system_audio_meter #

A desktop-only Flutter plugin for visualizing real-time desktop audio levels.

It exposes normalized stereo peak values through EventChannels, reports device connection lifecycle events, keeps processing in memory only, and is designed for lightweight UI meters rather than recording or audio analysis pipelines.

[System Audio Meter example]

Highlights #

• Small public API centered on SystemAudioMeter.instance
• Stream<AudioLevels> for real-time left/right peak updates
• Stream<AudioDeviceEvent> for device connection/disconnection changes
• Output device listing and selection support
• Input device listing and selection support
• Windows implementation based on WASAPI loopback capture for output and shared-mode capture for input
• Automatic reconnect handling for active meters on Windows
• No recording, no file output, no raw buffer persistence
• Safe unsupported stubs for macOS and Linux while native backends are still pending

Platform status #

Installation #

Add the package to your Flutter desktop app:

dependencies:
  system_audio_meter: ^0.2.0

Or install it directly from the command line:

flutter pub add system_audio_meter

Quick start #

final meter = SystemAudioMeter.instance;

final subscription = meter.levels.listen((AudioLevels levels) {
  print('L: ${levels.leftPeak}, R: ${levels.rightPeak}');
});

await meter.start();

final inputSubscription = meter.inputLevels.listen((AudioLevels levels) {
  print('Mic L: ${levels.leftPeak}, Mic R: ${levels.rightPeak}');
});

await meter.startInput();

final deviceEvents = meter.deviceEvents.listen((AudioDeviceEvent event) {
  print('${event.flow} ${event.kind} ${event.deviceName}');
});

Stop when you no longer need updates:

await SystemAudioMeter.instance.stop();
await SystemAudioMeter.instance.stopInput();
await subscription.cancel();
await inputSubscription.cancel();
await deviceEvents.cancel();

Public API #

abstract class SystemAudioMeter {
  static SystemAudioMeter get instance;

  Stream<AudioLevels> get levels;
  Stream<AudioLevels> get inputLevels;
  Stream<AudioDeviceEvent> get deviceEvents;

  Future<List<AudioOutputDevice>> getOutputDevices();
  Future<List<AudioInputDevice>> getInputDevices();

  Future<void> setOutputDevice(String? deviceId);
  Future<void> setInputDevice(String? deviceId);

  Future<AudioOutputDevice?> getCurrentOutputDevice();
  Future<AudioInputDevice?> getCurrentInputDevice();

  Future<void> start();
  Future<void> startInput();

  Future<void> stop();
  Future<void> stopInput();

  Future<bool> get isRunning;
  Future<bool> get isInputRunning;
}

AudioDeviceEvent #

enum AudioDeviceEventKind {
  connected,
  disconnected,
}

enum AudioDeviceFlow {
  output,
  input,
}

class AudioDeviceEvent {
  const AudioDeviceEvent({
    required this.kind,
    required this.flow,
    required this.timestamp,
    this.deviceId,
    this.deviceName,
    required this.isDefault,
    required this.isSelected,
  });

  final AudioDeviceEventKind kind;
  final AudioDeviceFlow flow;
  final DateTime timestamp;
  final String? deviceId;
  final String? deviceName;
  final bool isDefault;
  final bool isSelected;
}

AudioLevels #

class AudioLevels {
  const AudioLevels({
    required this.leftPeak,
    required this.rightPeak,
    required this.timestamp,
    this.outputDeviceId,
    this.outputDeviceName,
    this.inputDeviceId,
    this.inputDeviceName,
  });

  final double leftPeak;
  final double rightPeak;
  final DateTime timestamp;
  final String? outputDeviceId;
  final String? outputDeviceName;
  final String? inputDeviceId;
  final String? inputDeviceName;
}

