFile.

Documentation

See the NAudio documentation site for tutorials and the full API reference, or the GitHub repository for source, issues and demos.

License

MIT.

Product Compatible and additional computed target framework versions.
.NET net9.0 is compatible.  net9.0-android was computed.  net9.0-browser was computed.  net9.0-ios was computed.  net9.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net9.0-macos was computed.  net9.0-tvos was computed.  net9.0-windows was computed.  net10.0 was computed.  net10.0-android was computed.  net10.0-browser was computed.  net10.0-ios was computed.  net10.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net10.0-macos was computed.  net10.0-tvos was computed.  net10.0-windows was computed. 
Compatible target framework(s)
Included target framework(s) (in package)
Learn more about Target Frameworks and .NET Standard.

NuGet packages (4)

Showing the top 4 NuGet packages that depend on NAudio.SoundFile:

Package Downloads
NAudio.Sampler

A cross-platform software sampler for NAudio that plays MIDI through SoundFont (.sf2) and SFZ instruments, or a single sample mapped across the keyboard. Polyphonic voice engine with DAHDSR envelopes, LFOs, modulated filters, the SF2 modulator engine and reverb/chorus sends, exposed as an ISampleProvider.

Void.Engine

Modular 2D game framework for .NET with pluggable rendering, SDL3 platform support, OpenAL audio, asset management, pathfinding, coroutines, LDtk support, encrypted saving, and post-processing.

victor-wiki.WhisperSharp

Convert audio to text, it's C# version of OpenAI Whisper. Currently, it only supports cpu.

mdimai666.Mars.PlayAudioNodePlugin

Mars.PlayAudioNodePlugin - provide play audio functions for Mars - Play audio - List output devices

GitHub repositories (1)

Showing the top 1 popular GitHub repositories that depend on NAudio.SoundFile:

