What's this about?
The venerable free audio editor shipped version 4.0 — a ground-up UI rebuild on Qt6, the biggest change in the project's 25-year history.
What exactly is Audacity?
The audio editor everyone's used at least once — recording a podcast, trimming an MP3. Free, open-source, and famous for an interface that hadn't fundamentally changed since 2000. It was acquired by Muse Group in 2021, which funded this rebuild (and caused a telemetry controversy people still remember).
What's the community saying?
HN 1,068 points, 235 comments — the second-biggest thread of the day
- Delight at the size: a sub-50MB native app "in the age of 500MB Electron apps."
- The counter-camp mourns the old native feel: "a nutrient-rich home-cooked meal replaced with McDonald's."
- The recurring trust question: "how's the telemetry situation nowadays?" — the 2021 episode left a permanent mark.
- Practical warnings: 4.0 ships without Time Tracks, MIDI tracks, the scripting pipe, and several plugin formats — upgraders with workflows should read the missing-features list first.
- Linux audio users report longstanding JACK/Pipewire integration complaints remain unaddressed.