Fix audio dependency to use ffmpeg instead of sox

The Listening Post actually uses ffmpeg for audio encoding, not sox.
Updated all documentation, setup scripts, and code to reflect this:

- Removed unused find_sox() function from listening_post.py
- Simplified tools endpoint to only check for ffmpeg
- Updated CHANGELOG, README, HARDWARE.md, Dockerfile
- Fixed setup.sh to check for ffmpeg
- Updated frontend warnings to mention ffmpeg

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,13 +7,13 @@ All notable changes to INTERCEPT will be documented in this file.
 ### Added
 - **Listening Post Mode** - New frequency scanner with automatic signal detection
   - Scans frequency ranges and stops on detected signals
-  - Real-time audio monitoring with sox integration
+  - Real-time audio monitoring with ffmpeg integration
   - Skip button to continue scanning after signal detection
   - Configurable dwell time, squelch, and step size
   - Preset frequency bands (FM broadcast, Air band, Marine, etc.)
   - Activity log of detected signals
 - **Aircraft Dashboard Improvements**
-  - Dependency warning when rtl_fm or sox not installed
+  - Dependency warning when rtl_fm or ffmpeg not installed
   - Auto-restart audio when switching frequencies
   - Fixed toolbar overflow with custom frequency input
 - **Device Correlation** - Match WiFi and Bluetooth devices by manufacturer
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ All notable changes to INTERCEPT will be documented in this file.
 - **Setup Script Rewrite**
   - Full macOS support with Homebrew auto-installation
   - Improved Debian/Ubuntu package detection
-  - Added sox to tool checks
+  - Added ffmpeg to tool checks
   - Better error messages with platform-specific install commands
 - **Dockerfile Updated**
-  - Added sox and libsox-fmt-all for Listening Post audio
+  - Added ffmpeg for Listening Post audio encoding
   - Added dump1090 with fallback for different package names
 
 ### Fixed

Dockerfile

@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     # Pager decoder
     multimon-ng \
     # Audio tools for Listening Post
-    sox \
+    ffmpeg \
-    libsox-fmt-all \
     # WiFi tools (aircrack-ng suite)
     aircrack-ng \
     iw \

