[info] How to get rid of pipewire

[rado84]

I decided to write a general guideline on how to get rid of Pipewire.
But before that - 2 important notes:
• I use Arch, btw.
• Do NOT uninstall pipewire since Gnome (and Cinnamon, since Gnome is a Cinnamon's dependency) is very hard wired with that Pipewire. If you uninstall it, you'll break your whole desktop.

The guideline is general to point you in the right direction but it might be different for your distro. So check and compares packages carefully before you start making changes.

1. Disable and MASK the pipewire services and sockets. For this command you will NOT need sudo bc it's executed under your $user.

systemctl --user mask pipewire.service
systemctl --user mask pipewire.socket
systemctl --user mask pipewire-pulse.service
systemctl --user mask pipewire-pulse.socket
systemctl --user mask wireplumber.service
systemctl --user mask wireplumber.socket

2. Uninstall only this package: pipewire-pulse whose description says it's a replacement for pulseaudio.

sudo pacman -Rns pipewire-pulse

3. Install pulseaudio + these 2 packages.

sudo pacman -S pulseaudio pulseaudio-alsa lib32-pulse

In some cases the other two are already present and you only have to install pulseaudio but it doesn't hurt to reinstall the other two, if they ARE already installed.

4. Restart pulseaudio by using this command:

pulseaudio -k

and wait for a few seconds, it will start on its own.

4a. In some cases (distros) you may have to reboot the system just to be sure pipewire is dead and PA is up and running.
You can check its status with this command:

systemctl --user status pulseaudio.socket

If you've done it right, you should see (something like) this:

● pulseaudio.socket - Sound System
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/pulseaudio.socket; enabled; preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2026-04-01 02:19:56 EEST; 1 day 12h ago
Invocation: e5d67879d2734cbf8d7270f9959cf8c7
Triggers: ● pulseaudio.service
Listen: /run/user/1000/pulse/native (Stream)

I used quote in this case because it's important to note that if you've done it right, you'll see 5 instances of green color in terminal.

If, by any chance you get stuck, you better ask an AI - explain what you've done so far and ask how to continue in order to disable pipewire.

 

[f33dm3bits]

Please call the name of the software by it's real name only. Thanks!

Don't call people or things names. Instead of using a pejorative, use the proper names/abbreviations. We should be polite in our discourse. Even if you don't respect them, be civil in your discussions.

Thread 'Posting Guidelines.'

Feb 17, 2026

I think that this needs to be prefaced with the following:

This post does not contain 'rules', as such. The material in this post is meant to be a guideline. These aren't rules for us to blindly behave. These are guidelines that we should use for our interactions here on Linux.org.

This post contains the guidelines that you should aspire to. They're a description of how to be our best selves while here on Linux.org.

One of the most basic guidelines is to 'be kind'. That shouldn't be controversial. Don't be snarky, biting, aggressive, or things like that.

When we do respond, do so with...

• KGIII
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Site Announcements

• 

 

[rado84]

Please call the name of the software by it's real name only. Thanks!

Thread 'Posting Guidelines.'

Feb 17, 2026

I think that this needs to be prefaced with the following:

This post does not contain 'rules', as such. The material in this post is meant to be a guideline. These aren't rules for us to blindly behave. These are guidelines that we should use for our interactions here on Linux.org.

This post contains the guidelines that you should aspire to. They're a description of how to be our best selves while here on Linux.org.

One of the most basic guidelines is to 'be kind'. That shouldn't be controversial. Don't be snarky, biting, aggressive, or things like that.

When we do respond, do so with...

• KGIII
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Site Announcements

• 

Buzzkill. I didn't know the software could feel offended.

[rado@arch]: ~>$ udict snowflake
 Snowflake

 │ A very sensitive person. Someone who is easily hurt or offended
 │ by the statements or actions of others.This has nothing to
 │ do with politics. Snowflakes can be liberal or conservative.
 │ Whether it is a compliment or an insult is a matter of opinion
 │ and depends on the context.

 - Don't criticize Jane for what she did. She's a snowflake and
you'll only upset her.

by TampaRay April 4, 2017