# PipeWire changelog

> Audio and video server for Linux, handling routing, capture and low-latency processing.

- Vendor: PipeWire
- Category: Media
- License: MIT
- Official site: https://pipewire.org
- Tracked by: What's New (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire)
- Harvested from: GitLab (gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire)
- Entries below: 11 (newest first)

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

## Releases

### 1.6.9

- Date: 2026-09-17
- Version: 1.6.9
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.9
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.9

- **fixed** — Fix RAOP encryption for OpenSSL >= 3
- **fixed** — Fix netjack2 discovery timeout
- **fixed** — Fix potential truncated audio in RAOP
- **fixed** — Fix potential metadata update problems
- **fixed** — Fix RAOP over TCP
- **fixed** — Fix potential overflows in client node buffer checks
- **added** — Add node.network=true to network sinks and sources so that pavucontrol and others don't wake them up
- **fixed** — Fix opus audio info type
- **changed** — Tweak the upsample cutoff frequencies to preserve more high frequencies when upsampling
- **fixed** — Fix filter-graph property notification in some cases
- **removed** — Remove limits on filter-graph descriptions in audioconvert
- **changed** — Improve dynamic reconfiguration of filter-graphs in audioconvert
- **changed** — Improve passthrough format handling in audioconvert
- **changed** — Improve the FC and LFE volumes when upmixing is enabled
- **fixed** — Fix v4l2 controls when one can not be read
- **changed** — Require 0.6.0 libcamera now
- **changed** — Improve format filtering in v4l2
- **fixed** — Fix potential crash with the active_port_name
- **fixed** — Fix potential leak when transport fails to start
- **fixed** — Fix potential crash when cleaning up iso-io transport

#### PipeWire 1.6.9 (2026-09-17)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Improve JACK object callbacks, avoid reporting old removed objects.
  - Tweak the resampler cutoff frequencies to preserve more high frequencies
    when upsampling.
  - More small fixes and improvements.

##### Modules
  - Fix RAOP encryption for OpenSSL >= 3. (#5370)
  - Fix netjack2 discovery timeout.
  - Fix potential truncated audio in RAOP.
  - Fix potential metadata update problems. (#5445)
  - Fix RAOP over TCP.
  - Fix potential overflows in client node buffer checks. (#5462)
  - Add node.network=true to network sinks and sources so that
    pavucontrol and others don't wake them up. (#3268)

##### SPA
  - Fix opus audio info type.
  - Tweak the upsample cutoff frequencies to preserve more high frequencies
    when upsampling. (#5390)
  - Fix filter-graph property notification in some cases.
  - Remove limits on filter-graph descriptions in audioconvert.
  - Improve dynamic reconfiguration of filter-graphs in audioconvert.
  - Improve passthrough format handling in audioconvert.
  - Improve the FC and LFE volumes when upmixing is enabled.
  - Fix v4l2 controls when one can not be read.
  - Require 0.6.0 libcamera now.
  - Improve format filtering in v4l2.

##### Pulse-server
  - Don't let a pending sibling message starve capture.
  - Fix name of ALSA source.
  - Fix potential crash with the active_port_name. (#5435)

##### Bluetooth
  - Fix a potential leak when transport fails to start.
  - Fix potential crash when cleaning up iso-io transport.

##### JACK
  - Rework the object lookups to avoid removed objects from leaking. (#5356)

##### GStreamer
  - Add fixes for state changes and other lockups.

##### ALSA Plugin
  - Generate poll errors when stopping. (#5444)

##### Tools
  - Handle EOF correctly for encoded files in pw-cat.
  - Fix loopback channel and position handling.
  - Fix mp3 encoding in pw-record.
  - Support A-law in pw-record.

