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pw-cli(1)

Command-line interface for managing PipeWire audio and video streams, devices, and configuration.

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Synopsis

pw-cli [OPTION]... [COMMAND] [ARG]...

Description

pw-cli is an interactive command-line tool for introspecting and controlling PipeWire, the modern audio/video server for Linux. It allows you to query objects like devices, ports, and links, adjust volume and mute settings, and manage audio routing without using a graphical interface.

When run without arguments, pw-cli enters an interactive shell where you can execute commands. Commands can also be passed directly as arguments for scripting and automation.

Common options

FlagWhat it does
-h, --helpShow help message and exit
-V, --versionPrint version information
-r, --remoteSpecify remote daemon name to connect to (default: pipewire-0)
-c, --colorEnable colored output

Examples

Start interactive shell to manage PipeWire

pw-cli

List all PipeWire objects (devices, ports, nodes, links)

pw-cli list-objects

Show detailed information about all objects and their properties

pw-cli dump

Set device with ID 42 as the default audio sink

pw-cli set-default-sink 42

Set volume to 50% on object ID 15

pw-cli set-param 15 Props '{ volume: 0.5 }'

Create an audio link between output port 10 and input port 11

pw-cli create-link 10 11

Display detailed information about object with ID 5

pw-cli info 5

List all properties available on object ID 8

pw-cli enum-params 8 Props

Related commands