Audacity 4.0 Is Here: A Major Redesign Changes How You Edit Audio

After years of development, Audacity has reached a major milestone. Audacity 4.0 is officially here, and this is much more than a routine update to one of the world’s most popular free audio editors.

The new release introduces a completely redesigned interface, a new clip-based editing system, non-destructive workflows, customizable workspaces, per-track audio meters, improved real-time effects, a new .aup4 project format, and official ASIO support in the Windows version.

For longtime Audacity users, some of these changes may take a little getting used to. But the goal is clear: Audacity 4 is designed to make audio editing more flexible while providing a foundation for future development.

Here’s everything you need to know about Audacity 4.0, including its biggest new features, compatibility changes, project format, and the features that are still missing.

Audacity 4.0 Gets a Completely Redesigned Interface

The first thing you’ll notice when launching Audacity 4.0 is the new interface.

The application has been rebuilt around the Qt framework, allowing the development team to create a more flexible interface with dockable panels, customizable layouts, new themes, and redesigned controls.

Audacity 4 includes several ready-made workspace layouts designed for different types of users.

The Classic workspace is intended to feel familiar to people coming from Audacity 3. The Modern and Music layouts arrange the tools differently, giving users more room for the controls they are likely to need.

But workspaces aren’t simply visual presets.

You can move toolbars and panels, hide elements you don’t use, and arrange the application around your preferred workflow. Once you’ve created a layout you like, you can save it as a workspace and switch between configurations when needed.

The interface can also be customized with different themes, accent colors, and a high-contrast option.

That makes Audacity 4 considerably more adaptable than previous versions.

A New Home Screen for Your Projects

Audacity 4 also introduces a redesigned Home screen.

Instead of immediately dropping you into an empty project, the Home screen provides easier access to recent projects and projects saved to the cloud through Audio.com.

This is particularly useful if you regularly work on multiple recordings or move projects between computers.

The new project management system also makes it easier to find your work without manually browsing through folders every time.

Audacity 4 Introduces a New Clip-Based Editing Workflow

The biggest change isn’t actually the interface. It’s the way Audacity 4 handles audio clips.

In previous versions, moving clips around a project could become frustrating when another clip occupied the destination. Audacity 4 makes clips much more independent and easier to manipulate.

Clips can now be selected directly, moved more freely, grouped together, and edited simultaneously. Multiple selected clips can be moved, trimmed, or time-stretched as a group.

Clips can also be moved between mono and stereo tracks.

And unlike the older workflow, clips can be placed over other clips. When clips overlap, Audacity handles the overlap rather than simply preventing the move.

This makes arranging interviews, music, podcasts, sound effects, and other multi-track projects much more straightforward.

Audio Editing Is Now Non-Destructive

One of the most important improvements in Audacity 4 is its more flexible non-destructive editing workflow.

For example, if you trim a clip and later realize that you removed too much, you can pull the edge back and recover the audio that was previously hidden.

The underlying recording isn’t immediately destroyed just because you changed the visible boundaries of the clip.

Audacity 4 also adds dedicated handles directly to clips. One handle can be used to trim the clip, while another allows you to stretch it.

This makes common editing operations much more intuitive because you can perform them directly from the timeline instead of constantly switching between different tools.

The new workflow is particularly useful for podcast editing, voice recordings, music production, and video projects where you may need to adjust the timing of individual pieces of audio repeatedly.

Multiple Clips Can Be Edited Together

Audacity 4 also makes working with multiple clips much easier.

Select several clips and you can perform operations on them simultaneously. You can move them together, trim them, or change their duration without having to repeat the same operation for every clip.

You can also group clips.

Once clips are grouped, Audacity treats them as a unit for operations such as moving, copying, pasting, and duplicating.

For complex projects containing dozens or hundreds of audio elements, this could save a considerable amount of time.

A New Tool Makes Splitting Audio Faster

Splitting clips has also been redesigned.

