PipeWire: Difference between revisions

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[https://pipewire.org/ PipeWire] is a multimedia processing engine that aims to improve audio and video handling on Linux. PipeWire can act as a replacement for both [[PulseAudio]] and [[ALSA]] servers.
[https://pipewire.org/ PipeWire] is a multimedia processing engine that aims to improve audio and video handling on Linux. Pipewire can act as a replacement for both [[PulseAudio]] and [[ALSA]] servers.


== Prerequisites ==
== Prerequisites ==


PipeWire requires a running [[D-Bus]] system and/or session bus for most of its functionality. If you start session-wide dbus instance, make sure to start PipeWire in that same session.
* PipeWire requires [[D-Bus#D-Bus_session_bus|D-Bus session bus]] for most of its functionality.
* Ensure that your [[Setting_up_a_new_user#Creating_a_new_user|non-root user account]] has appropriate [[Setting_up_a_new_user#Groups_for_desktop_usage|groups for desktop usage]].
* WirePlumber requires [[eudev]] for ALSA device discovery.


PipeWire needs proper permissions to access devices. If [[Elogind|elogind]] is used, no further configuration is required. Otherwise, the user should be in <code>audio</code> (to access audio devices) and <code>video</code> (to access webcam devices) groups. Make sure to re-login for these changes to take effect: {{Cmd|<nowiki># addgroup <user> audio
== Installation ==
# addgroup <user> video</nowiki>}}


{{Warning|Membership of the <code>video</code> group will also grant unrestricted access to video devices, which is often a security issue. See issue {{issue|15409}} for further details. }}
Install {{Pkg|pipewire}} and {{Pkg|wireplumber}} (session manager).


== Installation ==
{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire wireplumber}}


The following packages i.e {{Pkg|pipewire}} and {{Pkg|wireplumber}} a session manager are the minimum required packages for getting pipewire to work.{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire wireplumber}}
=== Pulseaudio interface ===


=== Pulseaudio interface ===
The package {{Pkg|pipewire-pulse}} allows pulseaudio applications and [[#GUI_tools|GUI tools]] to use PipeWire as audio server in the backend.


The package {{Pkg|pipewire-pulse}} allows pulseaudio applications to use PipeWire as audio server in the backend. {{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-pulse}}
{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-pulse}}


=== JACK compatibility ===
=== JACK compatibility ===


Since Pipewire replaces JACK, Install {{Pkg|pipewire-jack}} package, so it provides ABI-compatible libraries for JACK applications.{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-jack}}
Since PipeWire replaces JACK, Install {{Pkg|pipewire-jack}} package, so it provides ABI-compatible libraries for JACK applications.
 
{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-jack}}


=== ALSA support ===
=== ALSA support ===


Install {{Pkg|pipewire-alsa}} package to provide support for Alsa applications.{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-alsa}}
Install {{Pkg|pipewire-alsa}} package to provide support for ALSA applications.
 
{{Cmd|# apk add pipewire-alsa}}


=== GUI tools ===
=== GUI tools ===


{{Pkg|pavucontrol}} or {{Pkg|pavucontrol-qt}} package provides a simple GUI app for controlling sound, outputs, etc. To use <code>pavucontrol</code> tool install {{Pkg|pipewire-pulse}} as the tool still needs [[#Pulseaudio interface|Pulseaudio Interface]]. The XFCE Audio mixer can also be used to help control volume by installing the package {{pkg|xfce4-mixer}} which is currently in available in [[Repositories#Testing|testing]] repository.
* {{Pkg|pavucontrol}}: simple GUI app for controlling sound, outputs, etc. Consider using {{Pkg|pavucontrol-qt}} when using [[KDE|Plasma]].
 
: [[#Pulseaudio_interface|Pulseaudio interface]] is mandatory for {{Ic|pavucontrol}} to work with PipeWire.
 
* {{Pkg|xfce4-mixer}}: XFCE Audio mixer.
 
