# Well-known settings

This section describes the settings that can be configured on WirePlumber.

Settings can be either configured statically in the configuration file by setting them under the `wireplumber.settings` section, or they can be configured dynamically at runtime by using metadata.

For more information on what "settings" are and how they work, refer to the previous section: Configuration option types.

Tip

`wpctl settings` lists all the settings together with their description, type, valid range and current value, and can also change, save and reset them at runtime. The authoritative list is the `wireplumber.settings.schema` section of `wireplumber.conf`.

bluetooth.use-persistent-storage

  When enabled, WirePlumber remembers whether a Bluetooth device was switched to headset mode, and restores that state the next time the device connects.

  Default value:

    `true`

  See also:

    `bluetooth.autoswitch-to-headset-profile`

bluetooth.autoswitch-to-headset-profile

  When enabled, Bluetooth headsets always expose a microphone, and the device is automatically switched to headset mode (HSP/HFP) when an application starts recording. When the recording stream goes away, the previous profile is restored.

  Headset mode has considerably lower audio quality than A2DP, which is why the switch is only made while a capture stream is actually present.

  Default value:

    `true`

bluetooth.profile-preference

  Controls which A2DP codec configuration is preferred when a profile is selected automatically for a Bluetooth device. Only two values are accepted:

  `quality`

    prefer the codec with the best audio quality

  `latency`

    prefer the codec with the lowest latency

  Any other value logs a warning and is treated as `quality`.

  Default value:

    `"quality"`

device.restore-profile

  When a device profile is changed manually (e.g. via pavucontrol), WirePlumber stores the selected profile and restores it when the device appears again (e.g. after a reboot). If this setting is disabled, WirePlumber will always pick the best profile for the device based on profile priorities and availability (or custom rules, if any).

  Default value:

    `true`

device.restore-routes

  When a device route is changed manually (e.g. via pavucontrol), WirePlumber stores the selected route and restores it when the same profile is selected for this device. If this setting is disabled, WirePlumber will always pick the best route for this device profile based on route priorities and availability (or custom rules, if any).

  This setting also enables WirePlumber to restore properties of the device route when the route is restored. This includes the volume levels of sources and sinks, as well as the IEC958 codecs selected (for routes that support encoded streams, such as HDMI).

  Default value:

    `true`

device.routes.default-sink-volume

  This option allows to set the default volume for sinks that are part of a device route (e.g. ALSA PCM sinks). This is used when the route is restored and the sink does not have a previously stored volume.

  It is possible to override the value on a per-device basis with a property (not a setting, so this would go into a configuration file) on the device named `device.routes.default-sink-volume`.

  Default value:

    `0.4 ^ 3` (40% on the cubic scale)

device.routes.default-source-volume

  This option allows to set the default volume for sources that are part of a device route (e.g. ALSA PCM sources). This is used when the route is restored and the source does not have a previously stored volume.

  It is possible to override the value on a per-device basis with a property (not a setting, so this would go into a configuration file) on the device named `device.routes.default-source-volume`.

  Default value:

    `1.0` (100%)

device.routes.mute-on-alsa-playback-removed

  When enabled, all audio devices are muted when an active wired playback route (headphones, speakers) is unplugged. This prevents sound from unexpectedly coming out of the built-in speakers when headphones are removed.

  The mute is applied to all devices, not just the one whose route disappeared, and is not undone automatically; the user has to unmute explicitly.

  Default value:

    `false`

  See also:

    `device.routes.mute-on-bluetooth-playback-removed`

device.routes.mute-on-bluetooth-playback-removed

  The same as `device.routes.mute-on-alsa-playback-removed`, but triggered when an active Bluetooth playback device disconnects instead.

  Default value:

    `false`

linking.allow-moving-streams

  This option allows moving streams by overriding their target via metadata. When enabled, WirePlumber monitors the "default" metadata for changes in the `target.object` key of streams and if this key is set to a valid node name (`node.name`) or serial (`object.serial`), the stream is moved to that target node.

  This is used by applications such as pavucontrol and is recommended for compatibility with PulseAudio.

  > Note

  > On the metadata, the `target.node` key is also supported for compatibility with older versions of PipeWire, but it is deprecated. Please use the `target.object` key instead.

  Default value:

    `true`

  See also:

    `node.stream.restore-target`

linking.follow-default-target

  When a stream was started with the `target.object` property, WirePlumber normally links that stream to that target node and ignores the "default" target for that direction. However, if this option is enabled, WirePlumber will check if the designated target node is the "default" target and if so, it will act as if the stream did not have that property.

  In practice, this means that if the "default" target changes at runtime, the stream will be moved to the new "default" target.

  This is what Pulseaudio does and is implemented here for compatibility with some applications that do start with a `target.object` property set to the "default" target and expect the stream to be moved when the "default" target changes.

  Note that this logic is only applied on client (i.e. application) streams and not on filters.

