CPAL - Cross-Platform Audio Library by RustAudio
Cross-platform audio I/O library in pure Rust
About CPAL - Cross-Platform Audio Library
From the project's README at github.com/RustAudio/cpal. Lightly cleaned for readability; for the full source see the upstream repo.
[](https://github.com/RustAudio/cpal/actions) [](https://crates.io/crates/cpal) [](https://docs.rs/cpal/)
Low-level library for audio input and output in pure Rust. Supported Functionality Enumerate audio hosts, devices, and their supported stream configurations. Look up devices by stable ID or by default input/output role. Inspect device metadata: name, manufacturer, type, and bus type. Build input and output streams with compile-time or runtime sample formats. Play, pause, and query the buffer size and clock of a stream. Supported Platforms Android (via AAudio) BSD (via ALSA by default, JACK, PipeWire or PulseAudio optionally) iOS (via CoreAudio) Linux (via ALSA by default, JACK, PipeWire or PulseAudio optionally) macOS (via CoreAudio by default, JACK optionally) tvOS (via CoreAudio) WebAssembly (via Web Audio API or Audio Worklet) Windows (via WASAPI by default, ASIO or JACK optionally)
Note that on Linux, the ALSA development files are required for building (even when using JACK, PipeWire or PulseAudio). These are provided as part of the package on Debian and Ubuntu distributions and on Fedora. Minimum Supported Rust Version (MSRV)
Health score breakdown
6-dimension composite. See methodology for formula and weights.
Adoption signals
Real-world usage data, pulled from each registry. The bigger the numbers, the more battle-tested the project.
| Signal | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 3.7k | github.com/RustAudio/cpal |
| GitHub forks | 500 | github.com/RustAudio/cpal |
| CRATES downloads (last month) | 2722k | cpal |
Release & maintenance
Is this project actively maintained, or about to die? Check the recency of last commit and last release.
| Project age | 11.4 years | since Dec 2014 |
| Last commit | 2 days ago | May 4, 2026 |
| Releases shipped | 85 | last: 3 months ago |
Self-hosting cost across providers
Detected requirements: 4GB RAM, 40GB disk minimum. Cheapest plan per provider that meets the requirement.
| Provider | Plan | Specs | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hetzner | CAX11 | 2c · 4GB · 40GB | $4.13 USD | Deploy → |
| vultr | VC2 | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5 USD | Deploy → |
| linode | Nanode 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $5.12 USD | Deploy → |
| digitalocean | Basic Regular 1GB | 1c · 1GB · 25GB | $6 USD | Deploy → |
What people say on Hacker News
- California leaders report four to six weeks worth of gasoline and diesel supply
- Clio – Behavioral intelligence layer for managers in Gmail, Slack, and Calendar
- Linux 7.1: Kicinski Called It 'LLM-Pocalypse.' Then Deleted 138,000 Lines
- OpenAI violated Canadians' privacy, watchdogs say in call for legal reform
- Show HN: Stage CLI – a tool to make reading your AI generated changes easier
Ready to self-host CPAL - Cross-Platform Audio Library?
Spin up a hetzner CAX11 (4GB RAM, 40GB disk) for $4.13/mo and follow the project's official install docs.
Data last refreshed May 7, 2026.
Similar open-source projects
Projects in our directory that replace the same SaaS or share topics with CPAL - Cross-Platform Audio Library.