Lichen 🎧

Multi-headphone audio router for Linux

Lichen is a GTK4 application that lets you route audio to multiple Bluetooth headphones simultaneously and mix multiple microphones into a single virtual input. Perfect for pair programming, shared listening sessions, or video calls with multiple participants.

Features

• Combined Output: Route system audio to multiple headphones/speakers at once
• Mixed Input: Combine multiple TRRS microphones into one virtual source
• Simple Interface: Click to select devices, then create routes
• PipeWire/PulseAudio: Works with modern Linux audio stacks

Use Cases

• 🎧 Two people listening to the same audio in their own earbuds
• 🎤 Both users' mics mixed for remote calls (the remote team hears everyone)
• 🎬 Shared movie watching with individual volume control
• 💻 Pair programming with shared audio

Requirements

• GTK 4.0
• libadwaita 1.x
• GJS (GNOME JavaScript)
• PulseAudio or PipeWire (with PulseAudio compatibility)

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S gtk4 libadwaita gjs

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt install gjs libgtk-4-1 libadwaita-1-0 gir1.2-gtk-4.0 gir1.2-adw-1

Fedora

sudo dnf install gtk4 libadwaita gjs

Usage

# Run directly
./lichen.js

# Or with gjs
gjs lichen.js

How to Use

1. Select Output Devices: Click on 2+ headphones/speakers in the left panel
2. Create Combined Output: Click "Create Combined Output" to route audio to all selected devices
3. Select Input Devices: Click on 2+ microphones
4. Create Mixed Input: Click "Create Mixed Input" to combine mics into one virtual source
5. Set as Default: The app automatically sets the combined sink/source as default

How It Works

Lichen uses PulseAudio/PipeWire modules to create virtual audio devices:

• Combined Sink (module-combine-sink): Creates a virtual output that mirrors audio to multiple physical outputs
• Mixed Source (module-null-sink + module-loopback): Creates a virtual input that combines multiple physical inputs

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+R	Refresh device list
Ctrl+Q	Quit

License

MIT

lichen