### 1.6.8

- Date: 2026-07-09
- Version: 1.6.8
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.8
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.8

- **fixed** — Fix a data race in JACK that could cause lost MIDI events in ardour
- **fixed** — Avoid some graph recalculations, which fixes a bug when suspending a node while it is active
- **fixed** — Do Content-Length and allocation check in RAOP to avoid OOM errors
- **fixed** — Fix a potential memory leak in the error path of client-node
- **fixed** — Fix filter-graph dynamic graph updates
- **fixed** — Avoid 100% CPU when unplugging a card
- **fixed** — Fix filter-graph volumes when the filter is loaded inside a node with hardware volume
- **added** — Add normalize and latency options to the SOFA filter
- **fixed** — Fix a potential leak when transport fails to start in Bluetooth
- **fixed** — Avoid stack exhaustion via unbounded alloca in Pulse-server
- **fixed** — Fix a data race in jack_port_get_buffer() when called from concurrent threads
- **fixed** — Skip invalid crop metadata in GStreamer
- **fixed** — Avoid crash in GStreamer because metadata listener was registered twice

#### PipeWire 1.6.8 (2026-07-09)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Fix a data race in JACK that could cause lost MIDI events in ardour.
  - Fix some unbounded memory allocations.
  - Various small fixes.


##### PipeWire
  - Avoid some graph recalcs, which fixes a bug when suspending a node
    while it is active.

##### Modules
  - Do Content-Length and allocation check in RAOP to avoid OOM errors.
  - Fix a potential memory leak in the error path of client-node. (#5348)

##### SPA
  - Fix filter-graph dynamic graph updates.
  - Avoid 100% when unplugging a card.
  - Fix filter-graph volumes when the filter is loaded inside a node with
    hardware volume. (#5344)
  - Add normalize and latency options to the SOFA filter. (#5322)

##### Bluetooth
  - Fix a potential leak when transport fails to start.

##### Pulse-server
  - Avoid stack exhaustion via unbounded alloca.

##### JACK
  - Fix a data race in jack_port_get_buffer() when called from concurrent
    threads, like in ardour. (#5324)

##### GStreamer
  - Skip invalid crop metadata.
  - Avoid crash because metadata listener was registered twice.

### 1.6.7

- Date: 2026-06-18
- Version: 1.6.7
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.7
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.7

- **fixed** — Fix a scheduler regression where some driver nodes would not run correctly and cause sync issues
- **fixed** — Fix a race issue with suspend on samplerate changes that can cause ports to be silent
- **fixed** — Fix locking issues in the RT portal by reducing the DBus timeout and disabling portal RT for pipewire and the pulse server
- **fixed** — Fix potential incorrect delay in combine-stream
- **fixed** — Fix a regression in ALSA period_size calculations for non-power-of-2 periods
- **fixed** — Fix a potential segfault when removing a card because of bad ALSA api usage
- **fixed** — Emit a route param update when card properties change to ensure jack port updates are reflected correctly
- **fixed** — Make sure we don't deal with uninitialized spa_dict

#### PipeWire 1.6.7 (2026-06-18)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous 1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights

- Fix a race issue where some ports would stay silent after a rate change.
- Fix sync regressions between ALSA cards in some cases.
- Small fixes and improvements.

##### PipeWire

- Fix a scheduler regression where some driver nodes would not run correctly and cause sync issues. (#5210)
- Fix a race issue with suspend on samplerate changes. It can cause ports to be silent. (#3547)

##### Modules

- There are some locking issues in the RT portal, for now reduce the DBus timeout to something more sane. Also disable portal RT for pipewire and the pulse server. These are not usually run in a sandbox and can go directly to RTKit.
- Fix potential incorrect delay in combine-stream.

##### SPA

- Fix a regression in ALSA period_size calculations. For non-power-of-2 periods, it would in some cases round down a a power-of-2, causing a mismatch between requested and configured period_size. (#5302)
- Fix a potential segfault when removing a card because of bad ALSA api usage. (#5255)
- Emit a route param update when card properties change. Otherwise, jack port updates are not always reflected correctly.

##### Misc

- Make sure we don't deal with uninitialized spa_dict.

