pw-metadata
Monitor and manage PipeWire metadata
TLDR
Show the default metadata object
$ pw-metadata
List every metadata object$ pw-metadata --list
Show the entries of a named object$ pw-metadata --name [settings] [0]
Read one property$ pw-metadata --name [settings] [0] [log.level]
Set a property$ pw-metadata --name [settings] [0] [log.level] [1]
Change the default audio sink$ pw-metadata [0] [default.audio.sink] '{ "name": "[sink_name]" }'
Follow changes as they happen$ pw-metadata --monitor
Clear all metadata$ pw-metadata --delete
SYNOPSIS
pw-metadata [options] [id] [key] [value] [type]
DESCRIPTION
pw-metadata monitors, sets, and deletes metadata on PipeWire objects. Metadata provides key-value pairs associated with PipeWire graph objects, used for configuration and runtime state management.The tool can operate on different metadata namespaces including "default" for general metadata and "settings" for PipeWire configuration values like log levels.
PARAMETERS
-n, --name name
Metadata name to operate on (default: "default")-l, --list
List all available metadata objects-m, --monitor
Monitor metadata changes continuously-d, --delete
Delete metadata entries-r, --remote NAME
Name of the remote instance to connect to (default: default PipeWire instance).--version
Show version information.-h, --help
Display help message.
INSTALL
sudo apt install pipewire-bin
sudo apk add pipewire-tools
sudo zypper install pipewire-tools
CAVEATS
Modifying metadata in the "settings" namespace can affect PipeWire behavior immediately. Use caution when deleting metadata as it may reset configuration to defaults.
HISTORY
Part of PipeWire, the modern multimedia framework for Linux. Provides runtime inspection and modification of PipeWire's metadata system.
