Inspecting Playhead Position in Ecasound

This guide explains how to check and monitor the current playhead position during an interactive Ecasound session. By utilizing Ecasound’s interactive mode (EIA-C) commands, you can quickly query the exact playback time in seconds or view comprehensive transport details directly from the command-line prompt.

Launching Interactive Mode

To interact with Ecasound in real time, start your session with the -c flag:

ecasound -c -i:audiofile.wav -o:default

Once the setup is processed, start playback by typing:

start

Checking the Playhead Position

While the session is running or paused, you can use several commands to query the playhead position:

1. The cs-get-position Command

To get the exact playhead position of the current chainsetup in seconds, type:

cs-get-position

Ecasound will return a floating-point number representing the elapsed time from the start of the audio stream (for example, 14.250).

2. The get-position Alias

Depending on your Ecasound version and interactive configuration, the shortened alias get-position functions identically to cs-get-position:

get-position

3. Inspecting the Engine Status

If you want broader transport context alongside the position, run:

engine-status

This command outputs the current state of the audio engine (such as running, stopped, or paused), the current position in seconds, and the total stream length if available.

4. The Short Status Query

You can also issue the compact status command:

status

or its shorthand:

st

This returns a condensed overview of processing activity, active chains, and the current timeline position.

Programmatic Inspection via EIA-C

If you are controlling an Ecasound interactive session via a pipe, socket, or script, sending cs-get-position\n will return the position followed by the standard Ecasound return code prompt (256 for success, followed by the float value), allowing external tools to parse the playhead location dynamically.