AudioOutputDevice #

class AudioOutputDevice {
  const AudioOutputDevice({
    required this.id,
    required this.name,
    required this.isDefault,
  });

  final String id;
  final String name;
  final bool isDefault;
}

AudioInputDevice #

class AudioInputDevice {
  const AudioInputDevice({
    required this.id,
    required this.name,
    required this.isDefault,
  });

  final String id;
  final String name;
  final bool isDefault;
}

Device selection #

final devices = await SystemAudioMeter.instance.getOutputDevices();

final selectedDevice = devices.firstWhere((device) => device.isDefault);

await SystemAudioMeter.instance.setOutputDevice(selectedDevice.id);
await SystemAudioMeter.instance.start();

final inputDevices = await SystemAudioMeter.instance.getInputDevices();

final selectedInput = inputDevices.firstWhere((device) => device.isDefault);

await SystemAudioMeter.instance.setInputDevice(selectedInput.id);
await SystemAudioMeter.instance.startInput();

Behavior:

• setOutputDevice(null) switches back to the system default output device
• setInputDevice(null) switches back to the system default input device
• On Windows, the plugin uses the default render device by default
• On Windows, the plugin uses the default capture device by default for input metering
• If a meter is actively running and the underlying Windows device disconnects, the plugin emits a disconnect event and resets levels to 0.0
• If that device reconnects, Windows can automatically reattach the active meter when the device is still the selected target
• For explicitly selected devices, Windows reconnection can recover by deviceId first and then by friendly name if the OS recreated the endpoint

Device lifecycle events #

Use deviceEvents when you want Dart to react to connection changes without treating them as fatal stream failures:

final subscription = SystemAudioMeter.instance.deviceEvents.listen(
  (AudioDeviceEvent event) {
    if (event.flow == AudioDeviceFlow.input &&
        event.kind == AudioDeviceEventKind.connected) {
      print('Input device is back: ${event.deviceName}');
    }
  },
);

Typical uses:

• show connected/disconnected banners in the UI
• auto-resume a meter only if the user had already started it
• refresh device dropdowns when Windows recreates an endpoint with a new deviceId

Event payload #

Each event is intentionally small and UI-focused:

{
  "leftPeak": 0.42,
  "rightPeak": 0.38,
  "timestamp": 1710000000000,
  "outputDeviceId": "...",
  "outputDeviceName": "Speakers / Headphones"
}

For input metering, the payload uses inputDeviceId and inputDeviceName instead.

Notes:

• leftPeak and rightPeak are normalized to 0.0..1.0
• values are clamped before reaching Dart
• updates are throttled for visualization rather than emitted per raw audio frame

Example device event payload:

{
  "kind": "connected",
  "flow": "input",
  "timestamp": 1710000000000,
  "deviceId": "...",
  "deviceName": "USB Microphone",
  "isDefault": false,
  "isSelected": true
}

Example app #

The example app included in this repository demonstrates:

• starting the meter
• stopping the meter
• refreshing output devices
• selecting an output device
• refreshing input devices
• selecting an input device
• reacting to device connect/disconnect events
• auto-resuming a previously active meter after reconnection
• rendering left/right visual level bars

Run it with:

cd example
flutter run -d windows

Design constraints #

This plugin is intentionally limited in scope:

• no recording
• no saved audio
• no raw sample history
• no FFT
• no LUFS
• no waveform generation

The native side only processes the current audio buffer long enough to calculate meter values and then releases it.

Current limitations #

Windows #

• Implemented for desktop metering with WASAPI loopback for output and WASAPI capture for input
• Includes Windows device lifecycle monitoring and automatic reattachment for active meters
• The current focus is stability and safe lifecycle handling rather than advanced analysis

macOS #

• Live system-output metering is not implemented yet
• Reliable support may require more CoreAudio-specific work and, depending on the routing strategy, extra system configuration

Linux #

• Live system-output metering is not implemented yet
• A production-ready backend still needs to be built and validated for common Ubuntu PulseAudio and PipeWire setups

Repository structure #

lib/        Dart API and channel bindings
windows/    Windows WASAPI implementation
macos/      macOS stub implementation
linux/      Linux stub implementation
example/    Example desktop app
screenshots/ README assets