play_stdin.sh

Stream audio via UNIX pipes

This simple set of scripts allows streaming audio between two Linux machines, for example, a laptop and a Raspberry Pi. No audio backends such as Pulseaudio or JACK are required, the list of dependencies is very small.

Requirements (server)

• ncat (from nmap)
• ffplay

Requirements (client)

• netcat (any)

Instructions

Server

Get the script

SSH into your server, and download the scripts via git:

git clone https://github.com/connor-brooks/play_stdin.sh.git

Install dependancies

If you're using a Raspberry Pi:

sudo apt-get install ffplay nmap

Configure (optional)

With the text editor of you choice, edit line 2 of play_stdin_server.sh and change the CONTROLLER_PORT variable to whatever port you want, for example run:

nano play_stdin_server.sh

Change the port number, and save.

Run the server

To start the server, run the following command: ./play_stdin_server.sh &

You can now disconnect from the Raspberry Pi, but before you do, make sure to take note of your servers IP address, buy running the following:

sudo ifconfig

Generally your ip address will be in the format of 192.168.xxx.xxx

Client

Get the script

git clone https://github.com/connor-brooks/play_stdin.sh.git

Configure:

Using the text editor of your choice, edit line 2 and 3 of play_stdin.sh to match the port and IP of your server.

Play some music

cat music.mp3 | ./play_stdin.sh &

Where music.mp3 is the song you'd like to play.

Play and pause

To pause from your client:

./play_stdin.sh TOGGLE

Or to stop the stream:

./play_stdin.sh STOP

Notes

• You can easily bind the toggle and stop commands using xbindkeys for a more seamless experience
• It is possible to stream any audio format supported by FFmpeg
• If you are using netcat-traditional or netcat-openbsd on your server you may run into some issues, it is recommended to use ncat from the nmap package