: Currently available in the [[Repositories#Testing|testing]] repository.
 
* {{Pkg|qpwgraph}}: graph manager dedicated to PipeWire with Qt GUI Interface.
 
== Launch PipeWire ==
 
Most [[Desktop_environments_and_Window_managers#Desktop_environments|desktop environments]] launch PipeWire automatically in Alpine Linux upon relogging (i.e. logging out and logging in) after [[#Installation|installing the above packages]]. Proceed with the section below only if PipeWire is [[#Testing|not launched]] after a relogin/reboot.
 
{{Note|[[#PipeWire_user_service|PipeWire user service]] is the recommended method to launch PipeWire and will replace [[#pipewire-launcher|pipewire-launcher]]. Do '''NOT''' use both methods to avoid running multiple instances of PipeWire.}}
 
=== PipeWire user service ===
 
Since [[Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.22.0#OpenRC_User_services|Alpine 3.22]], PipeWire can be launched as a user service.
 
==== User service prerequisites ====
 
* Ensure the [[OpenRC#Prerequisites|OpenRC User service Prerequisites]] are met and [[OpenRC#Configure environment variables|environment variables are configured]].
* Issue the command {{ic|$ rc-status -Ur}} to view and verify the current user runlevel as '''gui''' and '''default''' for Wayland and Xorg respectively.
 
==== User service management ====
 
To start the {{Ic|pipewire}} user service and its {{Ic|wireplumber}} session manager:
 
{{Cmd|$ rc-service -U pipewire start
$ rc-service -U wireplumber start}}


''{{Pkg|qpwgraph}}''' is a graph manager dedicated to PipeWire with Qt GUI Interface.
To enable the {{Ic|pipewire}} and {{Ic|wireplumber}} user services in [[Wayland]], in [[Xorg]] change {{Ic|gui}} to {{Ic|default}}:


== Configuration ==
{{Cmd|$ rc-update -U add pipewire gui
$ rc-update -U add wireplumber gui}}


PipeWire and WirePlumber store their default configuration in {{Path|/usr/share/pipewire}} and {{Path|/usr/share/wireplumber}} respectively. If you want to edit the configuration, you need to move it to {{Path|/etc}}:
The above steps may be repeated for {{Ic|pipewire-pulse}} user service.


{{Cmd|<nowiki># cp -a /usr/share/pipewire /etc
{{Note|The {{ic|pipewire-pulse}} user service would be required to enable various functions, including setting audio levels with {{ic|pactl}}, when [[PulseAudio#PulseAudio_Utils|running pulseaudio with pulseaudio-utils]] and to enable associated volume user keys.}}
# cp -a /usr/share/wireplumber /etc</nowiki>}}


=== pipewire-launcher ===
=== pipewire-launcher ===


{{Tip|Since v3.22, Alpine Linux provides necessary scripts to start pipewire as [[OpenRC#User services|user service in OpenRC]]. If your use case supports this, this approach is recommended.}}
{{Note|The {{Ic|pipewire-launcher}} script will be removed in the future to be replaced with the [[#PipeWire_user_service|PipeWire user service]].}}
Start the PipeWire media server using the <code>pipewire-launcher</code> script provided by Alpine Linux. You'll probably get quite a few errors but just ignore them for now. {{Cmd|$ /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}}


If .xinitrc is used, add {{Path|/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}} to your {{Path|~/.xinitrc}}.
Launch PipeWire by using the <code>pipewire-launcher</code> script. You'll probably get quite a few errors but just ignore them for now.


If you do not use GUI by default, add the following stanza to your shell configuration file:{{Cmd|export $(dbus-launch)  
{{Cmd|$ /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}}
 
If xinitrc is used, add {{Path|/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}} to your {{Path|~/.xinitrc}}.
 
