PipeWire Restart Guide - Arch Linux

Quick reference for restarting PipeWire audio services without logging out.

Quick Fix - Restart PipeWire Services

# Stop all PipeWire services
systemctl --user stop pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

# Start them back up
systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Alternative - Restart in One Command

# Restart all services at once
systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Check Service Status

# Verify services are running properly
systemctl --user status pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Force Kill (If Services Won't Restart)

# Kill any hanging PipeWire processes
pkill -9 pipewire
pkill -9 wireplumber

# Start services again
systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Reload Configuration

Use this if you've modified PipeWire configuration files:

# Reload systemd user daemon
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# Restart all services
systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Test Audio After Restart

# List available audio sinks
pactl list sinks short

# Test audio output (press Ctrl+C to stop)
speaker-test -c2

Troubleshooting - View Logs

# Check recent logs for errors
journalctl --user -u pipewire -u pipewire-pulse -u wireplumber --since "5 minutes ago"

# Follow logs in real-time
journalctl --user -u pipewire -u pipewire-pulse -u wireplumber -f

Enable Services (First Time Setup)

If services aren't starting automatically:

# Enable services to start on login
systemctl --user enable pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Common Issues

No Audio Devices Found

# Check if ALSA detects your sound card
aplay -l

# Restart ALSA and PipeWire
sudo alsactl init
systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

Bluetooth Audio Issues

# Restart Bluetooth service
sudo systemctl restart bluetooth

# Restart PipeWire
systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

References

Last Updated: 2025-11-08

drewdomi/restart-pipewire-service.md

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