Sonic Terminal

Hear your terminal. Never miss a build failure again.

Give your code editor terminal audio life - play custom sounds on command start, success, failure, IDE startup, and more. Choose from 80+ inbuilt sounds or bring your own. Fully offline. No limits.

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What is Sonic Terminal?

Sonic Terminal is an IDE extension that plays audio cues when things happen in your terminal. You get a sound when a command starts, when it succeeds, when it fails, and when the IDE opens - so you can keep your eyes on your code instead of staring at the terminal waiting for a build to finish.

It works completely offline, supports custom audio files, comes with 80+ inbuilt sounds, and is fully configurable through a visual sound dashboard - no JSON editing required.

IDE terminal sounds · sound notifications · audio alerts · command success / error sounds · custom audio cues · developer productivity extension

Why Developers Use It

• Stop staring at build logs - hear the moment your command finishes, wherever you look
• Know when a command fails without watching the terminal - a distinct error sound cuts through the noise
• Work with audio feedback that matches your workflow - choose cinematic, robotic, meme, or ultra-minimal sounds
• Use meme sounds for personal projects and professional sounds for focused work - switch profiles in seconds
• Import your own audio files - any local .mp3, .wav, or .ogg file works
• Build unique sound setups per workflow - save different profiles and switch between them

terminal error sound · command completion sound · audio alerts · productivity extension · terminal event audio · build failure notification sound

Features

Terminal Event Sound Notifications

Sonic Terminal listens to your terminal and reacts to these events:

Every event can be individually enabled or disabled with a toggle directly in the dashboard.

Built-in Sound Library

Over 80 production-ready sounds ship with the extension - no internet connection needed.

• Searchable sound picker - find sounds by name or tag in real time
• Tag-based browsing - filter by Futuristic, Memes, System UI, Victory & Success, Errors & Failure, Suspense & Drama
• Hover preview - hover over a sound to instantly hear it before selecting
• Keyboard navigation - use ↑ ↓ to browse the list; the focused sound auto-plays for preview
• No typing = no autoplay - audio only previews when you navigate or hover, never while you type

Sound Profiles

• System profiles - ready-to-use presets: Sonic, Cyber, Gaming Arcade, Meme Chaos
• Custom profiles - create your own from scratch or by editing a system profile
• Profile cloning - editing a system profile automatically creates a personal copy
• Rename, delete, and switch profiles from the dashboard
• Assign one or multiple sounds to each terminal event
• Enable / disable sounds per event with a toggle on each event card

Playback Controls

• Volume control - set playback volume from 0% to 100%
• Multiple sounds per event - stack multiple tracks; play them randomly or in sequence
• Drag-and-drop reordering - reorder tracks inside an event by dragging
• Shuffle mode - play a random sound from the event's track list
• Sequential mode - cycle through tracks in order
• Interrupt option - cut off a running command-start sound when success or failure fires
• 100% offline - all sounds and assets are bundled inside the extension

Quick Start

1. Install Sonic Terminal from the Marketplace
2. Open the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
3. Run Sonic: Open Sound Dashboard
4. Select a built-in profile from the dropdown (e.g. Gaming Arcade)
5. Open your terminal and run any command - you'll hear the result
6. Customize sounds per event by clicking Add Inbuilt Audio or Add Custom Audio

Dashboard Overview

The Sonic Terminal Soundboard is the full visual configuration UI for the extension. Open it via:

• Command palette → Sonic: Open Sound Dashboard
• Extension Settings → click Open Sound Dashboard at the top

General Settings

Audio Profiles

The profile dropdown shows all available profiles. System profiles are marked with (System) and are read-only. You can:

• Switch the active profile using the dropdown
• Create a new custom profile with the + button
• Rename a custom profile
• Delete a custom profile
• Reset an edited system profile back to its defaults (removes your edits)

When you modify a system profile, it automatically clones into a personal (edited) copy - the original system profile stays untouched in the list.

Event Sound Configuration

Each terminal event (IDE Initialization, Command Execution, Success, Failure) has its own card containing:

• An enable/disable toggle - the colored dot next to the event name turns gray when disabled
• A track list - all sounds assigned to this event, in playback order
• A shuffle toggle - visible when more than one track is added
• Add Inbuilt Audio - opens the sound picker modal
• Add Custom Audio - opens a file browser for local files

Inbuilt Sound Picker

A full-screen search modal with:

• Real-time search by sound name or tag
• Color-coded tag pills for instant visual category scanning
• Hover preview - hover a sound to hear it immediately
• Keyboard selection - ↑ / ↓ to navigate, Enter to select, Esc to close
• Audio stops instantly when you move to the next sound - no overlap

Custom Audio Importer

Click Add Custom Audio on any event card to browse for a local audio file. Supported formats: .mp3, .wav, .ogg. The file path is saved relative to the workspace when possible.

Built-in Sound Library

All sounds are bundled inside the extension and require no internet connection.

Sound Categories

All Included Sounds

Alert · Among Us Kill · Among Us · Apple Pay Success · Aughhh
Beep with Delays · Beep · Bell · Binary Complete · Binary Beeps
Bonk · Boom · Bruh · But You Are Not Really Fine · Car Crash
Cash Register · Cat Laughing · Clock Ticking · Computer Loading
Correct · Crickets Awkward Silence · Ding · Dramatic Dun Dun Dun
Easy · Electronic Beep · Error · Faaa · Faaaa · FAAA Terminal · Faaaaaaaa
Game Over · Glitch Sound · Good Job · Goofy Car Horn · He Tried It
Helicopter Helicopter · Help Me · Huh · I Got This · It Is What It Is
Jarvis As You Wish Sir · Jarvis Startup 2 · Jarvis Startup
Keycard Accept · Lets Do This · Military Typing · Military Typing 2
Mission Failed · Mouse Click · Mouse Click 2 · Nani · Nice · No No No
Notification · Notification 2 · Oh My God · Oh No · Okay · Oof
Pop · Processing · Punch · Reward · Rewind · Robot Startup
Scared Scream · Sinister Laugh · Slap 1 · Slap 2
Super Mario Death · Super Mario Jump · Surprised 4
Surprise · Surprise 2 · Surprise 3 · Target Acquired · Target Neutralised
Thud · Twinkle Sparkle · UI Loading · Victory · Water Drop
What · Whoosh · Windows Error · Wow · Wrong Buzzer · Wrong
Yeet · Yes Yes Yes

Searchable by: faaa terminal · faaaaa sound · jarvis sound · meme terminal sounds · mario terminal · among us terminal · robot voice terminal · glitch sound · notification sound ide

System Sound Profiles

System profiles are read-only presets bundled with the extension. They serve as starting points you can clone and customize.

Commands

Use the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) to access all Sonic Terminal commands.

Configuration

All settings can be configured from:

• Sound Dashboard (recommended - no JSON needed)
• IDE Settings UI (@ext:sonic-terminal)
• settings.json manually

Common Settings

Full Configuration Reference

How to Use Custom Audio

You can attach any local .mp3, .wav, or .ogg audio file to any terminal event.

Import a Local Audio File

1. Open the Sound Dashboard
2. Select your active profile (or create a new one)
3. Find the event card where you want to add audio (e.g. "Command Succeeded")
4. Click Add Custom Audio
5. Browse to your audio file and select it

Add Audio to a Profile

• Each event can hold multiple tracks - add as many as you want
• Tracks play in sequence or shuffle based on your setting
• Drag tracks to reorder them within an event

Assign Audio to Terminal Events

Each event card is independent - you can have completely different sounds for startup, command start, success, and failure within the same profile.

