> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Extract Audio From Video in Ubuntu and Other Linux Distributions - URL: https://itsfoss.com/extract-audio-video-ubuntu/ - Published: 2015-03-15T20:42:13.000Z - Updated: 2023-09-18T07:59:54.000Z - Description: Want to convert video to MP3? Here are several ways to extract audio from videos in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. - Author: Abhishek Prakash - Tags: Ubuntu, Tutorial In a recent article, you saw the best ways to [download YouTube videos in Ubuntu](https://itsfoss.com/download-youtube-videos-ubuntu/). In a similar post, you’ll see **how to extract audio from a video file in Ubuntu** and other Linux distributions. There are several tools you can use to for this. Converting video to MP3 or other audio format is a simple task in Linux. I’ll show you three methods in this tutorial: - Extract audio from video using VLC media player \[GUI method\] - Extract audio using “4K Video to MP3” tool \[non-FOSS GUI tool\] - Extract audio using ffmpeg \[command line tool\] ## Method 1: Extract audio from video using VLC Media Player If you use Linux as a daily driver, you’re quite likely to have [VLC Media Player](https://itsfoss.com/install-latest-vlc/) installed. [VLC](https://www.videolan.org/index.html?ref=itsfoss.com) can do a lot of things other than playing videos. You can [download subtitles](https://itsfoss.com/download-subtitles-automatically-vlc-media-player-ubuntu/), [synchronize subtitles](https://itsfoss.com/how-to-synchronize-subtitles-with-movie-quick-tip/) and what not. One of the [cool VLC tips](https://itsfoss.com/simple-vlc-tips/) is to convert videos to audio. Click on **Convert/Save** in the **Media** drop down menu or use the **ctrl + R** shortcut. ![convert video to audio using vlc](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-10.jpg) Click on the Add button and select the desired video file, then choose the Convert/Save button to proceed to the next step. ![extract audio from video using VLC](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-13.png) Here, choose the desired audio format by selecting the appropriate **Profile** option. Set the destination for the extracted audio to be saved and as the default format for saving converted videos is .mp4, make sure the file extension matches the selected profile. ![extract audio from video using VLC](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-15.jpg) Click **Start** to start the extraction. ## Method 2: Using “4K Video to MP3” tool \[Not open source\] Since the source code for this tool is not available and it is only available as a .deb file, it can only be installed on Debian/Ubuntu or Linux distributions based off them like Elementary OS, Zorin OS, KDE Neon, Linux Mint and MX Linux. 4K Video to MP3 is only available for 64 bit systems, so if you’re not sure, you should check [whether your system is 32 bit or 64 bit](https://itsfoss.com/how-to-know-ubuntu-unity-version/). [Download 4K Video to MP3](https://www.4kdownload.com/downloads/34?ref=itsfoss.com) Once downloaded, double click on it to install. For faster installation, I would recommend to [use gdebi as your default installer instead of Ubuntu Software Center](https://itsfoss.com/gdebi-default-ubuntu-software-center/). Once, 4K Video to MP3 is successfully installed, launch 4K Video to MP3 from the application menu. When you select the **Add Video** option, the audio is extracted and the audio file is saved in a preconfigured location (\~/Music/4K\\ Video\\ to\\ MP3/). If you want to save it in a custom location, first click the **Preferences** option. ![convert video to mp3 in Linux](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-02-1.jpg) In Preferences, you can choose the desired audio format, quality and destination folder. ![convert video to mp3 in Linux](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-03.png) Once you’ve set the required settings, click on the **Add Video** button, choose the source video and wait for the conversion to complete. ## Method 3: Extract audio from video using ffmpeg command line tool Almost anything can be done on the terminal and most of the time, it requires just one command. In this case, [ffmpeg](https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/ffmpeg.1.html?ref=itsfoss.com) can be used, which is a command line tool which can extract audio fromo the desired video with just one command. To [install ffmpeg on Ubuntu and Debian based distributions](https://itsfoss.com/ffmpeg/), run: ``` sudo apt install ffmpeg ``` To extract audio from an input video file using ffmpeg, use: ``` ffmpeg -i input-video-file output-audio-file ``` Replace and with the corresponding paths along with appropriate file extensions. ![Extracting audio from video using ffmpeg](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/06/video-audio-17.png) There are a lot of other options to extract audio from a video file in Linux, including [Sound Converter](https://itsfoss.com/sound-converter-linux/), which is fairly simple to use and is available for all Linux Distributions as its [tarball](https://launchpad.net/soundconverter/+download?ref=itsfoss.com) can be downloaded. If you want to experiment with audio-video further, I suggest reading on [how to record streaming audio in Ubuntu](https://itsfoss.com/record-streaming-audio/). [How to Record Streaming Audio in Ubuntu LinuxLearn to record voice-over or audio from any streaming music source in Ubuntu using these nifty tools.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2013/07/how-to-record-audio-in-ubuntu-linux.png)](https://itsfoss.com/record-streaming-audio/) I hope you find this tutorial helpful. Stay tuned for more such articles. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.