Audacity 4 provides a dedicated splitting workflow. You can press or hold S and click the waveform or clip header to split audio at the desired location.

Additional split commands are available for operations such as splitting and cutting, splitting and deleting, splitting at silences, or splitting content onto a new track.

This replaces some of the older tool-based workflows with commands that are more directly connected to the operation you’re trying to perform.

The Envelope Tool Has Been Simplified

Audacity’s envelope controls have also received a redesign.

Instead of relying on the older interface to adjust volume changes, you can add points directly and move them to create gradual volume adjustments.

The waveform provides immediate visual feedback, making it easier to see how the volume changes across a clip.

This is useful when creating fades, balancing dialogue, reducing background audio, or controlling the level of individual sections.

Direct Sample Editing Is Easier

Another small but useful change concerns sample-level editing.

In earlier versions, users had to switch to the Draw Tool or Multi-Tool to modify individual samples.

In Audacity 4, you can simply zoom in far enough on the waveform to edit individual samples directly.

This reduces the number of specialized tools you need to remember and makes the editing process more contextual.

Sync-Lock Has Been Replaced

One familiar Audacity 3 feature has disappeared: Sync-Lock.

However, its purpose hasn’t simply been abandoned.

Audacity 4 introduces explicit editing commands that allow you to delete, cut, or paste material while either leaving a gap or moving subsequent content to preserve timing.

For users who relied heavily on Sync-Lock, this may initially feel different. But the new approach is intended to make these operations more predictable.

Every Track Now Has Its Own Audio Meter

Audacity 4 also improves level monitoring.

Each track now includes its own live meter in the track header. These meters can display input levels while recording and playback levels during normal operation.

This makes it much easier to identify which track is clipping or receiving an unexpectedly high signal in a multi-track project.

The feature is especially useful when recording several sources simultaneously.

Instead of relying exclusively on a master meter, you can now monitor individual tracks directly.

Recording Gets a More Flexible Workflow

Recording has been redesigned alongside the new clip system.

Audacity 4 allows recording to begin at a chosen point on the timeline without having to move existing clips out of the way. New recordings are created as clips rather than simply overwriting existing material.

The new recording system also includes improvements to:

• Lead-in recording
• Punch and Roll
• Latency compensation
• Software playthrough
• Per-track input monitoring
• Audio device management

The Audio Setup system has also been rebuilt, with improved device selection, refreshable device lists, system-default devices, and custom channel mapping.

Official ASIO Support Comes to Audacity on Windows

One of the most notable technical changes for Windows users is official ASIO support.

Audacity 4’s official Windows builds now support ASIO for both recording and playback.

That’s significant because ASIO is widely used with professional and semi-professional audio hardware on Windows, particularly when low-latency recording and multi-channel audio are important.

For musicians, producers, and users working with dedicated audio interfaces, this is one of the most important additions in Audacity 4.

It also represents a major change from previous official Windows builds, which could not ship with ASIO support because of licensing restrictions.

Looping and Playback Controls Have Been Redesigned

The playback experience has also received several changes.

The playhead remains visible while navigating through a project and can be dragged to a new position.

Playback can also seek to another location without necessarily stopping first.

Loop controls have been moved into a dedicated row above the timeline, making loop boundaries easier to see and adjust.

Another useful addition is the ability to export only the audio contained within the loop region.

That can be extremely convenient when you have a long recording and only want to export a specific section without manually selecting and modifying the rest of the project.

Labels Can Now Cover Regions

Labels remain an important part of Audacity, particularly for long recordings.

Audacity 4 expands their functionality by allowing labels to represent either individual points or larger regions of the timeline.

This makes it easier to mark sections such as:

• Intro
• Outro
• Interview segments
• Music sections
• Chapters
• Sound effects
• Podcast segments

Multiple labels can also be selected together, making them easier to manage in larger projects.

