qjackctl(1)

🌸 qjackctl — the manual page, but make it cute 🌸

okay bestie, so this is the qjackctl(1) page from the General Commands Manual, and I'm gonna walk you through it like we're on a call and I'm screensharing my terminal 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

qjackctl — a user interface for controlling JACK (the Jack Audio Connection Kit). yes that JACK. the audio server one. iconic behavior honestly 🎧

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

qjackctl [options]

that's it. that's the whole vibe check. you run it, you give it options, she serves 💖

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so real talk, this manual page documents briefly the command-line options of qjackctl. brief. quick. a lil snack, not the whole meal 🍓

QjackCtl is the app you use for controlling the Jack Audio Connection Kit (JACK), and it also does double duty as a patchbay for ALSA MIDI and JACK MIDI devices. the range?? unmatched ✨

it also has support for the JACK transport control protocol, so bestie you can literally use it to start and stop the JACK transport. yes. that. 🔥

and once you start qjackctl, you get presented with a single GUI window, and honestly? the buttons are self-explanatory and they have tooltips. no tutorial needed, you just know 🫶

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

one bullet per flag, no skips, we're not cutting corners in this house 💅

• -s, --start — Start the JACK audio server immediately. like, right now. no waiting. go 🏃♀️
• -p, --preset=[label] — Set the default settings preset name. you're naming your preset, bestie ✨
• -a, --active-patchbay=[path] — Set the active patchbay definition file. give it a path 🛣️
• -n, --server-name=[label] — Set the default JACK audio server name. it's a label, pick a cute one 🎀
• -?, --help — Displays help on command-line options. the classic. the icon 👑
• -v, --version — Show version information. know your version, love your version 🦋

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✨ D-BUS INTERFACE ✨

to use the D-Bus interface commands shown below, you gotta enable 'Setup > Misc > Other > Enable D-Bus interface' first. it's not on by default, so go flip that switch, babe 🔘

then you get all of these:

dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.start
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.stop
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.reset
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.main
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.messages
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.status
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.session
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.connections
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.patchbay
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.graph
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.rewind
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.backward
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.play
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.pause
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.forward
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.setup
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.about
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.quit
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.preset string:[label]
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.active-patchbay
string:[path]
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.load
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.save
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.savequit
dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.savetemplate

and yes, those last few keep their line breaks exactly like that — the preset one carries string:[label] and the active-patchbay one carries string:[path] on the following line. don't @ me, that's just how it's written 💀

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• jackd(1) — go read that one too, bestie, they're a package deal 🫶

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✨ FILES ✨

configuration settings are stored in:

~/.config/rncbc.org/QjackCtl.conf

that's your config home. your lil sanctuary 🌸

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✨ AUTHOR ✨

QjackCtl was written by Rui Nuno Capela. legend behavior, no cap 👑

this manual page was written by Guenter Geiger <geiger@debian.org>, for the Debian project — but like, it may be used by others too. sharing is caring 💜

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and that's the whole page!! it came from the General Commands Manual and it's dated April 16, 2026 — so like, very much current, very much relevant. go control that JACK, bestie. slay 💅✨🎀