pulseaudio-tcp/README.md

# pulseaudio-tcp - Redirect PulseAudio to and from Remote Computer

## Requirements

### Dependencies

* jq
* Audio subsystem:
	- PulseAudio or
	- Pipewire with PulseAudio compatibility (`pipewire-pulse`).
	- On the local host `pactl` must be of version 16 or later (required for option `--format json`).

### Requirements to Local and Remote Host

* pulseaudio-tcp should be installed on a computer running PulseAudio or Pipewire with PulseAudio compatibility.
  - This computer is in the following referred to as the "local host".
* The local host should use use a remote computer for playback.
  - The remote computer is referred to as the "remote host".
  - This mode of operation is referred to as "outbound" audio.
* The local host should receive audio from the remote host for recording.
  - This mode of operation is referred to as "inbound" audio.
* The IP address of the remote host and the name of a user running a PulseAudio/Pipewire session there should be known.
* The remote host should allow login by the remote user with SSH.

### SSH to User Session on Remote Host

The user on the local host should have password-less SSH to the user on the remote host (required for encryption with SSH port forwarding):

```shell
ssh-copy-id $remote_user@$remote_ip
```

## Installation

```shell
git clone https://tk-sls.de/git/tk-sls.de/pulseaudio-tcp.git
cd pulseaudio-tcp
sudo make install
```

## Usage

### Setup Procedure

A user on local host running the PulseAudio/Pipewire session, execute:

```shell
pulseadio-tcp setup
```

The following questions will be asked:

* IP address of remote host.
* Name of user on remote host running PulseAudio/Pipewire.
* Enable inbound audio.
* Enable outbound audio.

### Configuration File

The setup procedure writes a configuration file `$HOME/.config/pulseaudio-tcp/config.inc.sh`:

```
remote_ip="192.168.1.166"
remote_user="remoteuser"
inbound=true
outbound=true
```

### Starting the Service

A user on local host running the PulseAudio/Pipewire session, execute:

```shell
pulseadio-tcp start
```

### Stopping the Service

A user on local host running the PulseAudio/Pipewire session, execute:

```shell
pulseadio-tcp stop
```

### Checking if the Service is running

A user on local host running the PulseAudio/Pipewire session, execute:

```shell
pulseadio-tcp status
```

## Author and Copyright

© 2023 Tilman Kranz <t.kranz@tk-sls.de>

Please see the file LICENSE for terms and conditions of use and distribution.