pactl

TLDR

List all audio sinks (output devices)

$ pactl list sinks short

Set the default audio output

$ pactl set-default-sink [sink_name]

Set volume to a percentage

$ pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ [50%]

Increase volume by 10%

$ pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ +[10%]

Mute/unmute the default sink

$ pactl set-sink-mute @DEFAULT_SINK@ toggle

List all audio sources (input devices)

$ pactl list sources short

Move an application to a different output

$ pactl move-sink-input [stream_index] [sink_name]

Load a PulseAudio module

$ pactl load-module [module-null-sink]

SYNOPSIS

pactl [options] command [args]
pactl set-sink-volume SINK VOLUME
pactl list [short] [TYPE]

pactl controls a running PulseAudio sound server from the command line. It provides a scriptable interface for managing audio devices, streams, volumes, and modules.
Volume can be specified as percentages (50%), decibels (0dB), or absolute values. Prefix with + or - for relative adjustments. Special names @DEFAULT_SINK@, @DEFAULT_SOURCE@, and @DEFAULT_MONITOR@ refer to default devices.
The list command shows detailed information about audio objects. Use short for condensed output suitable for scripting. Stream indices from list sink-inputs can be used to move applications between outputs with move-sink-input.

PARAMETERS

-s SERVER, --server SERVER

Connect to specified PulseAudio server

-n NAME, --client-name NAME

Client name for connection

-f FORMAT, --format FORMAT

Output format (text or json)

-v, --verbose

Enable verbose output

--version

Show version information

-h, --help

Show help message

COMMANDS

stat

Show memory usage statistics

info

Display server information

list [short] [TYPE]

List objects (modules, sinks, sources, sink-inputs, source-outputs, clients, samples, cards)

exit

Terminate PulseAudio server

set-default-sink NAME|INDEX

Set default audio output

set-default-source NAME|INDEX

Set default audio input

set-sink-volume SINK VOLUME

Set sink volume (percentage, dB, or absolute)

set-source-volume SOURCE VOLUME

Set source volume

set-sink-mute SINK 0|1|toggle

Mute/unmute sink

set-source-mute SOURCE 0|1|toggle

Mute/unmute source

move-sink-input INDEX SINK

Move playback stream to different sink

move-source-output INDEX SOURCE

Move recording stream to different source

load-module NAME [ARGS]

Load a PulseAudio module

unload-module INDEX|NAME

Unload a module

set-card-profile CARD PROFILE

Change sound card profile

subscribe

Listen for PulseAudio events

CAVEATS

Requires a running PulseAudio daemon. On systems using PipeWire with PulseAudio compatibility, pactl commands work but interact with PipeWire instead. The pacmd command is deprecated in favor of pactl. Volume values above 100% are allowed but may cause distortion.

HISTORY

pactl is part of PulseAudio, a sound server for Linux and other Unix-like systems created by Lennart Poettering. PulseAudio was first released in 2004 and became the default sound system in most Linux distributions by 2009. The pactl utility provides command-line access to PulseAudio's D-Bus interface. In recent years, PipeWire has begun replacing PulseAudio while maintaining compatibility with pactl commands.