If you do not use GUI by default, add the following stanza to your shell configuration file:
 
{{Cmd|export $(dbus-launch)  
/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}}
/usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher}}
== Configuration ==
PipeWire and WirePlumber store their default configuration in {{Path|/usr/share/pipewire}} and {{Path|/usr/share/wireplumber}} respectively. If you want to edit the configuration, you need to move it to {{Path|/etc}}:
{{Cmd|<nowiki># cp -a /usr/share/pipewire /etc
# cp -a /usr/share/wireplumber /etc</nowiki>}}


=== Screen sharing on Wayland ===
=== Screen sharing on Wayland ===
Line 65: Line 111:
* Enable and start bluetooth service: <code>rc-update add bluetooth; rc-service bluetooth start</code>
* Enable and start bluetooth service: <code>rc-update add bluetooth; rc-service bluetooth start</code>
* Restart PipeWire
* Restart PipeWire
* Use commandline program <code>bluetoothctl</code> or GUI program <code>blueman-manager</code> to scan and pair bluetooth audio devices.
* 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.
* Use pavucontrol to adjust volume and manually select high definition bluetooth codecs.


Line 74: Line 120:
=== Realtime scheduling ===
=== Realtime scheduling ===


For realtime scheduling, it is recommended to use {{Pkg|rtkit}}. Add your user to the <code>rtkit</code> group.
Realtime scheduling will increase certain threads priorities to assist with low latency audio processing. By default, PipeWire tries to enable realtime scheduling with the [https://docs.pipewire.org/page_module_rt.html rt module].


Alternatively, ensure your user has the right ulimit permissions. Since pipewire 0.3.66, you can add yourself to the <code>pipewire</code> group. You generally need (e.g. in {{Path|/etc/security/limits.conf}}):
Since [https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/0.3.66 PipeWire 0.3.66], when you have a [[PAM]] login session, you should add your user to the {{Ic|pipewire}} group.


<pre>
The default system wide settings are defined in {{Path|/etc/security/limits.d/25-pw-rlimits.conf}}. You may want to adjust settings for parameters like <var>rt.prio</var>, if required. Alternatively, it can be set at [https://docs.pipewire.org/page_module_rt.html  user level] within the ceiling set by the system's rlimits.
@pipewire - memlock 4194304
@pipewire - nice -19
@pipewire - rtprio 95
</pre>


This allows a member of the pipewire group to have the right permissions for PipeWire to use realtime scheduling without rtkit. This same snippet comes with pipewire since 0.3.66, so if you have a [[PAM]] login session and add yourself to the pipewire group, you don't have to do anything else. Note that the above {{Path|/etc/security/limits.conf}} will only work if your session is using [[PAM]].
{{Cat|~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/my-rt-args.conf|<nowiki>context.modules = [
{   name = libpipewire-module-rt
    args = {
        #nice.level  = 20
        #rt.prio      = 88
    }
    flags = [ ifexists nofail ]
}
]</nowiki>}}


=== Disable D-Bus support ===
If you don't have [[PAM]] but [[D-Bus]] is available, the rt module will try to use {{Pkg|rtkit}}; if this is the case, add your user to the {{Ic|rtkit}} group.


{{Warning|This section is no longer supported since Alpine 3.19 as Using lua for configuration files is no longer supported in version 0.5.}}
== Testing ==
 
For certain configurations (e.g. only audio playback and recording) D-Bus setup is not necessary and it can be disabled as follows.
 
Edit the following configuration parameters:


{{Cat|/etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf|<nowiki>context.properties = {
Use the <code>wpctl</code> utility from {{Pkg|wireplumber}} to test the working of PipeWire:
    ...
    support.dbus = false
}</nowiki>}}


 
{{Cmd|$ wpctl status}}
{{Cat|/etc/wireplumber/wireplumber.conf|<nowiki>context.properties = {
    ...
    support.dbus = false
}</nowiki>}}
 
 
{{Cat|/etc/wireplumber/bluetooth.lua.d/50-bluez-config.lua|<nowiki>bluez_monitor.properties = {
  ...
  ["with-logind"] = false,
}</nowiki>}}
 
