#pipewire

[verilog-official]

question to linux users

what sound server do you (primarily) use?

pipewire

pulseaudio

alsa

jack

oss/other

Voting ended onFeb 22, 2025

[andmaybegayer]

Should I be using pipewire over pulseaudio and if so why?

If you're on Wayland you should definitely at least check out Pipewire, because Pipewire and Wayland both follow a similar philosophy and are kind of being developed side by side. Pipewire with portals is one of the ways to do screen captures and screenshots on Wayland.

If you're running Flatpaks then Pipewire's integration with Flatpak Portals and xdg-desktop-portals more generally will simplify media handling for Flatpaks and generally make running Flatpak media applications more reliable and seamless.

If you use Bluetooth audio, Pipewire has simpler first class support for a wider array of Bluetooth codecs (high bitrate SBC/AptX/LDAC/AAC) and generally simplifies the process of setting up Bluetooth devices exactly the way you want over Pulse.

If you currently fight with running Jack sometimes (or worse, simultaneously running Jack and Pulseaudio) then you should definitely check out Pipewire, because Pipewire implements both Pulse and Jack compatibility layers that are way easier to look after and which can run simultaneously without any fuss.

If you're doing music production with Pulse, Pipewire's pro audio mode might give you some small quality of life improvements by reducing latency and improving inter-program audio links.

If you're doing a lot of live video stuff, especially video involving desktop capture on Wayland, Pipewire can simplify shuttling video around because in addition to handling audio, it handles arbitrary media streams, but you might have this worked out however you're already doing it.

If you are just running a standard X11 desktop and have no problems using Pulseaudio right now, you probably won't notice any change if you switch to Pipewire, especially if you aren't running Flatpaks or Bluetooth. Since Pipewire currently implements a lot of stuff through a Pulseaudio compatible interface, your normal actions with pactl and pavucontrol will continue working transparently or with minimal changes if you do switch.

Installing Pipewire is relatively easy if you don't have any custom pulse configuration. You just have to remove Pulse and install the pipewire, pipewire-alsa and pipewire-pulse packages.

[terukifigurine]

MOBTOBER DAY 15 : FAVORITE SHIP/PAIRING

[cyberpriestess]

finally got pipewire working on my desktop (sort of)

just need to figure out the best way to split my hardware inputs/outputs and create a (permanent) virtual device I can use for voip

the goal is hardware inputs 1 and 2 as mono sources, 3+4 as a stereo source, hardware outputs 1+2 and 3+4 as stereo sinks and a virtual stereo sink I can route whatever I like to via something like qpwgraph

that way I can use a plugin host to treat my mic and send that and/or my keyboards or softsynths to the virtual device which is selectable by eg discord

[terukifigurine]

MOBTOBER DAY 29 : EMOTIONS

[terukifigurine]

Its that one song "Ah! It's a Wonderful Cat Life"

[terukifigurine]

MOBTOBER DAY 5 : OFFICIAL ART REDRAW

Bonus

[terukifigurine]

MOBTOBER DAY 7 : SCHOOL