binaural

Binaural-beat player for Linux and macOS. Stereo headphones required.

Requires Rust 1.95 or newer.

cargo install binaural --locked

Linux build dependencies:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install pkg-config libasound2-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install pkgconf-pkg-config alsa-lib-devel

Release binaries

binaural
binaural --preset study
binaural --preset wind-down --noise brown
binaural --carrier 400 --beat 8 --volume 0.08
binaural presets
binaural tui

Run binaural --help for all options.

binaural daemon
binaural msg status
binaural msg preset focus
binaural msg volume 0.06
binaural msg noise brown 0.03
binaural msg pause
binaural msg play
binaural msg stop
binaural msg shutdown

Preset, volume, and noise changes load paused. Run binaural msg play to resume.

Config file:

• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/binaural/config.kdl or ~/.config/binaural/config.kdl
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/dev.binaural.binaural/config.kdl

// Used when no --preset is passed.
default preset="evening"

// Defaults for every preset.
audio {
  volume 0.10
  noise "off" { volume 0.04 }
}

// New tone, inheriting global audio defaults.
preset "reading" {
  tone carrier=220 beat=10
  volume 0.07
}

// Inherit tone and audio from a built-in or earlier custom preset.
preset "evening" inherits="wind-down" {
  noise "brown" { volume 0.03 }
}

default selects startup preset. audio supplies global volume, noise, and noise volume. A preset either defines tone carrier=… beat=… or inherits a built-in or earlier custom preset; preset audio settings override inherited values. Noise types: off, white, pink, brown.

CLI flags override config values. Frequencies use Hz and volume uses normalized gain.

Start at low volume. Stop if you experience headache, dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, distress, or altered hearing. Do not use while driving or operating machinery. This is not medical treatment.

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo clippy --locked --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --locked --all-targets --all-features