 
{{Cat|/etc/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-alsa-config.lua|<nowiki>alsa_monitor.properties = {
  ...
  ["alsa.reserve"] = false,
}</nowiki>}}
 
 
{{Cat|/etc/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-default-access-config.lua|<nowiki>default_access.properties = {
  ...
  ["enable-flatpak-portal"] = false,
}</nowiki>}}
 
== Testing ==
 
Use the <code>wpctl</code> utility from {{pkg|WirePlumber}} to test the working of pipewire: {{Cmd|$ wpctl status}}


=== pw-cat playback ===
=== pw-cat playback ===
Line 161: Line 178:
=== `wpctl status` shows no targets ===
=== `wpctl status` shows no targets ===


First, check whether ALSA knows about your sound card using the <code>aplay</code> utility from {{pkg|alsa-utils}} package: {{Cmd|aplay -l}}
First, check whether ALSA knows about your sound card using the <code>aplay</code> utility from {{pkg|alsa-utils}} package:


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:
{{Cmd|$ aplay -l}}


{{Cmd|uname -r
If sound devices are found, the issue is likely with your PipeWire configuration.  Ensure that [[eudev]] is installed, and consider double-checking the instructions above.
cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec}}
 
If no sound devices are found, 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:
 
{{Cmd|$ uname -r
$ cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* {{!}} grep Codec}}


Modern devices might require {{Pkg|sof-firmware}}, which is the case if you get <code>sof firmware file is missing</code> errors in dmesg.
Modern devices might require {{Pkg|sof-firmware}}, which is the case if you get <code>sof firmware file is missing</code> errors in dmesg.
Line 172: Line 193:
=== Error acquiring bus address: Cannot autolaunch D-Bus without X11 $DISPLAY ===
=== 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-run-session</code> as outlined [[#Running|above]]. Alternatively, [[#D-Bus|disable D-Bus support]].
Check and ensure that [[D-Bus#D-Bus session bus|D-Bus session bus]] is started along with your GUI session i.e. you are in a tty.


=== Connection failure: Connection refused ===
=== Connection failure: Connection refused ===


When using [[Wayland]], ensure that [[XDG_RUNTIME_DIR]] is configured correctly. If this is not set, pipewire will create a directory in your home folder instead, called {{Path|~/pulse}}, and on attempting to run Pavucontrol or pactl, you will get the following error:
When using [[Wayland]], ensure that [[Wayland#XDG_RUNTIME_DIR|XDG_RUNTIME_DIR]] is configured correctly. If this is not set, PipeWire will create a directory in your home folder instead, called {{Path|~/pulse}}, and on attempting to run {{Ic|pavucontrol}} or {{Ic|pactl}}, you will get the following error:


<pre>
{{Cmd|$ pactl list
$ pactl list
Connection failure: Connection refused
Connection failure: Connection refused
pa_context_connect() failed: Connection refused
pa_context_connect() failed: Connection refused}}
</pre>
 
If you are running Alpine 3.22+ and continue to experience this error after verifying that [[Wayland#XDG_RUNTIME_DIR|XDG_RUNTIME_DIR]] is correctly set, ensure that the <code>pipewire-pulse</code> [[#PipeWire_user_service|user service is running]].


=== Bluetooth connect failed: br-connection-profile-unavailable ===  
=== Bluetooth connect failed: br-connection-profile-unavailable ===  


Ensure that [[#WirePlumber|Session Manager]] is running.
Ensure {{Ic|wireplumber}}, the session manager, is running.


