paprefs

paprefs [OPTIONS]

--help
    Displays a help message and exits.

--version
    Shows version information and exits.

paprefs is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool designed to manage various global settings for the PulseAudio sound server. It provides an intuitive way to configure network-related PulseAudio features, such as enabling network access to the local sound server, allowing other computers to discover and play sound through it, or enabling local sound output to be streamed to remote UPnP/DLNA renderers.

Users can toggle modules like module-native-protocol-tcp for network-wide audio streaming, and module-upnp-discover for UPnP/DLNA device discovery. paprefs simplifies tasks that would otherwise require manual editing of PulseAudio configuration files (e.g., default.pa) or complex command-line operations with pactl. It's particularly useful for setting up a centralized audio server or for streaming audio across a local network, offering a user-friendly alternative to command-line configuration.

Requires an active X server and a graphical environment to run.
Changes made in paprefs often modify system-wide PulseAudio configuration, which might require a PulseAudio restart or system reboot to take full effect.
Network features configured via paprefs can pose security risks if not properly secured on untrusted networks.
Its functionality might be limited or deprecated in favor of other tools or direct configuration file editing for advanced scenarios.

Inside the paprefs GUI, users typically interact with tabs such as:
"Network Access": To enable or disable network control over local sound devices.
"Network Servers": To allow other computers to discover and use local PulseAudio devices.
"Simultaneous Output": To configure concurrent playback to multiple sinks.
"UPnP/DLNA": To enable discovery of UPnP/DLNA renderers and stream local audio to them.

paprefs has been an integral part of the PulseAudio ecosystem, providing a user-friendly front-end for managing its extensive configuration options, especially those related to network audio. Its development is tied to the evolution of PulseAudio itself, aiming to simplify complex settings that otherwise require command-line expertise or manual file editing. It addresses the common need for network discovery and streaming capabilities without a deep dive into PulseAudio modules, making network audio setup more accessible for general users.

pulseaudio(1), pactl(1), pacmd(1), pavucontrol(1), default.pa(5)