From 372b61dcce34778d8a8b59bc6f02a942455dc825 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Craig Jennings Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2026 18:06:06 -0500 Subject: docs: note that a running Emacs won't see a new ALSA config alsa-lib parses its configuration once per process, so an emacs --daemon started before the config landed keeps the old view. play-sound-file keeps failing there while it succeeds in a fresh emacs -Q, which reads as the system fix not having worked. Hit this on my own daemon after adding the pipewire default symlink: nine hours' uptime, still no usable default PCM. --- docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org | 11 +++++++++++ 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+) (limited to 'docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org') diff --git a/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org b/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org index 832fa9d..fe78aa0 100644 --- a/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org +++ b/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.org @@ -104,6 +104,17 @@ or when =chime-sound-player= is set to ='emacs=. Two fixes: #+END_SRC This one repairs every ALSA client on the machine, not just Emacs. +*** The system fix doesn't reach a running Emacs + +alsa-lib parses its configuration once per process. A long-running +=emacs --daemon= that started before you added the ALSA config keeps the old +view, so =play-sound-file= still fails there while it succeeds in a fresh +=emacs -Q=. Restart the daemon, or set =chime-sound-device= to a device that +was already defined ("pipewire" or "pulse" both work without the =default= +fix, because =50-pipewire.conf= defines them). + +This is worth knowing before you conclude the system fix didn't work. + On macOS, Emacs is built without sound support, so =play-sound-file= signals rather than playing. Chime uses =afplay=, which ships with the OS, so this only bites if =chime-sound-player= is forced to ='emacs=. -- cgit v1.2.3