route-on-device-connect

name	route-on-device-connect
description	Set up combined-sink / fan-out output routing — e.g. "when the Jabra is connected, also play audio through it without changing the default speakers". Use for the case the GUI can't handle: simultaneous output to multiple sinks, or conditional routing tied to device connect state.

Route On Device Connect

Pipewire's GUI mixers (pavucontrol, plasma-pa) only let you pick one default output. For "play to A and B" or "when device X connects, also send audio there", you need a combined sink or a Wireplumber rule.

Approach 1: Persistent combined sink

Create a Pipewire combined sink that fans out to multiple physical sinks. Define it in ~/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/51-combine-sink.conf:

context.modules = [
  {   name = libpipewire-module-combine-stream
      args = {
          combine.mode = sink
          node.name    = combined_speakers_and_jabra
          node.description = "Speakers + Jabra"
          combine.props = {
              audio.position = [ FL FR ]
          }
          stream.props = {}
          stream.rules = [
              {
                  matches = [
                      { node.name = "alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo" }
                      { node.name = "~alsa_output.usb-Jabra.*" }
                  ]
                  actions = { create-stream = {} }
              }
          ]
      }
  }
]

Then systemctl --user restart pipewire wireplumber and select the combined sink as default with wpctl set-default.

Approach 2: Wireplumber rule that re-routes on connect

Use Wireplumber Lua scripting (~/.config/wireplumber/scripts/) to react to a device appearing and call wpctl set-default or move existing streams. Heavier — only reach for this if the combined-sink approach can't model the desired behaviour.

Steps

1. Clarify with the user: do they want simultaneous output (combined sink) or automatic switch on connect (rule + default change)?
2. Resolve node.name for each device with list-audio-devices.
3. Drop the config file (the combined-sink template above is a good default).
4. systemctl --user restart pipewire wireplumber.
5. Test: with the device connected, the new combined sink shows in wpctl status. Set it default. Disconnect the device and confirm Pipewire degrades gracefully (the combined sink will lose one stream but keep playing through the remaining one).

Caveats

• Combined sinks introduce a small amount of latency — fine for music/system sounds, noticeable for live monitoring.
• Different sample rates between the two physical sinks force resampling. Pipewire handles this automatically but quality can dip. If both sinks support 48kHz, set them to that explicitly.
• For Bluetooth, A2DP-only profiles change node.name — the regex match in the example handles this; verify after connecting.