How to Save Ecasound Configuration to a File

This article provides a concise guide on how to export and save your active audio routing, chainsetups, and processing settings to a disk file directly from within Ecasound’s interactive mode. By storing your session as an Ecasound chainsetup file, you can preserve complex setups, reuse effect chains, and reload configurations later without recreating them manually.

The Save Command

To save the active chainsetup to a file from the Ecasound interactive prompt (EIAM), use the cs-save-as command followed by your desired filename. Ecasound configurations typically use the .ecs (Ecasound Chainsetup) extension:

cs-save-as session_backup.ecs

If you specify only a filename, Ecasound writes the file to the current working directory from which the program was launched. You can also specify an absolute or relative path:

cs-save-as /path/to/configurations/my_setup.ecs

Overwriting an Existing File

If the current chainsetup is already associated with a file (either because you loaded it earlier or previously ran cs-save-as), you can overwrite the existing file with your latest changes using:

cs-save

What Gets Saved

The saved .ecs file is a plain-text configuration containing:

• All active chains and their assignments.
• Input and output audio objects (files, ALSA/JACK devices, pipes).
• Controllers, operators, and audio effect parameters attached to each chain.

Reloading the Saved Configuration

To verify or restore your saved configuration in a future interactive session, run:

cs-load session_backup.ecs
cs-select session_backup

Once selected, you can inspect the setup using the status or cs-status commands and start processing with start.