PipeWire

2022-12-25T01:43:00Z

ForeverNoob: Clarification on preceding D-Bus launch methods.

{{Draft|The instructions below have not been thoroughly tested and may break things.}}

[https://pipewire.org/ PipeWire] is a multimedia processing engine that aims to improve audio and video handling on Linux.

== Prerequisites ==

=== Device access ===

PipeWire needs proper permissions to access devices. If you do not use [[Elogind|elogind]], your user should be in <code>audio</code> and <code>video</code> groups:

<pre>
# addgroup <user> audio
# addgroup <user> video
</pre>

Make sure to re-login for these changes to take effect.

=== D-Bus ===

PipeWire optionally requires a running [[D-Bus]] system and/or session bus for some of its functionality.

For certain configurations (e.g. only audio playback and recording) D-Bus setup is not necessary. Edit [[#Disable_D-Bus_support|configuration files]] to disable D-Bus support.

You can start a dbus session-wide like this: <code>export $(dbus-launch)</code>, or system-wide: <code>rc-service dbus start</code>

If you start dbus session-wide, make sure to start PipeWire in that same session.

=== XDG_RUNTIME_DIR ===

If you are not using a Desktop Manager, ensure that your <code>XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</code> is set to a user-writable location. By default for pulseaudio this is {{Path|/run/user/1000/}} or {{Path|/tmp}}. If this is not set, pipewire will create a directory in your home folder instead, called <code>~/pulse</code>, and on attempting to run Pavucontrol or pactl, you will get the following error:

<pre>
$ pactl list
Connection failure: Connection refused
pa_context_connect() failed: Connection refused
</pre>

== Installation ==

Install the {{Pkg|pipewire}} package.

=== Session Manager ===
PipeWire delegates plumbing work to session manager. There are two options available:
* '''[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/wireplumber WirePlumber]'''. It has modular design and supports Lua plugins. '''This is the recommended session manager. If you do not know which session manager you need, use WirePlumber.'''<br/>Package: {{Pkg|wireplumber}}
* '''[https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/media-session pipewire-media-session]'''. It is much more simpler and covers only basic use cases. It was used for testing purposes. Now it does not make much sense since WirePlumber is available.<br/>Package: {{Pkg|pipewire-media-session}}

{{Note|This page assumes that you are using WirePlumber.}}

=== PulseAudio compatibility ===
Install {{Pkg|pipewire-pulse}} package, which provides a daemon so PulseAudio applications could use PipeWire as backend.

=== JACK compatibility ===
Install {{Pkg|pipewire-jack}} package, which provides ABI-compatible libraries for JACK applications.

=== ALSA support ===
Install {{Pkg|pipewire-alsa}} package.

== Configuration ==
PipeWire and WirePlumber store their default configuration in <code>/usr/share/pipewire</code> and <code>/usr/share/wireplumber</code> respectively. If you want to edit the configuration, you need to move it to <code>/etc</code>:

<pre>
# cp -a /usr/share/pipewire /etc
# cp -a /usr/share/wireplumber /etc
</pre>

=== Disable D-Bus support ===
Edit the following configuration parameters:

''/etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf''
<pre>
context.properties = {
...
support.dbus = false
}
</pre>

''/etc/wireplumber/wireplumber.conf''
<pre>
context.properties = {
...
support.dbus = false
}
</pre>

''/etc/wireplumber/bluetooth.lua.d/50-bluez-config.lua''
<pre>
bluez_monitor.properties = {
...
["with-logind"] = false,
}
</pre>

''/etc/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-alsa-config.lua''
<pre>
alsa_monitor.properties = {
...
["alsa.reserve"] = false,
}
</pre>

''/etc/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-default-access-config.lua''
<pre>
default_access.properties = {
...
["enable-flatpak-portal"] = false,
}
</pre>
=== Realtime scheduling ===

For realtime scheduling, it is recommended to use {{Pkg|rtkit}}. Add your user to the <code>rtkit</code> group.

Alternatively, ensure your user has the right ulimit permissions. You generally need (limits.conf format):

<pre>
@audio - memlock 256
@audio - nice -11
@audio - rtprio 88
</pre>

This allows a member of the audio group to have the right permissions for PipeWire to use realtime scheduling without rtkit.

=== Video ===

Video should work out-of-the-box with v4l2 devices (e.g. a lot of webcams) and [https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/ GStreamer] applications.

=== Bluetooth audio ===

* Enable PulseAudio support as described above
* Install bluetooth service packages: <code>bluez bluez-openrc pipewire-spa-bluez</code>
* Optional: install GUI manager for bluetooth <code>blueman</code>
* Enable and start bluetooth service: <code>rc-update add bluetooth; rc-service bluetooth start</code>
* Restart PipeWire
* Use commandline program <code>bluetoothctl</code> or GUI program <code>blueman-manager</code> to scan and pair bluetooth audio devices.
* Use pavucontrol to adjust volume and manually select high definition bluetooth codecs.

=== Screen sharing on Wayland ===

You will need the right [https://github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal] backend for your desktop environment. Screen sharing is known to work on:
* GNOME with <code>xdg-desktop-portal-gtk</code>
* KDE Plasma with <code>xdg-desktop-portal-kde</code> and Firefox
* Sway with <code>xdg-desktop-portal-wlr</code> and Firefox, see [[Sway]] for details

== Running ==

{{Note|<code>pipewire-launcher</code> script is provided by Alpine Linux, not by upstream. Please report issues to Alpine Linux maintainers first.}}

Start the PipeWire media server. You'll probably get quite a few errors but just ignore them for now.

