Ecasound Net-ECI Default TCP Port Explained

This article provides an overview of the default network configuration for the Ecasound Control Interface (Net-ECI). It details the primary TCP port used by Ecasound for remote server commands, how the interface functions, and the practical steps required to start, connect to, and secure a Net-ECI session.

The Default Port: TCP 2868

The Ecasound Net-ECI service listens for incoming remote commands over TCP port 2868 by default.

Ecasound is a command-line multitrack audio processing tool, and the Network Ecasound Control Interface (Net-ECI) enables users and external software to manage the engine over a local or remote network socket. When launched in server mode without custom port arguments, the daemon binds to TCP port 2868 and waits for clients to submit standard interactive ECI commands (such as playback controls, chainsetup loading, or signal routing).

Starting the Net-ECI Server

To launch Ecasound with the Net-ECI service active on its default port, run:

ecasound --server

If you need to change the default listening port to avoid conflicts, use the --server-tcp-port flag followed by your desired port number:

ecasound --server --server-tcp-port=3000

Connecting to the Service

Once the service is listening on port 2868, clients can connect using standard TCP utilities like netcat or telnet, as well as language-specific API bindings (such as Python's pyeca or C/C++ clients):

nc localhost 2868

After establishing the connection, the client can issue raw ECI commands directly to the audio engine. For example, typing engine-status returns the current operating state, and start initiates audio processing.

Network and Security Considerations

Because the native Net-ECI protocol transmits plain-text commands without built-in authentication or encryption, leaving TCP port 2868 exposed on untrusted networks presents a security risk. Best practices for production and remote use include: