How to change pulseaudio sink with "pacmd set-default-sink" during playback?

I need to switch the pulseaudio server of a currently playing audio stream.

Pulseaudio server is set up with IP 192.168.1.105

$>cat /etc/pulse/default.pa
...
load-module module-esound-protocol-tcp auth-anonymous=1
load-module module-native-protocol-tcp auth-anonymous=1
load-module module-zeroconf-publish
...

On the source side VLC media player is playing a song.

I created a new tunnel sink with pulseaudio on source side.

pacmd load-module module-tunnel-sink server=192.168.1.105
pacmd set-default-sink 1

But while playing audio the server couldn't be changed immediately. Only after stopping the player and replay, it's ok.

From "gnome-volume-control" or "gnome-control-center sound" switching of output devices is applied immediately.

How can I apply switching the output sink immediately from command line during playback of a sound file?

12 Answers

PulseAudio pacmd is not capable of switching the default sinks while there is an actively playing stream to the sink input. However there is a way to still achieve this.

Changing default sink from command line

First we need to determine the index number of the sinks we want to switch. This can be done by calling:

pacmd list-sinks

Depending on our system this will give you a more or less lengthy list of sinks and properties that are at present accessible:

 >>> 2 sink(s) available. * index: 0 name: <alsa_output.pci-0000_01_00.1.hdmi-stereo-extra1> driver: <module-alsa-card.c> : : index: 1 name: <alsa_output.pci-0000_00_14.2.analog-stereo> driver: <module-alsa-card.c>

The index or the name given here is what we need for adressing the sink by command line. The present default sink is marked with an asterix (here 0).

To be able to switch the default sinks from command line we may need to disable stream target device restore by editing the corresponing line in /etc/pulse/default.pa to:

load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false

To change the default output sink to sink 1 we then run

pacmd set-default-sink 1

Sucess can be visualized by opening the Sound Settings menu.

Moving a stream to another sink

Changing the default sink while we have an active input stream playing to a given sink has no effect. This should rather be done by moving this input to another sink.

pacmd list-sink-inputs

will tell us the index of the input stream

>>> 1 sink input(s) available. index: 5 driver: <protocol-native.c>

We now know that we want to move the input stream 5 to sink 1 by calling

pacmd move-sink-input 5 1

or back to sink 0 if we like. This will be done immediately without the need of stopping playback.

Changing default sink while playing

Of course we can combine those two commands to immediately switch default sinks during playback e.g. with

pacmd set-default-sink 1 & pacmd move-sink-input 5 1

A drawback of this method is that the input stream index changes every time we stop and restart the music player. So we always have to find out the current stream index before we can switch using the commmand line.

I have written a simple script to move all the sink-inputs automatically.

Usage: ./movesinks.sh <sink number>

#!/bin/bash
echo "Setting default sink to: $1";
pacmd set-default-sink $1
pacmd list-sink-inputs | grep index | while read line
do
echo "Moving input: ";
echo $line | cut -f2 -d' ';
echo "to sink: $1";
pacmd move-sink-input `echo $line | cut -f2 -d' '` $1
done

Improved version of @Gaco script

#!/usr/bin/env bash
case "${1:-}" in (""|list) pacmd list-sinks | grep -E 'index:|name:' ;; ([0-9]*) echo switching default pacmd set-default-sink $1 || echo failed echo switching applications pacmd list-sink-inputs | awk '/index:/{print $2}' | xargs -r -I{} pacmd move-sink-input {} $1 || echo failed ;; (*) echo "Usage: $0 [|list|<sink name to switch to>]" ;;
esac

my runtime copy is on github and it includes also automated switching of Master channel for kmix

CIRCLE-TOGGLE SINKS.

The Gaco script with just one more line to circle-toggle through available sinks.

