Helvum
Helvum is a free graphical patchbay for PipeWire on Linux.
What Helvum is
Helvum is a free graphical patchbay for PipeWire on Linux. It lets users create or remove links between applications and devices to route audio, video, and MIDI data. Its GTK-based interface takes inspiration from Catia, a patchbay tool for JACK. Helvum is available as a free Flatpak through Flathub, which provides builds for x86_64 and aarch64. The Flathub package is community-provided and marked unverified; its listing says it is not affiliated with or supported by the developers named there. The project README identifies GPL3 as its license. For manual compilation, listed dependencies include Meson, Rust, libclang 3.7 or higher, GTK 4.0, and PipeWire 0.3 development headers. The README recommends building through Flatpak to handle dependencies and reduce issues caused by differing system configurations. Volume control and a debug mode displaying advanced node and port information are described as planned features. The listed plan is free; there is no free trial.
Good
- Free graphical patchbay for PipeWire.
- Routes audio, video, and MIDI data.
- Flatpak builds are available for x86_64 and aarch64.
- Distributed under the GPL3 license.
Watch out
- Available platform is Linux.
- Flathub package is marked unverified.
- Volume control and debug mode are planned features.
Who it suits
Helvum suits Linux users who need a visual way to route audio, video, or MIDI between PipeWire applications and devices. It is also relevant to users comfortable installing a Flatpak or compiling software with the listed dependencies.
Verdict
Helvum provides a free visual interface for managing PipeWire connections across media types. Note that the Flathub package is community-provided and marked unverified.
Plans and prices
From Helvum's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Helvum | Free | Free software · graphical patchbay for PipeWire |
The facts
Each one read from Helvum's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Architectures
- The Flathub listing provides builds for x86_64 and aarch64.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Build dependencies
- The README lists Meson, Rust, libclang 3.7 or higher, and GTK 4.0 and PipeWire 0.3 development headers for manual compilation.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Connections
- Helvum lets users create and remove connections between applications and devices.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- Flathub lists Helvum as a free Linux Flatpak.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Flatpak build
- The README recommends building via Flatpak to handle dependencies and avoid problems from different system configurations.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Interface
- Helvum is a GTK-based patchbay inspired by the JACK tool Catia.checked 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The project README says Helvum is distributed under the GPL3 license.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Maintainers
- Flathub lists Tom A. Wagner and Naveen Prashanth as developers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Media types
- The connections can reroute audio, video, and MIDI data.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Package status
- Flathub marks its community-provided package as unverified and says it is not affiliated with or supported by the listed developers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Helvum is a graphical patchbay for PipeWire that routes audio, video, and MIDI data by creating or removing connections between applications and devices.checked 11 Oct 2026
Money
- Planned features
- The README lists volume control and a debug mode showing advanced information about nodes and ports as planned features.checked 11 Oct 2026
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