this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Ever had a question about Linux but felt too afraid to ask? Well now's your chance, ask any question about Linux, no matter how noob or repeated it is, and I and others will help answer them.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't know if this is specifically possible. I'm not quite rookie-level new (been using it about a year now) but I have something I would love to have convenience-wise.

It's a desktop machine with regular speakers, and I have a wireless headset that connects to its own dongle (not Bluetooth). It's there a way to switch to the headset automatically when I power it on, and revert to speakers when I turn it off?

I feel like it's possible hardware-wise, but I'm not tryna learn how to code to make it happen, and I don't know how to find a software solution. I don't even know what to call what I'm looking for.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

i'd suggest starting by finding out what package in your distro actually decides where audio goes - mostly it is pulseaudio (older) or pipewire (newer).

depending on the details of how your distro and the dongle work, it could either be a simple "pactl set-default-sink ", or a more complicated set of udev rules or pipewire/wireplumber scripts.

note that distros using pipewire still often support a lot of pactl commands, so it may be worth looking at the simple option even when not using pulseaudio.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

They can also use pavucontrol, whether they use pulse or pipe, for a GUI to select default audio interface as well as easily switch apps to different outputs if needed