Quick and easy Virtual Microphone for Linux.

[shadowofdarkness]

I figured out a easy method to make a virtual microphone on Linux for use with the virtual camera in OBS and thought I should share it to help others.
This requires the use of Pipewire as your audio system.
Just run the following four commands to create it. Of course you can save it as a shell script for after a reboot

pactl load-module module-null-sink media.class=Audio/Sink sink_name=Virtual-Mic channel_map=front-left,front-right
pactl load-module module-null-sink media.class=Audio/Source/Virtual sink_name=Virtual-Mic channel_map=front-left,front-right
pw-link Virtual-Mic:monitor_FL Virtual-Mic:input_FL
pw-link Virtual-Mic:monitor_FR Virtual-Mic:input_FR

Then in OBS go to "advanced audio properties" and set all of your audio devices to "Monitor and Output"
In OBS settings go to the audio section and set the monitoring device to the Virtual-Mic
Finally change your video chat program to use the new microphone

 

[imdom]

thank you for this :) this is a big help beyond just OBS

 

[dazigion]

pactl load-module module-null-sink media.class=Audio/Sink sink_name=Obs-Mic channel_map=front-left,front-right pactl set-default-source Obs-Mic.monitor #insert obs launch
i used this three commands, a reference from yours thanks!

 

[KaKi87]

This requires the use of Pipewire as your audio system.

How do I find out what audio system my distro is using ? Thanks

 

[jcubic]

Ok but what to do with this Virtual Microphone?

 

[jcubic]

Ok but what to do with this Virtual Microphone?

OK Found myself how to connect different sources in QJackCTL.

 

[coby2k]

I've been banging my head against the wall trying to find an answer to this, and finally found a simple method that works for me! See this guy's video: https://youtu.be/pEUGr_OwQKw?si=12UJ4lrepm7RbN2_

He walks you through every step and it's not too lengthy. Be sure to leave a nice comment for him and share with others; a solution this simple needs to be shared.

Overview of his method involves:

• Using Pulse Audio (was already on my Linux Mint system AFAIK).
• Install Pulse Audio Volume Control (use your software manager for this).
• Run a simple shell script that he provides.
• Change a couple of settings in Pulse Audio Volume Control.
• Change a couple of settings in OBS.

Tested and working for me on Linux Mint 21.1, OBS Studio 27.2.3+dfsg1-1 (64bit). This a life saver for me because I use OBS for live noise removal and delay on my mic so I can sync that audio with my slow camera hdmi capture.