wpctl — PipeWire Audio Control

Control audio volume, mute, and device selection from the terminal via PipeWire/WirePlumber.

Volume Control

Get current volume of default output

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@

Set volume to specific percentage

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 80%

Increase volume by 5%

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+

Decrease volume by 5%

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%-

Set volume with ceiling — prevent going above 100%

wpctl set-volume -l 1.0 @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+

Without -l 1.0, volume can exceed 100% (software amplification). The 1.0 = 100%.

Mute/unmute toggle

wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ toggle

Mute explicitly

wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 1

Unmute explicitly

wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 0

Microphone

Get microphone volume

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SOURCE@

Set microphone volume

wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SOURCE@ 60%

Mute/unmute microphone

wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SOURCE@ toggle

Device Inspection

Show all audio devices and their status

wpctl status

Shows sinks (outputs), sources (inputs), streams, and the default device marked with *.

Show detailed info for a specific device by ID

wpctl inspect <ID>

The ID comes from wpctl status — the number in brackets.

Default Device

Set default output device by ID

wpctl set-default <SINK_ID>

Set default input device by ID

wpctl set-default <SOURCE_ID>

Hyprland Keybindings

Volume keys in hyprland.conf — common pattern

bindel = , XF86AudioRaiseVolume, exec, wpctl set-volume -l 1.0 @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+
bindel = , XF86AudioLowerVolume, exec, wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%-
bindl  = , XF86AudioMute, exec, wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ toggle
bindl  = , XF86AudioMicMute, exec, wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SOURCE@ toggle

bindel = bind + execute + repeat on hold (for volume). bindl = bind + locked (works on lock screen).

PipeWire Companion Tools

List PipeWire nodes with pw-cli

pw-cli list-objects Node

Monitor PipeWire events in real-time

pw-cli monitor

Launch pavucontrol for GUI audio management

pavucontrol

Check PipeWire service status

systemctl --user status pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Scripting Patterns

Get numeric volume for scripts (strip the text)

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ | awk '{printf "%.0f\n", $2 * 100}'

Check if muted

wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ | grep -q MUTED && echo "muted" || echo "unmuted"

Waybar volume module — reads wpctl output

# Waybar uses wireplumber module natively, but custom script:
vol=$(wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ | awk '{printf "%.0f", $2 * 100}')
muted=$(wpctl get-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ | grep -c MUTED)
if [[ "$muted" -eq 1 ]]; then
    echo "{\"text\": \"  muted\", \"class\": \"muted\"}"
else
    echo "{\"text\": \"  ${vol}%\"}"
fi