README.md

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
 **2. Install dependencies:**
 ```bash
 # Required
-brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 sox
+brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 ffmpeg
 
 # For ADS-B aircraft tracking
 brew install dump1090-mutability
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ sudo apt update
 sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv git
 
 # Required SDR tools
-sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 sox
+sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 ffmpeg
 
 # For ADS-B aircraft tracking (package name varies)
 sudo apt install -y dump1090-mutability  # or dump1090-fa

docs/HARDWARE.md

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ INTERCEPT automatically detects connected devices.
 /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
 
 # Core tools (required)
-brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 sox
+brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 ffmpeg
 
 # ADS-B aircraft tracking
 brew install dump1090-mutability
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ sudo apt update
 
 # Core tools (required)
 sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv
-sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 sox
+sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 ffmpeg
 
 # ADS-B aircraft tracking
 sudo apt install -y dump1090-mutability
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ Open **http://localhost:5050** in your browser.
 | `multimon-ng` | multimon-ng | multimon-ng | Pager decoding |
 | `rtl_433` | rtl-433 | rtl_433 | 433MHz sensors |
 | `dump1090` | dump1090-mutability | dump1090-mutability | ADS-B tracking |
-| `sox` | sox | sox | Listening Post audio |
+| `ffmpeg` | ffmpeg | ffmpeg | Listening Post audio |
 | `airmon-ng` | aircrack-ng | aircrack-ng | WiFi monitor mode |
 | `airodump-ng` | aircrack-ng | aircrack-ng | WiFi scanning |
 | `aireplay-ng` | aircrack-ng | aircrack-ng | WiFi deauth (optional) |

routes/listening_post.py

@@ -79,9 +79,6 @@ def find_ffmpeg() -> str | None:
     return shutil.which('ffmpeg')
 
 
-def find_sox() -> str | None:
-    """Find sox for audio encoding."""
-    return shutil.which('sox')
 
 
 def add_activity_log(event_type: str, frequency: float, details: str = ''):
@@ -450,15 +447,11 @@ def check_tools() -> Response:
     """Check for required tools."""
     rtl_fm = find_rtl_fm()
     ffmpeg = find_ffmpeg()
-    sox = find_sox()
-    can_stream = ffmpeg is not None or sox is not None
 
     return jsonify({
         'rtl_fm': rtl_fm is not None,
         'ffmpeg': ffmpeg is not None,
-        'sox': sox is not None,
+        'available': rtl_fm is not None and ffmpeg is not None
-        'can_stream': can_stream,
-        'available': rtl_fm is not None and can_stream
     })
 
 

setup.sh

@@ -179,11 +179,7 @@ check_tools() {
 
     echo ""
     echo "Audio Tools:"
-    check_tool "sox" "Audio player/processor" "audio"
+    check_tool "ffmpeg" "Audio encoder for streaming" "audio"
-    # ffmpeg is optional alternative to sox
-    if check_cmd ffmpeg; then
-        echo -e "  ${GREEN}✓${NC} ffmpeg - Audio encoder (optional)"
-    fi
 
     echo ""
     echo "WiFi Tools:"
@@ -258,7 +254,7 @@ install_macos_tools() {
     echo ""
     echo -e "${YELLOW}The following will be installed:${NC}"
     $MISSING_CORE && echo "  - Core SDR tools (rtl-sdr, multimon-ng, rtl_433, dump1090)"
-    $MISSING_AUDIO && echo "  - Audio tools (sox)"
+    $MISSING_AUDIO && echo "  - Audio tools (ffmpeg)"
     $MISSING_WIFI && echo "  - WiFi tools (aircrack-ng)"
     echo ""
 
@@ -283,7 +279,7 @@ install_macos_tools() {
         if $MISSING_AUDIO; then
             echo ""
             echo -e "${BLUE}Installing Audio tools...${NC}"
-            brew install sox
+            brew install ffmpeg
         fi
 
         # WiFi tools
@@ -305,7 +301,7 @@ show_macos_manual() {
     echo -e "${BLUE}Manual installation (macOS):${NC}"
     echo ""
     echo "# Required tools"
-    echo "brew install librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 sox"
+    echo "brew install librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 ffmpeg"
     echo ""
     echo "# ADS-B tracking"
     echo "brew install dump1090-mutability"
@@ -329,7 +325,7 @@ install_debian_tools() {
 
     echo -e "${YELLOW}The following will be installed:${NC}"
     $MISSING_CORE && echo "  - Core SDR tools (rtl-sdr, multimon-ng, rtl-433, dump1090)"
-    $MISSING_AUDIO && echo "  - Audio tools (sox)"
+    $MISSING_AUDIO && echo "  - Audio tools (ffmpeg)"
     $MISSING_WIFI && echo "  - WiFi tools (aircrack-ng)"
     $MISSING_BLUETOOTH && echo "  - Bluetooth tools (bluez)"
     echo ""
@@ -376,7 +372,7 @@ install_debian_tools() {
         if $MISSING_AUDIO; then
             echo ""
             echo -e "${BLUE}Installing Audio tools...${NC}"
-            $SUDO apt install -y sox
+            $SUDO apt install -y ffmpeg
         fi
 
         # WiFi tools
@@ -408,7 +404,7 @@ show_debian_manual() {
     echo -e "${BLUE}Manual installation (Debian/Ubuntu):${NC}"
     echo ""
     echo "# Required tools"
-    echo "sudo apt install rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 sox"
+    echo "sudo apt install rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 ffmpeg"
     echo ""
     echo "# ADS-B tracking"
     echo "sudo apt install dump1090-mutability  # or dump1090-fa"

templates/adsb_dashboard.html

@@ -1780,7 +1780,7 @@ sudo make install</code>
                 .then(data => {
                     const missingTools = [];
                     if (!data.rtl_fm) missingTools.push('rtl_fm');
-                    if (!data.sox) missingTools.push('sox (audio player)');
+                    if (!data.ffmpeg) missingTools.push('ffmpeg (audio encoder)');
 
                     if (missingTools.length > 0) {
                         document.getElementById('airbandBtn').disabled = true;
@@ -1825,7 +1825,7 @@ sudo make install</code>
                 <div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 6px;">⚠️ Airband Listen Unavailable</div>
                 <div>Missing required tools: <strong>${toolList}</strong></div>
                 <div style="margin-top: 8px; font-size: 10px; opacity: 0.9;">
-                    Install with: <code style="background: rgba(0,0,0,0.3); padding: 2px 6px; border-radius: 3px;">sudo apt install rtl-sdr sox</code> (Debian) or <code style="background: rgba(0,0,0,0.3); padding: 2px 6px; border-radius: 3px;">brew install librtlsdr sox</code> (macOS)
+                    Install with: <code style="background: rgba(0,0,0,0.3); padding: 2px 6px; border-radius: 3px;">sudo apt install rtl-sdr ffmpeg</code> (Debian) or <code style="background: rgba(0,0,0,0.3); padding: 2px 6px; border-radius: 3px;">brew install librtlsdr ffmpeg</code> (macOS)
                 </div>
                 <button onclick="this.parentElement.remove()" style="position: absolute; top: 5px; right: 8px; background: none; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px;">×</button>
             `;

templates/index.html

@@ -8775,7 +8775,7 @@
         // ============================================
 
         let isAudioPlaying = false;
-        let audioToolsAvailable = { rtl_fm: false, audio_player: false };
+        let audioToolsAvailable = { rtl_fm: false, ffmpeg: false };
 
         // Web Audio API for visualization
         let visualizerContext = null;
@@ -8919,14 +8919,14 @@
                 .then(r => r.json())
                 .then(data => {
                     audioToolsAvailable.rtl_fm = data.rtl_fm;
-                    audioToolsAvailable.can_stream = data.can_stream;
+                    audioToolsAvailable.ffmpeg = data.ffmpeg;
 
                     const warnings = [];
                     if (!data.rtl_fm) {
                         warnings.push('rtl_fm not found - install rtl-sdr tools');
                     }
-                    if (!data.can_stream) {
+                    if (!data.ffmpeg) {
-                        warnings.push('No audio encoder (ffmpeg/sox) - install: brew install ffmpeg (macOS) or apt install ffmpeg (Linux)');
+                        warnings.push('ffmpeg not found - install: brew install ffmpeg (macOS) or apt install ffmpeg (Linux)');
                     }
 
                     const warningDiv = document.getElementById('audioToolsWarning');