#!/bin/bash
new_sink=$(pacmd list-sinks | grep index | tee /dev/stdout | grep -m1 -A1 "* index" | tail -1 | cut -c12-)
echo "Setting default sink to: $new_sink";
pacmd set-default-sink $new_sink
pacmd list-sink-inputs | grep index | while read line
do
echo "Moving input: ";
echo $line | cut -f2 -d' ';
echo "to sink: $new_sink";
pacmd move-sink-input `echo $line | cut -f2 -d' '` $new_sink
done

Based on Gaco's answer, I rewrote it a bit for my personal use. Maybe someone finds it useful. It's for toggling my USB Speakers and USB Gaming headset.

#!/bin/bash
# get list of sinks/cards (for settings CARD1/CARD2)
# pacmd list-sinks | awk '/name:/ {print $0};' | awk '{ print $2}' | sed 's/<//g; s/>//g'
CARD1="alsa_output.usb-C-Media_INC._C-Media_USB_Audio-00"
CARD2="alsa_output.usb-Kingston_HyperX_Virtual_Surround_Sound_00000000-00"
CURRENT_SINK=$(pacmd stat | awk -F": " '/^Default sink name: /{print $2}' | awk 'BEGIN{FS=OFS="."} NF--' | sed 's/alsa_output/alsa_output/g')
function setCard() { if [ "$CURRENT_SINK" == "$1" ] then echo "Already using this Sink" exit 1 fi NEW_SINK=$(pacmd list-sinks | awk '/index:/ {print $1 $2 $3} /name:/ {print $0};' | grep -m1 -B1 $1 | grep index | awk '{print $1}' | cut -d ":" -f2) SINK=$(pacmd set-default-sink $NEW_SINK) INPUT=$(pacmd list-sink-inputs | grep index | awk '{print $2}') pacmd move-sink-input $INPUT $NEW_SINK echo "Moving input: $INPUT to sink: $NEW_SINK"; echo "Setting default sink to: $NEW_SINK"; notify-send --urgency=low "Audio Switching" "SINK: $NEW_SINK"
}
function toggleSinks() { if [ "$CURRENT_SINK" == "$CARD1" ] then setCard $CARD2 else setCard $CARD1 fi
}
function showHelp() { echo "------------------------------------" echo "AUDIO SINK SWITCHER" echo " " echo "$0 [options]" echo " " echo "options:" echo "-h --help What you are looking at.." echo "-g, --gaming Sets Gaming headset as output device" echo "-s, --speakers Sets Speakers as output device" echo "-t, --toggle Toggles the different output devices" echo " " echo "------------------------------------"
}
# check args length
if [ $# -eq 0 ] then echo "Toggling output devices (Speakers/Headset)" toggleSinks
fi
# arg options
while test $# -gt 0; do case "$1" in -h|--help) showHelp exit 1 ;; -g|--gaming) setCard $CARD2 exit 1 ;; -s|--speakers) setCard $CARD1 exit 1 ;; -t|--toggle) toggleSinks echo "Toggling output devices (Speakers/Headset)" exit 1 ;; *) showHelp exit 1 ;; esac
done

I cobbled together stuff from a few different places and came up with this script to set up a bluetooth JAMBOX once it has been paired. Your MAC will be different of course. Since I control the JAMBOX volume via the Clementine app, 130% volume works best in my case. You might want to change this, along with the rhythmbox.png (it was the only speaker picture I could find on my computer). The error checking is rudimentary, but works pretty reliably. I put this in a desktop launcher for convenience on an ASUS netbook.

#!/bin/bash
# setjambox connection setup
# Find the particulars of your environment with 'pactl list sinks'
# This script uses the sink name instead of the index number
# You also need libnotify-bin to run this script
# Enter the bluetooth MAC address of your device here
MAC=00:21:3C:9F:19:AD
# Make ready
# Convert device address per pulseaudio standards
DEV=$(echo $MAC|tr ':' '_')
TITLE="JAMBOX $MAC"
CONNECTED="Audio connection updated."
PROBLEM="Unable to update settings."
JBLOGO=/usr/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/rhythmbox.png
# And go
pactl list short sink-inputs | while read stream; do streamId=$(echo $stream | cut '-d ' -f1) pactl move-sink-input "$streamId" bluez_sink.$DEV
done
pactl set-default-sink bluez_sink.$DEV
pactl set-card-profile bluez_card.$DEV a2dp
pactl set-sink-volume bluez_sink.$DEV 130%
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then notify-send -i $JBLOGO -t 3000 "$TITLE" "$CONNECTED"
else notify-send -i gtk-dialog-warning -t 3000 "$TITLE" "$PROBLEM"
fi

There is a ruby script (that I originally forked and rewrote sections of) that lets you change default sinks, volume, and mute status from the command line.

