CLI

SoundSwitch includes a command-line interface (SoundSwitch.CLI) for advanced users who want to control audio devices, manage profiles, and automate device switching through scripts.

All commands accept --json for machine-readable output; failures in JSON mode print a JSON object with an error field and exit with code 1.

Available Commands

The CLI provides the following capabilities:

• Switch devices — Cycle through available playback or recording devices.
• Mute microphone — Toggle or set the mute state of the default communication microphone.
• Manage profiles — Switch between saved audio profiles or list available profiles.
• Access settings — Open the SoundSwitch settings window.
• Check status — Display the active profile and current default audio endpoints (playback, recording, and communication).
• List devices — Show devices that are both active and selected for switching in SoundSwitch settings.

Using the CLI

Run SoundSwitch.CLI.exe --help (or --version) from the command line to see all available commands and their syntax. The CLI communicates with the main SoundSwitch process via IPC, so the main application should be running.

Examples

Command	Description
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe switch --type Playback	Cycle to the next playback device.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe switch --type Recording	Cycle to the next recording device.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe switch --type Playback --json	Cycle to the next playback device and print JSON status.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe mute --toggle	Toggle the microphone mute state.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe mute --state false	Unmute the microphone.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe mute --json	Print the current microphone mute state as JSON.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe profile --list	List all available audio profiles.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe profile --list --json	List all available audio profiles as JSON.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe profile --name "Gaming"	Activate the "Gaming" audio profile.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe status	Show active profile and current default audio devices.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe status --json	Show active profile and current devices in machine-readable JSON.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe devices	List devices selected for switching (active and selected in settings).
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe devices --json	List switchable devices in machine-readable JSON.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe settings	Open the SoundSwitch settings window.
SoundSwitch.CLI.exe settings --json	Open the SoundSwitch settings window and print the result as JSON.

For the full list of commands and options, run SoundSwitch.CLI.exe --help or see the SoundSwitch.CLI README on GitHub.

JSON Output

When used with --json, each command produces machine-readable JSON output. The most commonly scripted commands are shown below.

status --json

{
  "activeProfile": "Gaming",
  "playbackDevice": "Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)",
  "recordingDevice": "Microphone (USB Audio Device)",
  "playbackCommunicationDevice": "Headset Earphone (HyperX Cloud II)",
  "recordingCommunicationDevice": "Headset Microphone (HyperX Cloud II)"
}

activeProfile is null when no profile has been triggered since startup.

Device fields are empty strings ("") when no matching device is present.

devices --json

{
  "playbackDevices": [
    "Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)",
    "Headset Earphone (HyperX Cloud II)"
  ],
  "recordingDevices": [
    "Microphone (USB Audio Device)"
  ]
}

profile --list --json

[
  {
    "name": "Gaming",
    "playbackDevice": "Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)",
    "playbackCommunicationDevice": "Headset Earphone (HyperX Cloud II)",
    "recordingDevice": "Microphone (USB Audio Device)",
    "recordingCommunicationDevice": "Headset Microphone (HyperX Cloud II)"
  }
]

Action commands (switch, mute, settings, profile --name) return simpler responses: { "success": true, ... }, { "deviceName": "...", "isMuted": false }, or { "success": true }. On any failure in --json mode, the CLI prints { "error": "..." } to stdout and exits with code 1.