Audio (PipeWire)

System 2026-08-21

Shanios uses PipeWire as the entire audio (and video) server on every edition — it replaces PulseAudio and JACK with a single unified daemon that's compatible with both APIs. shani-multimedia installs the full stack; WirePlumber is the session manager that handles routing and device policy.

The Stack

pipewire — the core media server
pipewire-pulse — PulseAudio compatibility layer (any app expecting PulseAudio just works)
pipewire-jack — JACK compatibility layer (pro-audio apps work without a separate JACK server)
pipewire-alsa — ALSA compatibility layer
wireplumber — session/policy manager: decides default devices, routing, and volume behavior
rtkit — grants PipeWire real-time scheduling priority without running as root
sof-firmware / alsa-firmware — firmware for Intel SOF (Sound Open Firmware) laptops and other devices that need it loaded at runtime

# Confirm the stack is running
systemctl --user status pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Basic Control — pactl / wpctl

Both the PulseAudio-compatible pactl and PipeWire-native wpctl work; wpctl is generally preferred for PipeWire-specific tasks.

# List playback devices (sinks) and input devices (sources)
wpctl status

# Set default output device
wpctl set-default <sink-id>

# Volume control (0.0-1.0, or use % with pactl)
wpctl set-volume <sink-id> 0.5
wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+   # raise by 5%
wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ toggle

# List sinks/sources the PulseAudio-compatible way
pactl list sinks short
pactl list sources short

# Set default sink by name
pactl set-default-sink <sink-name>

# Per-application volume
pactl list sink-inputs
pactl set-sink-input-volume <input-id> 50%

GUI Volume Mixers

GNOME: Settings → Sound covers basic device/volume control. For per-app mixing and advanced routing, install Pavucontrol (Flatpak) — it works against PipeWire's PulseAudio compatibility layer with no configuration needed. KDE Plasma: The Plasma audio applet in the system tray covers the same basics natively.

Switching Default Devices

# List all available sinks with their IDs
wpctl status
# Output includes a tree like:
#  Sinks:
#   *   45. Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
#       52. USB Headset

# Switch default output
wpctl set-default 52

Bluetooth audio devices appear in this same list once paired — see Bluetooth for pairing and codec details.

Recording / Screen Capture Audio

# Record from the default microphone
pw-record ~/recording.wav

# Record system audio output (loopback) — capture what you hear, not the mic
pw-record --target=@DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ ~/system-audio.wav

# List all PipeWire nodes (low-level view, useful for routing/debugging)
pw-cli list-objects | grep -A2 node.name
pw-top   # live view of active streams and their CPU/latency load

Configuration

PipeWire and WirePlumber read config from /usr/share/pipewire//usr/share/wireplumber (defaults) and ~/.config/pipewire/~/.config/wireplumber (user overrides — created only if you add a file there).

# Example: override the default sample rate
mkdir -p ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
cat > ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/99-samplerate.conf << 'EOF'
context.properties = {
    default.clock.rate = 48000
}
EOF

systemctl --user restart pipewire wireplumber

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | No sound at all | systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber; check wpctl status shows a sink | | Sound distorted/crackling | Usually a sample-rate mismatch — check pactl list sinks \| grep "Sample Spec"; reset config: remove ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/* and restart | | No audio on a new Intel laptop | SOF firmware may not have loaded — dmesg \| grep -i sof; confirm sof-firmware is present (it's pre-installed) and try a kernel update | | Bluetooth headphones connected but silent | Confirm the device shows as a sink: pactl list sinks short \| grep bluez; set it as default: wpctl set-default <id> | | App doesn't appear in the volume mixer | Some apps need pipewire-pulse specifically — confirm it's running; Flatpak apps need --socket=pulseaudio permission (usually granted by default via the portal) | | Mic not detected | wpctl status should list it under Sources; check it's not muted at the hardware level (some laptops have a physical mic-mute key) | | High audio latency (pro-audio use) | Use pw-top to inspect quantum/latency; JACK apps can request lower latency directly since pipewire-jack provides full JACK API compatibility |