ESD(1)

💖 ESD 💖

bestie. you're looking at the manual page for esd — that's section 1 of the manual, and the name on the tin is The Enlightened Sound Daemon. yes. that's really what it's called. iconic behavior honestly.

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✨ NAME ✨

esd — The Enlightened Sound Daemon 🎀

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so here's the tea: esd starts up EsounD, and EsounD is the thing that gives you a sound mixing server. that's the whole job. it mixes. it serves. it slays. periodt. 💅

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🦋 USAGE 🦋

esd [options]

now the options, and yes we are doing ALL of them, no skipping, no skimming, this is a full syllabus situation 📚✨

• -d DEVICE — forces esd to use the sound device DEVICE. it's giving "i choose you" but for hardware.
• -b — runs the server in 8 bit sound mode. retro. crunchy. lowkey a vibe.
• -r RATE — runs the server at a sample rate of RATE. you pick the number, bestie.
• -as SECS — frees the audio device after SECS of inactivity. and if you pass -1, that disables the whole freeing thing entirely. so -1 means never let go 🫶
• -unix — uses unix domain sockets instead of tcp/ip.
• -tcp — uses tcp/ip sockets instead of unix domain. it's the other one. the flip side. 🌈
• -public — makes tcp/ip access public, aka not just localhost. meaning other people, not just you. 😳
• -promiscuous — starts unlocked and owned, which disables authentication. and the manual is screaming at you in all caps about it: NOT RECOMMENDED. like. babe. do not. 🙈
• -terminate — terminates the esd daemon after the last client exits. it leaves when the party's over.
• -noterminate — does not terminate the esd daemon after the last client exits. it stays. it's committed. 👑
• -nobeeps — disables startup beeps. silence. peace. finally. 🤫
• -beeps — enables startup beeps. beep beep, you asked for this. 🔥
• -trust — starts esd even if use of /tmp/.esd can be insecure. it's a trust fall. catch it if you can.
• -port PORT — listens for connections at PORT. (this one is only for tcp/ip)
• -bind ADDRESS — binds to ADDRESS. (also only for tcp/ip)
• -v, --version — prints version information. the receipts. the lore. ⭐

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🎀 the devices 🎀

so like, what even counts as a device here? the possible devices are:

• /dev/dsp
• /dev/dsp2
• etc.

yes, etc. is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. iykyk. 💀

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🍓 FILES 🍓

• /etc/esd.conf — the daemon configuration file. this is where the settings live. their little home. 🏠

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

go read these next, bestie, they're the whole friend group:

• esdcat(1)
• esddsp(1)
• esdloop(1)
• esdplay(1)
• esdsample(1)
• esdconfig(1)
• esdctl(1)
• esdfilt(1)
• esdmon(1)
• esdrec(1)

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and that's the page!! this one came from the 3rd Berkeley Distribution, it's EsounD 0.2.41, and it's dated... well, it's an ESD(1) page, section 1, and that's the energy we're closing on. mwah. go mix some sound. 💋✨🦋