And here's a script that will toggle between sinks as well:

Here's the script below:

#!/usr/bin/ruby
# Filename: pulse-switch-out
# Author: David Ljung Madison <DaveSource.com>
# See License:
# Description: Switch pulse audio output (sink) using pacmd
PACMD = %w(pacmd)
##################################################
# Usage
##################################################
def fatal(*msg) msg.each { |m| $stderr.puts "[#{$0.sub(/.*\//,'')}] ERROR: #{m}" } exit(-1);
end
def usage(*msg) msg.each { |m| $stderr.puts "ERROR: #{m}" } $stderr.puts <<-USAGE
Usage: #{$0.sub(/.*\//,'')} [sink] Switch sound playback device for ALSA/pulseaudio [sink] Specify sink number to use (see 'pacmd list-sinks') USAGE exit -1;
end
def parseArgs opt = Hash.new loop { if (arg=ARGV.shift)==nil then break elsif arg == '-h' then usage elsif arg == '-?' then usage #elsif arg == '-arg' then opt[:arg] = true elsif arg =~ /^(\d)$/ then opt[:sink] = arg.to_i else usage("Unknown arg [#{arg}]") end } opt
end
# Unfortunately you can't return or break from the yield without leaving
# the pipe open, maybe use some sort of ensure and figure out how to close?
def pipe(cmd) # This is leaving files open #IO.popen(cmd.join(' ')).each { |l| a = `#{cmd.join(' ')}` ret = $? a.split("\n").each { |l| yield l } $?
end
def getSinks(ins=false) cmd = PACMD.dup cmd.push(ins ? 'list-sink-inputs' : 'list-sinks') curr = nil sinks = Array.new pipe(cmd) { |l| next unless l=~/\s*(\*)?\s*index:\s+(\d+)/ i = $2.to_i sinks.push(i) curr = i if $1 } return sinks,curr
end
##################################################
# Main code
##################################################
def main opt = parseArgs sinks,curr = getSinks usage("No sinks found?") if sinks.empty? usage("Only one sink found") if sinks.size==1 if opt[:sink] usage("Unknown sink [#{opt[:sink]}] (out of #{sinks.join(' ')})") unless sinks.index(opt[:sink]) else # Find next sink after curr opt[:sink] = sinks[0] sinks.each { |s| next unless s>curr opt[:sink] = s break } end # Set default sink
## For some reason this doesn't change the behavior of new apps. puts "Set sink: #{opt[:sink]}" system("#{PACMD} set-default-sink #{opt[:sink]} > /dev/null") usage("Couldn't set default sink [#{opt[:sink]}]") unless $?==0 # And move all sink-inputs to the new sink ins,ignore = getSinks(true) ins.each { |i| puts "Move playback #{i} to sink #{opt[:sink]}" system("#{PACMD} move-sink-input #{i} #{opt[:sink]} > /dev/null") usage("Couldn't move playback #{i} to sink [#{opt[:sink]}]") unless $?==0 }
end
main

I adapted @mpapis to a simple "toggle sink0 or sink1" when run:

#!/bin/bash
SINK_INDEX1=0
SINK_INDEX2=1
ACTIVE_SINK=$(pacmd list-sinks | grep '* index:' | grep -o '[0-9]*')
if [ "$ACTIVE_SINK" = $SINK_INDEX1 ] ; then pacmd set-default-sink $SINK_INDEX2 pacmd list-sink-inputs | awk '/index:/{print $2}' | xargs -r -I{} pacmd move-sink-input {} $SINK_INDEX2
else pacmd set-default-sink $SINK_INDEX1 pacmd list-sink-inputs | awk '/index:/{print $2}' | xargs -r -I{} pacmd move-sink-input {} $SINK_INDEX1
fi

I think there is one more option worth mentioning and it's available at the official page for FAQ about PulseAudio at freedesktop.org. Under the following Title:

How do I switch the default sound card, moving all applications?

