#!/sbin/openrc-run
description="Pipewire network manager"
command="/usr/bin/wireplumber"
supervisor=supervise-daemon
error_logger="logger -t '${RC_SVCNAME}' -p daemon.error"
depends() {
	use dbus
}

One for Pipewire:

#!/sbin/openrc-run
description="Pipewire Audio System"
command="/usr/bin/pipewire -v"
supervisor=supervise-daemon
error_logger="logger -t '${RC_SVCNAME}' -p daemon.error"
# For whatever reason this stupid thing only works before $DISPLAY is
# set when you do this terribleness
supervise_daemon_args="-1  /dev/null -2 /dev/null"
export PIPEWIRE_NOTIFICATION_FD=3
notify=fd:3
depend() {
	need dbus
	need wireplumber
	before pipewire-pulse
}

One for PW-Pulse:

#!/sbin/openrc-run
description="PulseAudio compatibility layer for PipeWire"
command="/usr/bin/pipewire-pulse"
supervisor=supervise-daemon
error_logger="logger -t '${RC_SVCNAME}' -p daemon.error"
# see /etc/user/init.d/pipewire for my thoughts on the matter
supervise_daemon_args="-1  /dev/null -2 /dev/null"
export PIPEWIRE_PULSE_NOTIFICATION_FD=3
notify=fd:3
depend() {
	need pipewire wireplumber
}

This, combined with a Dbus user-service in my ~/.config/rc/runlevels/default directory, lets me run Pipewire without having to specify it in 50 different autostart and rc files - in fact, I'm pretty sure I don't even need to run a graphical session to use it. It isn't quite init-agnostic, but there is a reason why Linux needed to move beyond SysV to begin with.

(I think that order matters in the configuration file too, though... On my system I have to swap the two lines, to get pipewire-pulse running)

context.exec = [ { path = "/usr/bin/pipewire" args = "-c pipewire-pulse.conf" } ]

context.exec = [ { path = "/usr/bin/wireplumber" args = "" } ]

And then an /etc/xdg/autostart/pipewire.desktop because as it stands, if you install a desktop environment like KDE you don't have sound until you write a similar configuration or start them individually as autostart files. This is bad to have after installing a fully functional DE. Having a package like this install with the DE would make sound work as expected, and you don't need a wrapper this way.

exec-once = wireplumber &
exec-once = pipewire &
exec-once = pipewire-pulse &

I didn't run bluetooth back in the Debian sysv days before systemd so wasn't sure.

mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
nano ~/.config/autostart/pipewire.desktop

add this to the file:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=PipeWire
Exec=sh -c 'pipewire & pipewire-pulse & wireplumber &'
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true

Then:

chmod +x ~/.config/autostart/pipewire.desktop

Wanted to record how I got Pipewire sound working in Hyprland on Devuan 6 Excalibur.

Within /home/$USER/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf:

...
#################
### AUTOSTART ###
#################

# Autostart necessary processes (like notifications daemons, status bars, etc.)
# Or execute your favorite apps at launch like this:

# pipewire on devuan openrc (after installing pipewire-audio)
exec-once = wireplumber &
exec-once = pipewire &
exec-once = pipewire-pulse &
...

Obviously, this is based on OP's initial post/script. Thanks OP.

---

NOTE: For whatever reason, screensharing isn't working. I've been trying to look at the pipewire article on the Gentoo wiki (I'm using OpenRC), and the screensharing article on the Hyprland wiki to see what I can experiment with. Previously on OpenMandriva Lx (systemd distro) where Pipewire was working OOTB. Now that I have Pipewire launching, I'm curious what exactly is missing here where I can't screenshare.

I think it might have to do with this "xdg-desktop-portals" thing.

Curious when Xlibre is working on my system again if that will still be the case.

I figured out a workaround for now. I saved a reasonable set of defaults to a file using alsactl, then put a line in my .xsessionrc to load these settings on a delay at startup. It isn't really a "fix," as it still resets my mixer settings every time I start an X session, but at least it loads a set of defaults that actually works.

Sorry, can't help you.

On my ToDo list I still have the task to switch to the script as shown in the Excalibur release notes.

yeh, why do we even bother writing software right?

Is that more sarcasm? It's hard to tell on the internet. But here's something I read lately that helps me:

Manifesto for Creation

    Make Without Permission

    Assume invisibility. The world is flooded. No one seeing your work is normal.

    Create for yourself first. The act is its own reward; the archive is your own treasure.

    Separate making from showing. Build as if no one will ever see it — because often, they won’t.

    Think in decades, not days. Your work might find its audience years later.

    Plant seeds without knowing where they’ll root.

    Value the one over the many. A single genuine connection outweighs a thousand empty views.

    Use obscurity as freedom. No audience means no pressure — this is your laboratory phase.

    Release and let go. You don’t control who finds the signal in the noise. Your job is to send it.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I would be happy if I could figure out how to either disable it, or set new "sane" defaults. Why would it do this in the first place? Obviously, wherever I left the mixer settings when I logged out would be where I wanted them to be when I logged back in!