startup sounds in linux

linux startup sounds.md

How to add startup sound to linux

I use this implementation on my RuneAudio player to play a sound when the raspberry pi is powered on.

1. Place your audio file in /var/local/

   cp startupsound.mp3 /var/local/

2. Create /usr/bin/startupsound.sh with these contents:

   #!/bin/sh
   # uses mpg123 to play /usr/local/startupsound.mp3 through
   # the card 1 interface. It uses a buffer of 10000kb to make
   # up for a delay in some recievers using optical input.
   /usr/bin/mpg123 -a hw:1,0 -b 10000 /usr/local/startupsound.mp3

3. Make it executable

   chmod +x /usr/bin/startupsound.sh

4. Test to make sure the sound is playable

   /usr/bin/startupsound.sh

5. Create /usr/lib/systemd/system/startupsound.service

   [Unit]
   Description=Startup Sound
   After=alsa-restore.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=oneshot
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/startupsound.sh
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

6. Reload the systemd service files

   systemctl daemon-reload

7. Test the service by starting it (make sure your speakers are on!)

   systemctl start startupsound

8. Enable the sound at boot

   systemctl enable startupsound

If the service does not run, check the log

journalctl -u startupsound

startupsound.service

[Unit]
Description=Startup Sound
After=alsa-restore.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/startupsound.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

startupsound.sh

#!/bin/sh
# uses mpg123 to play /usr/local/startupsound.mp3 through
# the card 1 interface. It uses a buffer of 10000kb to make
# up for a delay in some recievers using optical input.
/usr/bin/mpg123 -a hw:1,0 -b 10000 /usr/local/startupsound.mp3