  Default value:

    `true`

linking.pause-playback

  When an audio sink is removed, pause media players that have streams playing to it. Pausing is done via MPRIS interface.

  Default value:

    `true`

linking.role-based.duck-level

  The volume to which a stream is reduced when it is ducked by the role-based linking policy, i.e. when a higher priority role becomes active and lower priority roles should remain audible but quieter.

  This only has an effect when the role-based policy is enabled; see the `policy.linking.role-based` feature in Well-known features.

  Default value:

    `0.3`

  Range:

    `0.0` to `1.0`

monitor.camera-discovery-timeout

  How long to wait, in milliseconds, after a camera device is reported before creating nodes for the discovered cameras.

  The same camera may be reported by both the V4L2 and the libcamera monitor. This timeout gives both monitors a chance to report it, so that WirePlumber can decide which backend to use instead of exposing the camera twice. The timer is restarted every time another device is reported.

  Default value:

    `1000`

  Range:

    `0` to `60000`

  See also:

    Video & camera configuration

monitor.alsa.autodetect-hdmi-channels

  When enabled, the ALSA monitor tries to detect the channel count and channel positions supported by HDMI devices, instead of using the values declared by the ALSA profile.

  Warning

  This is experimental.

  Default value:

    `false`

node.features.audio.no-dsp

  When this option is set to `true`, audio nodes will not be configured in dsp mode, meaning that their channels will not be split into separate ports and that the audio data will not be converted to the float 32 format (F32P). Instead, devices will be configured in passthrough mode and streams will be configured in convert mode, so that their audio data is converted directly to the format that the device is expecting.

  This may be useful if you are trying to minimize audio processing for an embedded system, but it is not recommended for general use.

  Warning

  This option will break compatibility with JACK applications and may also break certain patchbay applications. Do not enable, unless you understand what you are doing.

  Default value:

    `false`

node.features.audio.monitor-ports

  This enables the creation of "monitor" ports for audio nodes. Monitor ports are created on nodes that have input ports (i.e. sinks and capture streams) and allow monitoring of the audio data that is being sent to the node.

  This is mostly used by monitoring applications, such as pavucontrol.

  Default value:

    `true`

node.features.audio.control-port

  This enables the creation of a "control" port for audio nodes. Control ports allow sending MIDI data to the node, allowing for control of certain node's parameters (such as volume) via external controllers.

  Default value:

    `false`

node.features.audio.mono

  When enabled, audio device sink nodes are configured with a single mono channel instead of their native channel layout.

  This only applies to ALSA PCM sinks and Bluetooth A2DP sinks; it does not affect sources or streams.

  Default value:

    `false`

node.stream.restore-props

  WirePlumber stores stream parameters such as volume and mute status for each client (i.e. application) stream. If this setting is enabled, WirePlumber will restore the previously stored stream parameters when the stream is activated. If it is disabled, stream parameters will be initialized to their default values.

  Default value:

    `true`

node.stream.restore-target

  When a client (i.e. application) stream is manually moved to a different target node (e.g. via pavucontrol), the target node is stored by WirePlumber. If this setting is enabled, WirePlumber will restore the previously stored target node when the stream is activated.

  Note

  This does not restore manual links made by patchbay applications. This is only meant to restore the `target.object` property in the "default" metadata, which is manipulated by applications such as pavucontrol when a stream is moved to a different target.

  Default value:

    `true`

  See also:

    `linking.allow-moving-streams`

node.stream.default-playback-volume

  The default volume for playback streams to be applied when the stream is activated. This is only applied when `node.stream.restore-props` is `true` and the stream does not have a previously stored volume.

  Default value:

    `1.0`

  Range:

    `0.0` to `1.0`

node.stream.default-capture-volume

  The default volume for capture streams to be applied when the stream is activated. This is only applied when `node.stream.restore-props` is `true` and the stream does not have a previously stored volume.

  Default value:

    `1.0`

  Range:

    `0.0` to `1.0`

node.stream.default-media-role

  A `media.role` to assign to streams that do not declare one themselves. Streams that already have a `media.role` property are left alone.

  This is mainly useful together with the role-based linking policy, which groups and prioritizes streams by their role: without a default, streams from applications that do not set a role would not be handled by that policy at all.

  Default value:

    `null` (no role is assigned)

node.restore-default-targets

  This setting enables WirePlumber to store and restore the "default" source and sink targets of the graph. In PulseAudio terminology, this is also known as the "fallback" source and sink.

  When this setting is enabled, WirePlumber will store the "default" source and sink targets when they are changed manually (e.g. via pavucontrol) and restore them when the available nodes change or after a reload/restart. It will also store a history of past selected "default" targets and restore previously selected ones if the currently selected are not available.

  If this is disabled, WirePlumber will pick the best available source and sink targets based on their priorities, but it will also respect manual user selections that are done at runtime - it will just not remember them so that it can restore them at a later time.

  Default value:

    `true`