Audacity 4 Completely Redesigns Its Effects Interface

Audacity’s built-in effects haven’t been forgotten.

Effects such as the Compressor, Reverb, Limiter, Graphic EQ, and Filter Curve have been redesigned to fit the new interface.

The underlying effects aren’t necessarily brand-new. Instead, Audacity has rebuilt their interfaces and integrated them more consistently into the new application.

Another major improvement is the continued development of real-time effects.

Realtime effects can be applied to tracks without permanently altering the original recording. You can change their settings, disable them, or remove them later without having to restore the original audio.

Audacity 4 supports VST3, Nyquist, LV2 on Linux, and Audio Units on macOS, with improvements to how plugin controls are displayed when a plugin doesn’t provide its own interface.

The Spectrogram Has Been Redesigned

Spectrogram users also get an updated experience.

Audacity 4 includes a redesigned spectrogram with clearer guides and rulers, along with faster rendering.

This should make detailed frequency analysis easier to read, particularly for users working with sound design, noise reduction, restoration, or other audio analysis tasks.

Audacity 4 Introduces the New .aup4 Project Format

Another important change is the project file format.

Audacity 4 uses .aup4 instead of .aup3 as its project format.

Fortunately, upgrading doesn’t mean abandoning your existing projects.

Audacity 4 can open .aup3 projects created with Audacity 3 and convert them to the new .aup4 format. The original .aup3 file remains untouched during the conversion.

There is one important limitation: once a project has been converted and saved as .aup4, it cannot be saved back to .aup3.

So if you are working with important projects, keeping a backup of your original Audacity 3 files is a smart idea before converting them.

Cloud Project Storage Is Also Available

Audacity 4 also integrates more closely with Audio.com.

Projects can be saved locally on your computer as .aup4 files or saved to the cloud through Audio.com. Cloud projects can be accessed from the Home screen and are designed to make backup, sharing, and working across multiple machines easier.

You don’t have to use cloud storage, however. Local project storage remains available.

Some Audacity 3 Features Are Still Missing

Despite the size of this release, Audacity 4.0 isn’t a complete replacement for every Audacity 3 workflow yet.

The official release notes confirm that several features from Audacity 3 are currently unavailable, including:

• Time Tracks
• Note/MIDI tracks
• Mixer
• Macro Manager
• Scripting pipe
• VAMP plugin hosting
• LADSPA plugin hosting
• Play-at-speed

Some exporting and rendering functions, analyzers, and effects are also still missing. The development team says these features are being worked on for future releases.

This is worth keeping in mind before upgrading if you depend on a specific professional workflow.

For example, users who rely heavily on MIDI editing, Time Tracks, macros, or older plugin formats may want to keep Audacity 3 installed alongside Audacity 4 for the time being.

Is Audacity 4.0 Worth Upgrading To?

For most users, Audacity 4.0 is one of the biggest changes the application has received in years.

The new interface is more flexible, clips are significantly easier to manipulate, editing is more forgiving, recording workflows have been rebuilt, and Windows users finally get official ASIO support.

At the same time, the transition isn’t completely painless.

Longtime Audacity users will have to learn where some familiar functions moved, while users dependent on features that haven’t yet returned may prefer to wait.

The good news is that Audacity 4 doesn’t force you to immediately abandon your old projects. Your .aup3 files can be opened and converted while the original files remain intact.

Audacity 4.0 Is Free and Open Source

Audacity 4.0 is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and the application remains free and open source.

The project is clearly aiming beyond a simple visual refresh. By rebuilding the application’s interface and editing architecture, the Audacity team is laying the groundwork for a more flexible audio editor that can evolve more quickly.

For casual users, the result is a cleaner and more approachable Audacity.

For experienced editors, the new clip-based workflow, non-destructive editing, real-time effects, per-track meters, and ASIO support could make Audacity 4 a much more capable tool.

There are still some missing pieces, but Audacity 4.0 marks a major new chapter for the long-running free audio editor.