Korbs / Switch Audio Outputs on Linux

During the day, I happen to switch between my speakers and headphones quite a bit. I've recently decided to setup custom shortcuts to switch quickly between them without needing to open the volume menu in GNOME or KDE. ## Install Firstly, the `pactl` tool is used for this, please install it: ``` sudo dnf install pactl ``` ## List Then, list your outputs: ```bash pactl list short sinks ``` Here's what mine looks like: ```bash 51 alsa_output.usb-KTMicro_KT_USB_AUDIO_214b206000000178-00.analog-stereo PipeWire s24le 2ch 48000Hz SUSPENDED 52 alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo PipeWire s32le 2ch 48000Hz RUNNING ``` KTMico is an Anker USB hub with an 3.5mm jack, the PCI is the one that is builtin to my laptop. ## Switching To switch between outputs, use the `set-default-sink`. As an example, this is what I use to switch to my laptop's builtin AUX port/speakers: ```bash pactl set-default-sink alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo ``` ## Setup Keyboard Shortcut Using the keyboards settings in your Linux's DE, you can apply these commands to a custom shortcut. For my case, I did the following: - `Shift` `Alt` `Numpad1` - Switch to PCI (Laptop's AUX/Speakers) - `Shift` `Alt` `Numpad2` - Switch to External Speakers (USB C Hub's AUX) You can adapt to the way you want it, does not need to be like the way I have it.