### 1.6.6

- Date: 2026-05-26
- Version: 1.6.6
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.6
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.6

- **fixed** — Fix a bug in the server code that could leave snap clients without sound
- **changed** — Relax LADSPA path loading to allow absolute paths when loading modules from a config file, blocking them only in unsafe cases
- **fixed** — Fix volume restore issue in filter-graph when using custom volume controls
- **fixed** — Fix the meta permission check on metadata
- **fixed** — Make sure the server does not accept too many file descriptors
- **fixed** — Fix potential race condition with buffer allocation and Suspend
- **fixed** — Fix a regression in the dither noise that was silent when no input was available
- **fixed** — Fix volume initialization in filter-graph
- **fixed** — Be more careful with the stream suspend messages and only send them when the stream is monitoring
- **fixed** — Fix monitor mode in pavucontrol
- **fixed** — Fix midifile SysEx writing in pw-cat and ensure the header is written correctly on close
- **fixed** — Make sure pw-cat does not try to convert Midi to UMP

#### PipeWire 1.6.6 (2026-05-26)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous 1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights

- Fix a bug in the server code that could leave snap clients without sound. (#5270)
- Relax LADSPA path loading again, absolute paths are only blocked in unsafe cases.
- Fix a volume restore issue in filter-graph when using custom volume controls.
- Small fixes and improvements.

##### PipeWire

- Fix the meta permission check on metadata.
- Make sure we don't accept too many fds.
- Fix potential race with buffer allocation and Suspend. (#3547)

##### SPA

- Relax LADSPA path loading. Absolute paths are allowed when loading modules from a config file. They are now only blocked when loading the pulse ladspa modules and filter-chains in nodes because those can load ladspa plugins in other processes. (#5222)
- Fix a regression in the dither noise that was silent when no input was available. (#5260)
- Fix volume initialization in filter-graph. (#5192)

##### Pulse-server

- Fix a bug in the server code that could leave snap clients without sound. (#5270)
- Be more careful with the stream suspend messages and only send them when the stream is monitoring. (#5273)
- Fix monitor mode in pavucontrol.

##### Tools

- Fix midifile SysEx writing in pw-cat and ensure the header is written correctly on close.
- Make sure pw-cat does not try to convert Midi to UMP.

### 1.6.5

- Date: 2026-05-13
- Version: 1.6.5
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.5
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.5

- **fixed** — Fix an issue in pw-filter where buffers could end up stuck on a port and the port becomes silent
- **fixed** — Improve ROC receiver start/stop and fix memory leaks
- **removed** — Remove the pipe filter from filter-graph as it is broken by design and a security nightmare
- **fixed** — Fix the midi buffer size in jack-tunnel
- **fixed** — Rate limit out-of-buffers errors
- **fixed** — Partially revert the line-out mute patch that was breaking things and leaving audio muted when plugging-unplugging jacks
- **changed** — Improve renegotiation in audioconvert when the graph rate changes and the resampler was disabled
- **fixed** — Fix potential crash in alsa when logging
- **security** — Add extra security checks and hardening fixes to pulse-server

#### PipeWire 1.6.5 (2026-05-13)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Fix muted output in some cases.
  - Removed the pipe filter in filter-graph.
  - More fixes and improvements.


##### PipeWire
  - Fix an issue in pw-filter where it could end up in a loop where buffers
    are stuck on a port and the port becomes silent. (#5249)

##### Modules
  - Improve ROC receiver start/stop, fixes memory leaks. (#5250)
  - Remove the pipe filter from filter-graph, it's broken by design and a
    security nightmare.
  - Fix the midi buffer size in jack-tunnel.

##### SPA
  - Rate limit out-of-buffers errors. (#5249)
  - Partially revert the line-out mute patch, it seems to break things and leave
    audio muted when plugging-unplugging jacks.  (#5246)
  - Improve renegotiation in audioconvert when the graph rate changes and the
    resampler was disabled. (#4933).
  - Fix potential crash in alsa when logging.

##### Pulse-server
  - A whole bunch of extra security checks and hardening fixes.

### 1.6.4

- Date: 2026-04-22
- Version: 1.6.4
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.4
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.4

- **fixed** — Refuse to load plugins and crash when pw_init() was not called
- **fixed** — Fix LADSPA plugin loading, support LADSPA_PATH ending with /
- **fixed** — Fix segfault in alsa-seq when removing devices in some cases
- **changed** — Allow negative gain in mixer
- **changed** — Improve alsa-seq port names, add : between client and port
- **fixed** — ACP: don't override user-selected port on availability changes
- **fixed** — Ignore non DSP ports to avoid emitting extra callbacks in JACK
- **fixed** — Fix crop metadata in GStreamer
- **fixed** — Fix WAVEX saving in pw-cat

#### PipeWire 1.6.4 (2026-04-22)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Small improvements and seqfault fixes.
  - Try to not emit ports that JACK doesn't understand. Fixes glitches in
    ardour and other JACK apps.