<pre>
$ /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher
</pre>

If you do not have D-Bus session bus running (e.g. you are in tty or you are using minimalistic DE or window manager which does not launch D-Bus session) and you did not disable D-Bus in PipeWire configuration, use <code>dbus-launch</code>:

<pre>
$ dbus-launch /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher
</pre>

{{Note| PipeWire doesn't auto-start a session manager anymore.
In 3.14 and earlier, the PipeWire default config was edited in packaging to auto-start pipewire-media-session as the default session manager. Since we now have wireplumber available as an alternative session manager, this has been changed in favor of a launch wrapper for pipewire at /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher. When executed, this will launch pipewire, pipewire-media-session or wireplumber, and pipewire-pulse, depending on what modules are available. If you were launching /usr/bin/pipewire and the session manager manually before, please use the new launcher wrapper instead. WirePlumber can now also be used as a proper alternative for pipewire-media-session.}}

=== Auto launching ===
You can add <code>/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher</code> to your <code>.xinitrc</code>.

If you do not use GUI by default and have D-Bus enabled in configuration, add the following stanza to your shell configuration file:
<pre>
export $(dbus-launch)
/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher
</pre>

== Testing ==

In a different terminal window check the default output device. I don't yet know how this default can be changed for all applications, so you'd better hope it's right!

=== WirePlumber ===
<pre>
$ wpctl status
</pre>

=== pw-cat playback ===

Test sound is working using an audio file in a format supported by [http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/ libsndfile] (e.g. flac, opus, ogg, wav). Use <code>pw-cat</code> utility from {{Pkg|pipewire-tools}}:

<pre>
$ pw-cat -p test.flac
</pre>

=== pw-cat recording ===
If you have a microphone test audio recording is working.

<pre>
$ pw-cat -r --list-targets
$ pw-cat -r recording.flac
(Speak for a while then stop it with Ctrl+c)
$ pw-cat -p recording.flac
</pre>

=== PulseAudio ===
Test PulseAudio clients using a media player, as most use PulseAudio.

=== JACK ===
Use <code>jack_simple_client</code> from {{Pkg|jack-simple-clients}}:

<pre>
$ jack_simple_client
</pre>

You should hear a sustained beep.

== Troubleshooting ==

=== `wpctl status` shows no targets ===

First, check whether ALSA knows about your sound card:

<pre>
aplay -l
</pre>

If sound devices are found, the issue is with your pipewire configuration. Consider double-checking the instructions above.

Otherwise, your sound card may not be supported in the version of the Linux Kernel you're running. You should search online for fixes relating to your current kernel version and the codec of your sound card. You can find each of these with:

<pre>
uname -r
cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec
</pre>

=== Error acquiring bus address: Cannot autolaunch D-Bus without X11 $DISPLAY ===
This means D-Bus session bus is not started and GUI is not active (i.e. you are in a tty). Use <code>dbus-launch</code> as outlined [[#Running|above]]. Alternatively, [[#D-Bus|disable D-Bus support]].

== Quick Configuration ==

You might want to use {{Pkg|pavucontrol}} to have a simple GUI app for controlling sound, outputs, etc.

== See Also ==

* [https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire PipeWire source repository]
* [https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/wikis/home PipeWire Wiki]
* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PipeWire PipeWire on the ArchWiki]
* [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Pipewire PipeWire on the Gentoo Wiki]

[[Category:Desktop]]
[[Category:Multimedia]]
[[Category:Sound]]

Include:Upgrading to latest release

2022-09-15T20:00:10Z

ForeverNoob: Fixed typo.

==== Repository Settings ====

First thing is to to edit or check the {{Path|/etc/apk/repositories}} file.

Besides doing it manually (see below) this may be done using one of the following shortcuts.
:* Launching the corresponding Alpine setup script, {{Cmd|setup-apkrepos}} and pressing {{Key|e}} to edit {{Path|/etc/apk/repositories}}. Then editing the repository lines to reflect the new version number.
:* Or, use a one-line command to edit all version numbers in the file "in place". Here's how you'd change <var>v2.5</var> to <var>v2.6</var>: {{Cmd|sed -i -e 's/<var>v2\.5</var>/<var>v2.6</var>/g' /etc/apk/repositories}}

Note, subsequent manual changes of the version numbers in {{Path|/etc/apk/repositories}} may be avoided for future release upgrades by having the repository lines refer to "latest-stable" instead of an absolute value:

{{Cmd|http://dl-3.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/main
http://dl-3.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/community}}

However, beware of initiating unexpected release upgrades.

Manual editing of {{Path|/etc/apk/repositories}}:

{{:Include:Using_Internet_Repositories_for_apk-tools}}

==== Upgrading packages ====

At times it is required to first upgrade just the Alpine Linux Package Manager itself to the latest available version, before upgrading any other package. This was the case, for example, when upgrading from a version of Alpine before 2.3.0_rc1. But simply always doing so shouldn't hurt, either:
{{Cmd|apk add --upgrade apk-tools}}

Next, to upgrade all installed packages:
{{Cmd|apk upgrade --available}}

The <code>--available</code> switch is used to force all packages to be upgraded, even if they have the same version numbers. Sometimes changes in uClibc require doing this.

{{Note|All services that have been upgraded need to be restarted, to begin using the upgraded version. If the kernel is upgraded, it's required to reboot to begin using the upgraded version:
{{Cmd|sync
reboot}}
}}

[[Category:Package Manager]]
[[Category:Installation]]

Alpine Linux - User contributions [en]

PipeWire

Include:Upgrading to latest release