They provide the following script to do so:

#/bin/bash
# paswitch 2011-02-02 by Ng Oon-Ee <>
# I can't remember where I found this script, can't locate the original author.
# Please inform me if you know, so that I can give proper attribution.
# CHANGES: Added auto-move all inputs to new default sound card.
# WAS: Pulse Audio Sound Card Switcher v1.0 2010-01-13
# Switches between soundcards when run. All streams are moved to the new default sound-card.
# $totalsc: Number of sound cards available
totalsc=$(pacmd "list-sinks" | grep card: | wc -l) # total of sound cards: $totalsc
if [ $totalsc -le 1 ]; then # Check whether there are actually multiple cards available notify-send -u critical -t 5000 "Nothing to switch, system only has one sound card." exit
fi
# $scindex: The Pulseaudio index of the current default sound card
scindex=$(pacmd list-sinks | awk '$1 == "*" && $2 == "index:" {print $3}')
# $cards: A list of card Pulseaudio indexes
cards=$(pacmd list-sinks | sed 's|*||' | awk '$1 == "index:" {print $2}')
PICKNEXTCARD=1 # Is true when the previous card is default
count=0 # count of number of iterations
for CARD in $cards; do if [ $PICKNEXTCARD == 1 ]; then
# $nextsc: The pulseaudio index of the next sound card (to be switched to) nextsc=$CARD PICKNEXTCARD=0
# $nextind: The numerical index (1 to totalsc) of the next card nextind=$count fi if [ $CARD == $scindex ]; then # Choose the next card as default PICKNEXTCARD=1 fi count=$((count+1))
done
pacmd "set-default-sink $nextsc" # switch default sound card to next
# $inputs: A list of currently playing inputs
inputs=$(pacmd list-sink-inputs | awk '$1 == "index:" {print $2}')
for INPUT in $inputs; do # Move all current inputs to the new default sound card pacmd move-sink-input $INPUT $nextsc
done
# $nextscdec: The device.description of the new default sound card
# NOTE: This is the most likely thing to break in future, the awk lines may need playing around with
nextscdesc=$(pacmd list-sinks | awk '$1 == "device.description" {print substr($0,5+length($1 $2))}' \ | sed 's|"||g' | awk -F"," 'NR==v1{print$0}' v1=$((nextind+1)))
notify-send "Default sound-card changed to $nextscdesc"
exit
# Below text was from original author and remains unaltered
# CC BY - creative commons
# Thanks God for help :) and guys lhunath, geirha, Tramp and others from irc #bash on freenode.net

My way to change the default audio output device was to write python script:

import os
os.system(f"pacmd set-default-sink {next(a for a in list(os.popen('pacmd list-sinks | grep index').readlines()) if '*' not in a).split(': ')[1][0]}")

I think you can modify it for your needs.

I'll add my little fish shell script to the mix.

#!/usr/bin/env fish
set sinks (pacmd list-sinks | pcregrep -Mo '(?<=index: )\d|(?<=state: )\w+' | sed 'N;s/\n/:/')
set switchtnow false
while true for sink in $sinks if $switchtnow set i (echo "$sink" | grep -Po '\d') pacmd set-default-sink "$i" return end set match (echo $sink | grep -o RUNNING) if [ "$match" = "RUNNING" ] set switchtnow true end end
end

Star Vibe

How to change pulseaudio sink with "pacmd set-default-sink" during playback?

12 Answers

Changing default sink from command line

Moving a stream to another sink

Changing default sink while playing

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