=== Play/Pause buttons not working on bluetooth headphones ===
=== Play/Pause buttons not working on bluetooth headphones ===


Check {{Path|/var/log/messages}}. If you see something like this:
Check {{Path|/var/log/messages}} for lines similar to:
<pre>
 
bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:uinput_create() Can't open input device: No such file or directory (2)
{{Cat|/var/log/messages|bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:uinput_create() Can't open input device: No such file or directory (2)
bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:init_uinput() AVRCP: failed to init uinput for WH-1000XM5
bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:init_uinput() AVRCP: failed to init uinput for WH-1000XM5}}
</pre>
 
Then {{Ic|bluez}} is trying to register the headphones buttons as an input devices, but <code>uinput</code> is not loaded. Try <code>modprobe uinput</code>. If this works, see [[Architecture#Loading_of_Kernel_Modules|Loading of Kernel Modules]] for instructions on how to make sure this module is loaded automatically on each startup.
 
=== RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown ===
 
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:995:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MaxRealtimePriority, using 1
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:1000:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MinNiceLevel, using 0
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:1005:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us RTTimeUSecMax, using -1


Then bluez is trying to register the headphones buttons as an input devices, but <code>uinput</code> is not loaded. Try <code>modprobe uinput</code>. If this works, see [[Architecture#Module_Loading]] for instructions on how to make sure this module is loaded automatically on each startup.
Follow [[#Realtime scheduling|Realtime scheduling]] section to resolve the above error message.


== See also ==
== See also ==


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


[[Category:Sound]]
[[Category:Sound]]

Latest revision as of 20:06, 18 November 2025

PipeWire is a multimedia processing engine that aims to improve audio and video handling on Linux. PipeWire can act as a replacement for both PulseAudio and ALSA servers.

Prerequisites

Installation

Install pipewire and wireplumber (session manager).

# apk add pipewire wireplumber

Pulseaudio interface

The package pipewire-pulse allows pulseaudio applications and GUI tools to use PipeWire as audio server in the backend.

# apk add pipewire-pulse

JACK compatibility

Since PipeWire replaces JACK, Install pipewire-jack package, so it provides ABI-compatible libraries for JACK applications.

# apk add pipewire-jack

ALSA support

Install pipewire-alsa package to provide support for ALSA applications.

# apk add pipewire-alsa

GUI tools

Pulseaudio interface is mandatory for pavucontrol to work with PipeWire.
Currently available in the testing repository.
  • qpwgraph: graph manager dedicated to PipeWire with Qt GUI Interface.

Launch PipeWire

Most desktop environments launch PipeWire automatically in Alpine Linux upon relogging (i.e. logging out and logging in) after installing the above packages. Proceed with the section below only if PipeWire is not launched after a relogin/reboot.

Note: PipeWire user service is the recommended method to launch PipeWire and will replace pipewire-launcher. Do NOT use both methods to avoid running multiple instances of PipeWire.

PipeWire user service

Since Alpine 3.22, PipeWire can be launched as a user service.

User service prerequisites

User service management

To start the pipewire user service and its wireplumber session manager:

$ rc-service -U pipewire start $ rc-service -U wireplumber start

To enable the pipewire and wireplumber user services in Wayland, in Xorg change gui to default:

$ rc-update -U add pipewire gui $ rc-update -U add wireplumber gui

The above steps may be repeated for pipewire-pulse user service.

Note: The pipewire-pulse user service would be required to enable various functions, including setting audio levels with pactl, when running pulseaudio with pulseaudio-utils and to enable associated volume user keys.

pipewire-launcher

Note: The pipewire-launcher script will be removed in the future to be replaced with the PipeWire user service.

Launch PipeWire by using the pipewire-launcher script. You'll probably get quite a few errors but just ignore them for now.

$ /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher

If xinitrc is used, add /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher to your ~/.xinitrc.

