Tools

The Tools menu collects utilities that don’t fit the generate, effect or analyze categories — batch processing with macros, data import helpers, and housekeeping commands.

Between the macro commands and Raw data import, the menu lists the available tools. That list is populated from your installed plugins, so its exact contents depend on what is installed on your machine — the built-in Nyquist set includes Nyquist plugin installer, Regular interval labels, and Sample data import and export. Installed extensions are listed here too.

Plugin manager

Enable and disable the plugins that provide tools — the same dialog as Plugin manager on the Effect menu.

Manage macros

Not yet enabled in the current Audacity 4 alpha.

Opens the macro editor, where you create and edit macros — named sequences of commands and effects that can be applied to a project or a batch of files in a single step. Applying an existing macro is done from the Macros submenu next to this command.

Macros

Not yet enabled in the current Audacity 4 alpha.

A submenu for applying macros — saved sequences of commands — without opening the macro editor. It holds Apply macros palette, followed by the two example macros that ship with Audacity: Macro fade ends and Macro MP3 conversion. Creating and editing macros is done with Manage macros, directly above this submenu.

Raw data import

Imports audio from a file that has no header describing its format — raw sample data. Because the file itself carries no format information, you tell Audacity how to interpret it: the encoding, byte order, channel count and sample rate. Useful for recovering audio from damaged files or unusual sources.

In the current Audacity 4 alpha the menu item is present but the import dialog itself has not yet been implemented.

Reset configuration

Returns Audacity’s configuration to its default state, discarding settings you have changed. Reach for it when the application is misbehaving in a way that points to a bad setting rather than a bad project.

In the current Audacity 4 alpha the menu item is present but the command itself has not yet been implemented. For a fuller reset that also removes custom workspaces and shortcuts, see Revert to factory settings in the Help menu.

Last updated 3 September 2026