Audio CD grabbers extract digital audio from compact discs and save the tracks as files on a computer. They typically support lossless formats such as FLAC and WAV, together with compressed formats including MP3, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis.
Most graphical CD ripping applications can retrieve album and track information from online metadata databases such as MusicBrainz or GnuDB. This information can be used to name files, organise albums, and populate audio tags automatically.
Ripping a CD collection offers advantages over relying entirely on streaming services. You can keep local copies of your music, choose the audio format and encoding quality, and listen without an internet connection. Applications offering secure ripping and error detection are particularly useful for preserving older or damaged discs.
Copyright rules governing personal copies vary between countries. Check the applicable legislation before copying copyrighted recordings.
Our recommendations are captured in the chart below. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
| GUI Audio Grabbers | |
|---|---|
| fre:ac | Audio converter and CD ripper supporting popular formats and encoders |
| Asunder | Audio CD ripper and encoder |
| grip | CD player and CD ripper for Gnome |
| Sound Juicer | Lean CD ripper using GTK+ and GStreamer |
| Audex | Easy to use open source audio CD ripping application |
| ripperX | Graphical interface for ripping CD audio tracks and encoding them |
| Laser | Simple CD ripper for the GNOME desktop |
| GrimRipper | Fork of Asunder |
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