Audacity records and edits audio as tracks arranged on a timeline. It can capture a microphone, audio interface, or other input chosen in the Audio Setup controls, then cut clips, correct level problems, apply effects, mix tracks, and export a playable file. An Audacity project keeps the editable track structure and hidden clip data. It is different from a voice-recorder file: saving the project creates an AUP3 working document, while Export Audio writes the WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, or other file used in a player or another editor.
Set the input
Before recording, Audacity needs the correct host, input device, channel count, and sample rate. Silent Monitoring activates the recording meter without committing a take, so the operator can verify both the source and level. A peak around minus six decibels leaves room for unexpected loud moments.
The recording slider cannot control every interface. Some devices require their own hardware knob or the operating-system sound panel. A stereo USB device may also appear as a microphone and record duplicated mono channels when Windows and Audacity disagree about the channel format.
Protect the take
Recording depends on uninterrupted access to the audio device, processor, and storage. Busy background programs can cause clicks, small skips, or dropouts. Closing unnecessary work and recording to fast local storage reduces that risk. Working directly from a USB stick or network drive can interrupt the stream even when the destination has enough free space.
Audacity recommends exporting a fresh important recording to an uncompressed safety file before editing. This copy protects the captured sound if the working project later becomes corrupt. It does not preserve the editable track arrangement, so the project and safety audio have different jobs.
Edit clips and tracks
Audio can be split into clips, moved along the timeline, trimmed, faded, or processed through effects. Separate tracks keep voice, music, and other sources independently adjustable. Mute and Solo controls determine what plays and what enters a normal mix export.
Trimming a clip edge hides the removed section instead of deleting its audio immediately. The edge can expand again later, but extensive hidden material can make the AUP3 project much larger than the visible timeline suggests. Copying only the selected audible content into a new project is the documented route for discarding that hidden data.
Control the mix
Track gain and pan set the balance before export. Audacity adds simultaneous waveforms together, so a group of individually safe tracks can produce a combined peak above the limit. The playback meter shows the mixed level and can reveal clipping that no single track meter shows.
Lower the contributing track gains or reduce the whole selected mix before export. Flattening or exporting creates a mixdown. Once only that file remains, voice and music cannot be separated back into their original tracks, so keep the project when later balance changes may be needed.
Save or export
Save Project writes the editable AUP3 database. Audacity can reopen it with clips, tracks, and most settings intact, but ordinary media players cannot play it. Undo history also starts fresh after the project closes and reopens. Backup Project creates another project copy without switching the active work to that file.
While an AUP3 project is open, temporary WAL and SHM files may sit beside it. Moving or deleting those working files can destroy the project. Let Audacity close normally before relocating the project and its related files.
Export Audio writes the listening copy. The export range can cover the entire project, the current selection, or multiple files divided by tracks or labels. Muted tracks stay out of a normal whole-project export, and some codecs need an added FFmpeg component. Open the exported file separately and confirm its duration, channels, level, and start position before treating the job as complete.