##### PipeWire
  - Refuse to load plugins and crash when pw_init() was not called. (!2784)

##### SPA
  - Fix LADSPA plugin loading, support LADSPA_PATH ending with /
  - Fix segfault in alsa-seq when removing devices in some cases. (#5221)
  - Allow negative gain in mixer. (#5228)
  - Improve alsa-seq port names, add : between client and port. (#5229)
  - ACP: don’t override user-selected port on availability changes.

##### Bluetooth
  - Backport some important fixes and minor improvements.

##### JACK
  - Ignore non DSP ports to avoid emitting extra callbacks.

##### GStreamer
  - Fix crop metadata.

##### Tools
  - Fix WAVEX saving in pw-cat. (#5233)

### 1.6.3

- Date: 2026-04-09
- Version: 1.6.3
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.3
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.3

- **fixed** — Fix regression with sample rate changes
- **fixed** — Fix potential integer overflow in memory mapping
- **fixed** — Align RTP timestamps to make RAOP work on more devices
- **fixed** — Avoid crashes in RTP streams because of concurrent event emission
- **fixed** — Avoid invalid file descriptor usage in native-protocol with specially crafted messages
- **fixed** — Fix properties and params enumeration in filter-chain
- **fixed** — Fix compilation with -Werror=discarded-qualifiers
- **fixed** — Avoid out-of-bounds read in mix matrix
- **fixed** — Avoid loading plugins from absolute paths that are not in the search path
- **changed** — Avoid MIDI conversions to and from UMP to reduce conversions in most nodes
- **fixed** — Backport fixes and avoid crashes in Bluetooth
- **fixed** — Ensure timebase callback is never called with 0 frames in JACK
- **changed** — Increase the notify queue in JACK to avoid losing notifications

#### PipeWire 1.6.3 (2026-04-09)

##### Highlights
  - Fix some RAOP compatibility regressions.
  - Fix segfault in the mixer in some cases.
  - Most nodes now produce and consume MIDI1 again and avoid
    conversions to and from UMP.
  - Various small fixes and improvements.


##### PipeWire
  - Fix regression with sample rate changes. (#5207)
  - Fix a potential integer overflow in the memory mapping.

##### Modules
  - Align RTP timestamps to make RAOP work on more devices. (#5167)
  - Avoid crashes in RTP streams because of concurrent event
    emission.
  - Avoid invalid fd usage in native-protocol with special crafted
    messages.
  - Fix properties and params enumeration in filter-chain (#5202).

##### SPA
  - Fix compilation with -Werror=discarded-qualifiers
  - Avoid OOB read in mix matrix. (#5176)
  - Avoid loading plugins from absolute paths that are not in the
    search path.
  - Avoid MIDI conversions to and from UMP. (#5183)

##### Bluetooth
  - Backport some fixes and avoid some crashes.

##### JACK
  - Make sure timebase callback is never called with 0 frames.
  - Increase the notify queue to avoid losing notifications.

### 1.4.11

- Date: 2026-03-19
- Version: 1.4.11
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.4.11
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.4.11

- **fixed** — Fix potential invalid memory free and fd close in client-node causing crashes
- **changed** — Improve filter-graph setup and reset
- **changed** — Improve filter-graph multichannel handling
- **fixed** — Fix issues with filter-graph without channel layout
- **fixed** — Fix segfaults in JACK applications when jack_port_by_id() returns NULL
- **fixed** — Fix jack_port_type_id() compatibility with JACK1/2
- **fixed** — Fix jack-server port registration
- **added** — Add priority.session to sink/sources to make it possible to change the default device
- **changed** — Support link-local addresses in RAOP and snapcast
- **changed** — Mark libcamera properties as write-only
- **changed** — Improve the JSON parser to end a symbol at container start

#### PipeWire 1.4.11 (2026-03-19)

This is a small bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with
previous 1.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Fix a potential invalid memory free and fd close, causing crashes.
  - Improve filter-graph setup and channel handling.
  - Fix a segfault in some JACK apps (Ardour) when a lot of objects are
    created/destroyed because a function was not expected to return NULL.
  - Some more small fixes and improvements.


