Switch audio ouputs from the command line in Ubuntu

audio-control

#!/bin/bash

# Define the name of the sinks to use
readonly HEADPHONES="alsa_output.usb-Roland_DUO-CAPTURE-00.analog-stereo"
readonly SPEAKERS="alsa_output.pci-0000_0d_00.4.iec958-stereo"

# Get the current sink
currentSink=$(pactl info | grep "Default Sink" | awk '{print $3}')

# Based on the current sink, switch between cards
if [ $currentSink == $HEADPHONES ]; then
    newSink=$SPEAKERS
else
    newSink=$HEADPHONES
fi

# Get the first sink index to check if an offset is needed
firstSinkIndex=$(pactl list short sinks | head -n 1 | awk '{print $1}')

# Compute the offset based on the first sink index
if [ $firstSinkIndex == 0 ]; then
    sinkOffset=1
else
    sinkOffset=0
fi

# Get the index of the new sink
sinkIndex=$(pactl list short sinks | grep "$newSink" | awk '{print $1}')

# Get the volume of the new sink
currentVolume="$(pactl list sinks | grep '^[[:space:]]Volume:' | head -n $(( $sinkIndex + $sinkOffset )) | tail -n 1 | sed -e 's,.* \([0-9][0-9]*\)%.*,\1,')%"

# Set the volume of the new sink (this enables ubuntu's media controls for some reason)
pactl set-sink-volume $newSink $currentVolume

# Set the default sink to the new sink
pactl set-default-sink $sinkIndex

# Move all active streams to the new sink
pactl list short sink-inputs|while read stream; do
    streamId=$(echo $stream|cut '-d ' -f1)
    pactl move-sink-input "$streamId" "$newSink"
done

# Display nice notification about which sink is being used
if [ $newSink == $HEADPHONES ]; then
    notify-send 'Audio output switched' 'Now playing sound from the headphones' --icon=audio-card
else
    notify-send 'Audio output switched' 'Now playing sound from the speakers' --icon=audio-card
fi