How to switch sound output with key shortcut

Solution 1:

1. Check for port names pactl list sinks (I remove non needed sinks output):

   Sink #1
       State: RUNNING
       Name: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
       Description: Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
       Driver: module-alsa-card.c
   ...
       Ports:
           analog-output-speaker: Speakers (priority: 10000, not available)
           analog-output-headphones: Headphones (priority: 9000, available)
       Active Port: analog-output-headphones
       Formats:
           pcm
   

2. Set sink port using pactl set-sink-port:

    pactl set-sink-port 1 analog-output-speaker
   

   or

    pactl set-sink-port 1 analog-output-headphones
   

   If you are using a removable device (Example: USB devices), it's better to use sink name instead of id. For example:

    pactl set-sink-port alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo analog-output-headphones
   

Reference: man pactl

Solution 2:

Automated solution https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1370383 It works on Ubuntu 18.04

1. Open the terminal and type:

    sudoedit /usr/local/bin/audio-device-switch.sh
   

2. Copy and paste the below code in nano editor

3. Save it and close nano editor.

4. sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/audio-device-switch.sh

5. System -> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts

6. Press Add and enter Switch between audio devices as name and audio-device-switch.sh as command and press Apply.

7. Select the newly added shortcut row and click on the shortcut column. 8. Choose a shortcut combination – e.g. Win + F12.

8. That's all - now you can plug in your plug in your HDMI device and switch the audio output by pressing the chosen shortcut combination.

Code:

#!/bin/bash

declare -i sinks_count=`pacmd list-sinks | grep -c index:[[:space:]][[:digit:]]`
declare -i active_sink_index=`pacmd list-sinks | sed -n -e 's/\*[[:space:]]index:[[:space:]]\([[:digit:]]\)/\1/p'`
declare -i major_sink_index=$sinks_count-1
declare -i next_sink_index=0

if [ $active_sink_index -ne $major_sink_index ] ; then
    next_sink_index=active_sink_index+1
fi

#change the default sink
pacmd "set-default-sink ${next_sink_index}"

#move all inputs to the new sink
for app in $(pacmd list-sink-inputs | sed -n -e 's/index:[[:space:]]\([[:digit:]]\)/\1/p');
do
    pacmd "move-sink-input $app $next_sink_index"
done

#display notification
declare -i ndx=0
pacmd list-sinks | sed -n -e 's/device.description[[:space:]]=[[:space:]]"\(.*\)"/\1/p' | while read line;
do
    if [ $next_sink_index -eq $ndx ] ; then
        notify-send -i notification-audio-volume-high "Sound output switched to" "$line"
        exit
    fi
done

Solution 3:

I have Ubuntu 20, and realized, that the indices of devices are not counted from 0 to COUNT-1. So I had to modify the script. This one works now:

#!/bin/bash

declare -i sinks_count=`pacmd list-sinks | grep -c index:[[:space:]][[:digit:]]`

if [ $sinks_count -eq 0 ] ; then
    exit
fi

declare -i active_sink_index=`pacmd list-sinks | sed -n -e 's/\*[[:space:]]index:    [[:space:]]\([[:digit:]]\)/\1/p'`

active_index_position_found=0
let next_sink_index=-1
while read index ;
do
    declare -i ind=($(echo $index | tr -dc '[0-9]+'))
    if [ $next_sink_index -lt 0 ] ; then
        export next_sink_index=$ind
    fi
    if [ $active_index_position_found -eq 1 ] ; then
        export next_sink_index=$ind
        break;
    fi
    if [ $active_sink_index -eq $ind ] ; then
        export active_index_position_found=1
    fi
done < <(pacmd list-sinks | grep index:[[:space:]][[:digit:]])

#change the default sink
pacmd "set-default-sink ${next_sink_index}"

#move all inputs to the new sink
for app in $(pacmd list-sink-inputs | sed -n -e 's/index:[[:space:]]\([[:digit:]]    \)/\1/p');
do
    pacmd "move-sink-input $app $next_sink_index"
done

#display notification
declare -i ndx=0
pacmd list-sinks | sed -n -e 's/device.description[[:space:]]=[[:space:]]"\(.*\)"    /\1/p' | while read line;
do
    if [ $next_sink_index -eq $ndx ] ; then
    notify-send -i notification-audio-volume-high "Sound output switched to"     "$line"
        exit
    fi
    ndx+=1
done;