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amixer

audiolinux
The amixer command is one of the most frequently used commands in Linux/Unix-like operating systems. amixer The amixer command is a command-line mixer for ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) sound card drivers, allowing users to control audio settings and volume from the terminal.
See ExamplesView Syntax

Quick Reference

Command Name:

amixer

Category:

audio

Platform:

linux

Basic Usage:

amixer [options] [arguments]

Common Use Cases

  • 1

    Command-line audio control

    Control audio levels and settings from scripts and command line

  • 2

    Audio automation

    Automate audio configuration changes in scripts and applications

  • 3

    System integration

    Integrate audio control into system administration scripts

  • 4

    Audio device management

    Switch between audio devices and configure their settings

Syntax

amixer [options] [command]

Options

Option Description
-h, --help Display help and exit
-c, --card CARD Select the sound card by number
-D, --device DEVICE Select the device name (default: default)
-d, --debug Debug mode
-n, --nocheck Do not perform range checking
-v, --version Print version number
-q, --quiet Be quiet (no messages)
-R, --raw-volume Use the raw value (not percentage)
-M, --mapped-volume Use the mapped volume (percentage)

Examples

How to Use These Examples

The examples below show common ways to use the amixer command. Try them in your terminal to see the results. You can copy any example by clicking on the code block.

Basic Examples:

Display information about all controls for the default sound card
amixer
Get information about a specific control
amixer get Master
Set the Master volume to 80%
amixer set Master 80%
Increase Master volume by 5%
amixer set Master 5%+
Decrease Master volume by 10%
amixer set Master 10%-
Toggle mute for the Master control
amixer set Master toggle

Advanced Examples:

Set the Master volume to 75% for a specific sound card
amixer -c 1 set Master 75%
Set PCM volume to 80% and unmute it in one command
amixer set PCM 80% unmute
Set the left and right channel volumes separately
amixer set Master 70%,60%
Set the capture (microphone) volume to 75%
amixer set Capture 75%
Toggle the microphone capture
amixer set Capture toggle
Get all playback controls
amixer scontrols
Get all values for all simple controls
amixer scontents
Use a specific device by name
amixer -D hw:0 set Master 80%
Show detailed information
amixer -D hw:0 info

Try It Yourself

Practice makes perfect! The best way to learn is by trying these examples on your own system with real files.

Understanding Syntax

Pay attention to the syntax coloring: commands, options, and file paths are highlighted differently.

Notes

Common Commands:

The amixer utility accepts the following commands:

  • get CONTROL: Display settings for the specified CONTROL
  • set CONTROL VALUE: Adjust the value of the specified CONTROL
  • scontrols: Show all simple mixer controls
  • scontents: Show contents of all simple mixer controls
  • controls: Show all controls for the mixer
  • contents: Show contents of all controls for the mixer
  • info: Show info about the mixer

Adjusting Controls:

When using the set command, you can specify values in several ways:

  • set Master 80%: Set volume to 80%
  • set Master 3dB: Set volume to +3dB (if supported by hardware)
  • set Master 10%-: Decrease volume by 10%
  • set Master 5%+: Increase volume by 5%
  • set Master 1+: Increase volume by 1 step
  • set Master 2-: Decrease volume by 2 steps
  • set Master mute: Mute the control
  • set Master unmute: Unmute the control
  • set Master toggle: Toggle between mute and unmute

Channel Control:

You can adjust individual channels using comma-separated values:

  • set Master 80%,70%: Set left channel to 80% and right channel to 70%
  • set Capture 90%,80%,85%: Set three channels to different values
  • set Mic cap: Enable capture for the microphone (for recording)
  • set Mic nocap: Disable capture for the microphone

Finding Available Controls:

Before adjusting audio settings, you may need to know what controls are available:

# List all simple controls
amixer scontrols

# List all controls with current values
amixer scontents

# List controls for a specific card
amixer -c 1 scontrols

Common Controls:

Most sound cards have these common controls:

  • Master: Overall output volume
  • PCM: Digital volume control for playback
  • Headphone: Volume for headphone output
  • Speaker: Volume for built-in speakers
  • Capture: Main recording input level
  • Mic: Microphone input level
  • Line: Line input level
  • Auto-Mute Mode: Automatic muting of speakers when headphones are connected

Scripting with amixer:

Amixer is often used in scripts for audio control. Some examples:

# Check if Master is muted
if amixer get Master | grep -q '[off]'; then
  echo "Sound is muted"
fi

# Get current volume percentage
volume=$(amixer get Master | grep -o '[0-9]*%' | head -1)
echo "Current volume: $volume"

# Create a simple volume increase script
#!/bin/bash
amixer -q set Master 5%+

Sound Card Selection:

If you have multiple sound cards:

  • Use -c CARD or --card CARD to select a specific card by number
  • Use -D DEVICE or --device DEVICE to select a device by name
  • List available cards with aplay -l or cat /proc/asound/cards

Saving Settings:

Like alsamixer, amixer doesn't save settings between reboots. To save settings:

# After making changes with amixer, save them
sudo alsactl store

Important Notes:

  • Amixer requires the alsa-utils package to be installed
  • On systems using PulseAudio or PipeWire, changes made with amixer may be overridden
  • For PulseAudio systems, consider using pactl or pacmd commands instead
  • Amixer provides a more script-friendly interface compared to alsamixer
  • The available controls vary significantly between different sound cards
  • Some controls may have non-obvious names specific to your hardware

Common Use Cases

Command-line audio control

Control audio levels and settings from scripts and command line

Audio automation

Automate audio configuration changes in scripts and applications

System integration

Integrate audio control into system administration scripts

Audio device management

Switch between audio devices and configure their settings

Volume automation

Create scripts to automatically adjust volume based on conditions

Related Commands

These commands are frequently used alongside amixer or serve similar purposes:

alsamixer
alsactl
aplay
arecord
pactl
pacmd
pavucontrol
Explore All Commands

Use Cases

1

Command-line audio control

Control audio levels and settings from scripts and command line

2

Audio automation

Automate audio configuration changes in scripts and applications

3

System integration

Integrate audio control into system administration scripts

4

Audio device management

Switch between audio devices and configure their settings

5

Volume automation

Create scripts to automatically adjust volume based on conditions

Learn By Doing

The best way to learn Linux commands is by practicing. Try out these examples in your terminal to build muscle memory and understand how the amixer command works in different scenarios.

See ExamplesTry Lab Exercises
$ amixer
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