Replace or Remove Custom Tracks

• To replace a track, click the folder icon on the right of the track row
• To remove a track, click the × icon on the right of the track row
• To preview a track before keeping it, click the play button on the track row

Tips and Workflow

Playback Tips

• Shuffle mode is ideal when you have many fun sounds for the same event - keeps things fresh
• Sequential mode is better for workflow sounds where you want a predictable experience
• Stack multiple short sounds rather than one long audio clip on command-start - they play one per command
• Keep error sounds louder and more distinct - they need to cut through ambient noise

Profile Workflow Tips

• Start from a system preset (Gaming Arcade, Cyber, etc.) and let the extension clone it for you
• Keep a focused profile (subtle System UI sounds) and a fun profile (Meme Chaos) - switch between them from the dropdown in seconds
• Editing any system profile automatically creates a personal (edited) copy - the original is always preserved in the list

Productivity Tips

• Use Apple Pay Success or Correct for command success - they're short and satisfying without being distracting
• Assign Glitch Sound or Windows Error to failures - they're immediately recognizable
• Use hover preview in the sound picker to audition every sound before committing
• If a sound is too long for your workflow, use interrupt mode so it cuts off when the next event fires

Troubleshooting

No Sound is Playing

• Check that Enable Audio Globally is turned on in the dashboard
• Check that the specific event's toggle is enabled (look for the colored dot - gray means disabled)
• Check that the active profile has sounds assigned to the events you expect
• Run Sonic: Test All Sounds from the command palette to verify audio is working at all

Custom Audio Is Not Loading

• Make sure the file path is correct and the file exists at that location
• Supported formats are .mp3, .wav, and .ogg - other formats will not play
• On macOS, afplay is used internally; on Linux, paplay or aplay; on Windows, PowerShell's SoundPlayer
• Note: Windows SoundPlayer only natively supports .wav - use .wav files on Windows for best compatibility

Volume Is Too Low or Too High

• Adjust the Playback Volume slider in General Preferences
• The volume setting interacts with your system output volume - raise system volume if the slider feels ineffective

An Event Is Not Triggering

• The extension listens to the code editor's terminal execution events. This requires a compatible modern version (e.g., VS Code 1.86+).
• Not all terminal types and shell integrations report execution events - make sure shell integration is enabled in settings (terminal.integrated.shellIntegration.enabled)

The Dashboard Is Not Opening

• Use Command Palette → Sonic: Open Sound Dashboard
• Or go to IDE Settings → search @ext:sonic-terminal → click Open Sound Dashboard at the top

FAQ

Does it work offline? Yes - completely. All 80+ sounds, styles, and assets are bundled inside the extension. No network requests are ever made.

Can I use my own audio files? Yes. Click Add Custom Audio on any event card in the dashboard to browse for a local .mp3, .wav, or .ogg file.

Can I assign multiple sounds to one terminal event? Yes. Each event supports a full track list. You can add as many sounds as you want and configure them to play randomly (shuffle) or in rotation (sequential).

Does it support meme sounds? Yes. The library includes a dedicated Memes category with sounds like Among Us, Wow, Bruh, Nani, Oof, Yeet, and more. There is also a Meme Chaos system profile pre-built for you.

Which terminal events are supported? IDE startup, command execution start, command success (exit 0), and command failure (exit ≠ 0).

Can I disable just one event? Yes. Every event card in the dashboard has an individual enable/disable toggle. Disabling an event silences only that one - others keep playing normally.

Does it slow down the code editor or my terminal? No. Audio is played using a native OS subprocess (afplay on macOS, paplay/aplay on Linux, PowerShell on Windows) that runs independently and has no impact on editor or terminal performance.

What audio file formats are supported? .mp3, .wav, and .ogg. For Windows compatibility, .wav is recommended for custom files.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here is how to get involved:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
3. Make your changes and compile: npm run compile
4. Open a pull request with a clear description of what changed

Reporting Issues

Open an issue on GitHub with:

• Your OS and editor version
• What you expected to happen
• What actually happened
• Steps to reproduce

Feature Requests

Have an idea? Open a GitHub issue with the enhancement label. Describe the use case, not just the feature - it helps prioritize.

Sound Pack Suggestions

If you have a great audio clip that belongs in the built-in library, open an issue with the suggestion and the file (if possible). Keep it clean and broadly appropriate.

Feedback and Community

• Leave a review - it helps more developers find the extension
• Report bugs by opening a GitHub Issue
• Request features with the enhancement label on GitHub
• Suggest sounds by opening a sound pack request issue

License

MIT - see LICENSE for full details.