If you do not use GUI by default, add the following stanza to your shell configuration file:

export $(dbus-launch) /usr/libexec/pipewire-launcher

Configuration

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

# cp -a /usr/share/pipewire /etc # cp -a /usr/share/wireplumber /etc

Screen sharing on Wayland

Applications which don't implement native Wayland screensharing rely on xdg-desktop-portal plus the correct backend for your compositor. Screen sharing is known to work on:

  • GNOME with xdg-desktop-portal-gtk
  • KDE Plasma with xdg-desktop-portal-kde and Firefox
  • Sway with xdg-desktop-portal-wlr and Firefox, see Sway for details

Bluetooth audio

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

Video

Video should work out-of-the-box with v4l2 devices (e.g. a lot of webcams) and GStreamer applications.

Realtime scheduling

Realtime scheduling will increase certain threads priorities to assist with low latency audio processing. By default, PipeWire tries to enable realtime scheduling with the rt module.

Since PipeWire 0.3.66, when you have a PAM login session, you should add your user to the pipewire group.

The default system wide settings are defined in /etc/security/limits.d/25-pw-rlimits.conf. You may want to adjust settings for parameters like rt.prio, if required. Alternatively, it can be set at user level within the ceiling set by the system's rlimits.

Contents of ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/my-rt-args.conf

context.modules = [ { name = libpipewire-module-rt args = { #nice.level = 20 #rt.prio = 88 } flags = [ ifexists nofail ] } ]

If you don't have PAM but D-Bus is available, the rt module will try to use rtkit; if this is the case, add your user to the rtkit group.

Testing

Use the wpctl utility from wireplumber to test the working of PipeWire:

$ wpctl status

pw-cat playback

Test sound is working using an audio file in a format supported by libsndfile 🔓 (e.g. flac, opus, ogg, wav). Use pw-cat utility from pipewire-tools:

$ pw-cat -p test.flac $ pw-play /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav

pw-cat recording

If you have a microphone test audio recording is working.

$ 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

PulseAudio

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

JACK

Use jack_simple_client from jack-simple-clients:

$ jack_simple_client

You should hear a sustained beep.

Troubleshooting

`wpctl status` shows no targets

First, check whether ALSA knows about your sound card using the aplay utility from alsa-utils package:

$ aplay -l

If sound devices are found, the issue is likely with your PipeWire configuration. Ensure that eudev is installed, and consider double-checking the instructions above.

If no sound devices are found, 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:

$ uname -r $ cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec

Modern devices might require sof-firmware, which is the case if you get sof firmware file is missing errors in dmesg.

Error acquiring bus address: Cannot autolaunch D-Bus without X11 $DISPLAY

Check and ensure that D-Bus session bus is started along with your GUI session i.e. you are in a tty.

Connection failure: Connection refused

When using Wayland, ensure that XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is configured correctly. If this is not set, PipeWire will create a directory in your home folder instead, called ~/pulse, and on attempting to run pavucontrol or pactl, you will get the following error:

$ pactl list Connection failure: Connection refused pa_context_connect() failed: Connection refused

If you are running Alpine 3.22+ and continue to experience this error after verifying that XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is correctly set, ensure that the pipewire-pulse user service is running.

Bluetooth connect failed: br-connection-profile-unavailable

Ensure wireplumber, the session manager, is running.

Play/Pause buttons not working on bluetooth headphones

Check /var/log/messages for lines similar to:

Contents of /var/log/messages

bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:uinput_create() Can't open input device: No such file or directory (2) bluetoothd[3463]: profiles/audio/avctp.c:init_uinput() AVRCP: failed to init uinput for WH-1000XM5

Then bluez is trying to register the headphones buttons as an input devices, but uinput is not loaded. Try modprobe uinput. If this works, see Loading of Kernel Modules for instructions on how to make sure this module is loaded automatically on each startup.

RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown

mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:995:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MaxRealtimePriority, using 1
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:1000:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us MinNiceLevel, using 0
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:330:translate_error: RTKit error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown
mod.rt ../src/modules/module-rt.c:1005:do_rtkit_setup: RTKit does not give us RTTimeUSecMax, using -1

Follow Realtime scheduling section to resolve the above error message.

See also

Retrieved from "https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/w/index.php?title=PipeWire&oldid=31507"