Repository Stars
purelogiccode/SimpleLauncher
Simple Launcher is an open-source emulator frontend. Designed for both casual gamers and power users, it provides a seamless interface to organize, browse, and launch your retro gaming collection with deep integration for modern emulators and RetroAchievements.
Version Downloads Last Updated
3.4.0-preview.1 44 10/24/2026
3.3.0 4,499 10/19/2026
3.3.0-preview.1 61 10/17/2026
3.2.0 896 10/15/2026
3.2.0-preview.1 69 10/13/2026
3.1.1-preview.2 111 9/21/2026
3.1.1-preview.1 92 9/8/2026
3.1.0 5,443 9/7/2026
3.1.0-preview.2 99 9/5/2026
3.1.0-preview.1 78 9/4/2026
3.0.2-preview.2 99 8/27/2026
3.0.2-preview.1 91 8/20/2026
3.0.1 710 8/18/2026
3.0.1-preview.1 97 8/17/2026
3.0.0 312 8/15/2026
3.0.0-preview.20 151 8/8/2026
3.0.0-preview.19 100 7/25/2026
3.0.0-preview.18 348 7/16/2026
3.0.0-preview.17 100 7/11/2026
3.0.0-preview.16 145 7/1/2026
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* Hardened file parsers against malformed input: SoundFont files with chunk sizes past the end of the file, or out-of-range/out-of-order preset, instrument, bag, generator or sample indices now throw `InvalidDataException` instead of attempting multi-GB allocations or throwing `IndexOutOfRangeException`/`OverflowException`/`ArgumentException`; WAV cue chunks with a corrupt cue-point count no longer over-allocate or throw; an MP3 whose first frame is too small for the Xing/Info fields it flags is treated as having no Xing header instead of throwing from the `Mp3FileReader` constructor (#1502)
* `SoundFontSampler` skips SoundFont regions with a zero (or out-of-range) sample rate instead of throwing on every note-on (#1502)
* `MidiFile` now pairs note offs with note ons in constant time, so files with many held notes no longer load in quadratic time (#1502)
* `WaveInBuffer`, `WaveOutBuffer` and `MidiIn` no longer free buffers the driver still owns when unprepare reports they are still in use, and `MidiIn` bounds sysex reads by the buffer length; `Vst3Module` loads plug-in binaries by full path (#1502)
* **Breaking:** SFZ `#include` and `sample=` paths that are absolute or UNC/network paths (e.g. `\\server\share\x.wav`, which on Windows can leak credentials) are now refused; relative paths, including `..\Samples\...`, still work. `FileSfzIncludeResolver` and `FileSfzSampleLoader` gain a `rootDirectory` constructor argument to sandbox untrusted SFZ files to a directory, and the shared rules are exposed as `SfzFilePath.Resolve`. `SfzParser` now limits `#include` count and `#define`/`#include` expansion size, and include files are capped at 16 MB (#1501)
* Fixed native buffer overruns and use-after-free bugs: `WasapiOut` could copy past the WASAPI render buffer if an `IWaveProvider` over-reported its read count; DMO `MediaBuffer.Length` accepted values larger than the buffer; `MediaObject.GetInputType`/`GetOutputType`/`GetOutputCurrentType` returned media types pointing at freed memory (`GetWaveFormat()` on them now throws `InvalidOperationException`); `Vst3Plugin` overflowed its native buffers for a huge `maxBlockSize`; macOS `CoreAudioPlayer` could write past the HAL buffer list when the device's stream count shrank; `MediaFoundationReader` could `PropVariantClear` uninitialised memory for media without a duration (#1501)
* **macOS wrappers (preview)**: Fixed Extended Audio File Services reader/writer settings contract to be more accurate after the nullable change landed in #1486. New APIs in the `AudioFileLibraryInformation` class were also added. (#1500)
* **Breaking:** `WaveFormat.FromFormatChunk` (and so `WaveFileReader.WaveFormat`, `AudioFileReader` and anything else reading a WAV fmt chunk) now returns the most specific format type instead of always returning a `WaveFormatExtraData` — a `WaveFormatExtensible`, `AdpcmWaveFormat`, `Gsm610WaveFormat` or `Mp3WaveFormat` where the encoding and extra data allow, a plain `WaveFormat` where there is no extra data, and a `WaveFormatExtraData` only for an encoding with no dedicated subclass. This is the same choice `WaveFormat.MarshalFromPtr` makes, so a format read from a file and the same format read from a native pointer now come back as the same type. Code casting a reader's `WaveFormat` to `WaveFormatExtraData`, or unpacking a `SubFormat` GUID out of its `ExtraData`, should pattern-match on `WaveFormatExtensible` (or call `AsStandardWaveFormat()`) instead (#1497)
* `WaveFormat.MarshalFromPtr` now decodes a WAVE_FORMAT_MPEGLAYER3 block into an `Mp3WaveFormat` rather than a `WaveFormatExtraData` when its cbSize accounts for the 12 MPEGLAYER3WAVEFORMAT bytes (#1497)
* A `WaveFormat` subclass decoded from a format block now reports the `ExtraSize` its `Serialize` actually writes, so a block whose cbSize over-reported the extension (drivers pad it, and a fmt chunk can be padded too) no longer round-trips into a fmt chunk shorter than the cbSize it advertises (#1497)
* Added `BufferedWaveProvider.CompleteAdding()` and `IsAddingCompleted`, so a producer can end the stream: `Read` drains the buffer, returns one unpadded short read even with `ReadFully`, then 0. Added `UnderrunSilenceBytes`, `DiscardedBytes` and `ResetCounters()` to show silence inserted on underrun and audio dropped on overflow (#1492)
* Added `MixingSampleProvider.CompleteAdding()` and `IsAddingCompleted`, so a `ReadFully` mixer ends once its current inputs have ended; `AddMixerInput` after it throws `InvalidOperationException` (#1492)
* **`WdlResamplingSampleProvider` now defaults to sinc resampling** - a new `WdlResamplerQuality` constructor argument selects the algorithm, and the default is now `Sinc64` (64-tap windowed sinc) instead of linear interpolation with IIR filtering, which lost about 2 dB at 10 kHz and 20 dB at 18 kHz and let aliasing through. This is a behaviour change: output samples differ, CPU use is a little higher and about 0.8 ms of latency is added. Pass `WdlResamplerQuality.Linear` to keep the old output exactly. See [Resampling](Docs/Resampling.md) (#1491)
* Added `WdlResamplingSampleProvider.HoldBackOnShortReads` for sources that return short reads mid-stream (e.g. `BufferedWaveProvider` with `ReadFully` off): in sinc mode it holds back the last few output samples of a short read until their input arrives, instead of computing them from silence. `WdlResampler.ResampleOut` gains a matching overload with a `flush` argument (#1491)
* `NAudio.Asio` is now Native AOT compatible. The driver binding no longer uses reflection or runtime marshalling: the IASIO vtable is bound with typed function pointers, and channel info, clock sources and callbacks go through blittable structs. The public API is unchanged. A new test drives the binding against an in-process fake driver, and CI runs it as a Native AOT executable. Also fixed `AsioDriver.DisposeBuffers` freeing its callback table twice when called again, e.g. by `ReleaseDriver` after a failed `AsioDevice.Reinitialize` (#1487)
* **New package: NAudio.Nam** - native C# inference for [Neural Amp Modeler](https://www.neuralampmodeler.com/) captures. Loads A2 (A2-Lite and A2-Full), A1 WaveNet and LSTM `.nam` models and runs them as an allocation-free `NamEffect` (zero latency at the model's sample rate, with built-in sinc resampling at other rates), or through `NamProcessor` for ASIO callbacks. Output matches NeuralAmpModelerCore to within float rounding. See `Docs/NeuralAmpModeler.md` (#1498)
* Added `CabinetEffect`, a zero-latency guitar/bass cabinet simulator: it loads an impulse response from a WAV file at any sample rate, resamples it to the stream rate, and optionally trims its silent tail and normalises its level (#1498)
* Added a zero-latency mode to `PartitionedConvolver` (new constructor overload) and `ConvolutionReverbEffect` (`ZeroLatency`), which applies the first partition of the impulse response directly so there is no partition delay (#1498)
* `PartitionedConvolver` (and so `ConvolutionReverbEffect`) is about 2-3x faster: the frequency-domain multiply-accumulate is now vectorised (#1498)
* Fixed `WdlResampler` (and so `WdlResamplingSampleProvider`) allocating a new input buffer on most calls when the block size varied; the buffer now only grows, so steady-state resampling is allocation-free in both output-driven and input-driven mode (#1498)