audio-decode

audio-decode

Decode any audio format to raw samples.
JS / WASM – no ffmpeg, no native bindings, works in both node and browser.
Small API, minimal size, near-native performance, lazy-loading, chunked decoding.

import decode from 'audio-decode';

const { channelData, sampleRate } = await decode(anyAudioBuffer);

Supported formats

Format	Package	Size	Engine
MP3	@audio/decode-mp3	92 KB	WASM
WAV	@audio/decode-wav	4 KB	JS
OGG Vorbis	@audio/decode-vorbis	164 KB	WASM
FLAC	@audio/decode-flac	133 KB	WASM
Opus	@audio/decode-opus	178 KB	WASM
M4A / AAC	@audio/decode-aac	368 KB	WASM
QOA	@audio/decode-qoa	8 KB	JS
AIFF	@audio/decode-aiff	20 KB	JS
CAF	@audio/decode-caf	7 KB	JS
WebM	@audio/decode-webm	263 KB	WASM
AMR	@audio/decode-amr	241 KB	WASM
WMA	@audio/decode-wma	91 KB	WASM

Whole-file

Auto-detects format. Input can be ArrayBuffer, Uint8Array, or Buffer.

import decode from 'audio-decode'

let { channelData, sampleRate } = await decode(buf)

Chunked

let dec = await decode.mp3()
let a = await dec(chunk1)    // { channelData, sampleRate }
let b = await dec(chunk2)
await dec()                  // close

Streaming

import decode from 'audio-decode'

for await (let { channelData, sampleRate } of decode.mp3(response.body)) {
  // process chunks
}

Works with ReadableStream, fetch body, Node stream, or any async iterable.

Formats: mp3, flac, opus, oga, m4a, wav, qoa, aac, aiff, caf, webm, amr, wma.

Browser

Each codec is a self-contained bundle under @audio/* — no transitive deps, no import map bloat. For selective loading in the browser (avoids bundling all codecs):

<script type="importmap">
{
  "imports": {
    "audio-decode": "https://esm.sh/audio-decode",
    "audio-type": "https://esm.sh/audio-type",
    "@audio/decode-mp3": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-mp3",
    "@audio/decode-wav": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-wav",
    "@audio/decode-flac": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-flac",
    "@audio/decode-opus": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-opus",
    "@audio/decode-vorbis": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-vorbis",
    "@audio/decode-aac": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-aac",
    "@audio/decode-qoa": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-qoa",
    "@audio/decode-aiff": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-aiff",
    "@audio/decode-caf": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-caf",
    "@audio/decode-webm": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-webm",
    "@audio/decode-amr": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-amr",
    "@audio/decode-wma": "https://esm.sh/@audio/decode-wma"
  }
}
</script>
<script type="module">
  import decode from 'audio-decode'
  let { channelData, sampleRate } = await decode(buf)
</script>

Only list the codecs you need — each @audio/decode-* package bundles all its WASM/JS deps internally.

WebWorker

Each @audio/decode-* package is a self-contained ESM module — import directly in a worker:

// decode-worker.js
import decode from '@audio/decode-mp3'

self.onmessage = async ({ data }) => {
  let pcm = await decode(data)
  self.postMessage(pcm, pcm.channelData.map(ch => ch.buffer))
}

// main.js
let worker = new Worker('./decode-worker.js', { type: 'module' })
worker.postMessage(mp3buf, [mp3buf])
worker.onmessage = ({ data }) => { /* { channelData, sampleRate } */ }

See also

• audio-encode – encode PCM into any audio format.
• audio-type – detect audio format from buffer.

MIT • ॐ