run apps using audio in a docker container

Question

This question is inspired by Can you run GUI apps in a docker container?.

The basic idea is to run apps with audio and ui (vlc, firefox, skype, ...)

I was se

Answer 1

After trying most of the solutions described here I found only PulseAudio over network to be really working. However you can make it safe by keeping the authentication.

1. Install paprefs (on host machine):

   $ apt-get install paprefs
   

2. Launch paprefs (PulseAudio Preferences) > Network Server > [X] Enable network access to local sound devices.

3. Restart PulseAudio:

   $ service pulseaudio restart
   

4. Check it worked or restart machine:

   $ (pax11publish || xprop -root PULSE_SERVER) | grep -Eo 'tcp:[^ ]*'
   tcp:myhostname:4713
   

Now use that socket:

$ docker run \
    -e PULSE_SERVER=tcp:$(hostname -i):4713 \
    -e PULSE_COOKIE=/run/pulse/cookie \
    -v ~/.config/pulse/cookie:/run/pulse/cookie \
    ...

Check that the user running inside the container has access to the cookie file ~/.config/pulse/cookie.

To test it works:

$ apt-get install mplayer
$ mplayer /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Right.wav

For more info may check Docker Mopidy project.