##### Modules
  - Add priority.session to some of the sink/sources to make it possible to
    change the default device. (#5125)
  - Support link-local addresses in RAOP and snapcast. (#4830)
  - Fix potential invalid mem and fd free in client-node. (#5162)

##### SPA
  - Improve filter-graph setup and reset.
  - Improve filter-graph multichannel handling. (#4866)
  - Fix some issues with filter-graph without channel layout. (#5084)
  - Mark libcamera properties as write-only.
  - Improve the JSON parser, container start ends a symbol.

##### JACK
  - Avoid segfaults because jack_port_by_id() returns NULL. (#3512)
  - Fix jack_port_type_id() compatibility with JACK1/2.
  - Fix jack-server port registration.

### 1.6.2

- Date: 2026-03-16
- Version: 1.6.2
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.2
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.2

- **fixed** — Prevent potential crash when invalid memory was freed
- **removed** — Remove optimization to skip shared memory in links that causes problems later
- **fixed** — Don't try to free invalid memory or close invalid file descriptors when the client aborted before allocating buffer memory
- **added** — Support ACP_IGNORE_DB in udev
- **changed** — Use 0x as a prefix for hex values
- **changed** — Mark Props as write-only in libcamera
- **changed** — Optimize audio mixer
- **fixed** — Fix initialization of control properties for SOFA and biquads in the filter-graph
- **fixed** — Fix min/max default values for LADSPA and LV2
- **fixed** — Fix jack_port_type_id() to return values compatible with JACK1/2

#### PipeWire 1.6.2 (2026-03-16)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Fix a potential crash when the wrong memory was freed.
  - Fix a optimization with shared memory over some links that could
    cause errors later on.
  - Fix SOFA filter and default control input in LADSPA and LV2.
  - Some other small fixes and improvements.


##### PipeWire
  - Remove an optimization to skip share mem in links, it causes problems
    later on. (#5159)

##### Modules
  - Don't try to free invalid memory or close invalid fds when the client
    aborted before allocating buffer memory. (#5162)

##### SPA
  - support ACP_IGNORE_DB in udev.
  - Use 0x as a prefix for hex values.
  - Mark Props as write-only in libcamera.
  - Small optimization in the audio mixer.
  - Fix initialization of control properties for SOFA and biquads in the
    filter-graph. (#5152)
  - Fix min/max default values for LADSPA and LV2.

##### JACK
  - Fix jack_port_type_id(). Return values that are compatible with JACK1/2.

Fixes:

fb47e739d9f605772b5098421a809537c108d30c Fix compilation

### 1.6.1

- Date: 2026-03-09
- Version: 1.6.1
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.1
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.1

- **fixed** — Fix socket activation, which could cause a failure to start PipeWire in some setups
- **fixed** — Fix crashes in many JACK apps when nodes/ports are quickly added/removed such as when there are notifications
- **fixed** — Fix playback of encoded formats in pw-cat
- **changed** — Remove node.link-group from driver nodes
- **fixed** — Fix the libcamera stop sequence
- **fixed** — Never return NULL from jack_port_by_id()
- **changed** — Improve the timestamps on buffers

#### PipeWire 1.6.1 (2026-03-09)

This is a bugfix release that is API and ABI compatible with the previous
1.6.x releases.

##### Highlights
  - Fix socket activation, which could cause a failure to start PipeWire in
    some setups.
  - Fix crashes in many JACK apps when nodes/ports are quickly added/removed
    such as when there are notifications (like when changing the volume in
    KDE).
  - Fix playback of encoded formats in pw-cat again.
  - Some other smaller fixes and improvements.

##### Modules
  - Fix socket activation. (#5140)
  - Remove node.link-group from driver nodes.

##### SPA
  - Fix the libcamera stop sequence.

##### JACK
  - Never return NULL from jack_port_by_id(). (#3512)

##### GStreamer
  - Improve the timestamps on buffers.

##### Tools
  - Fix playback of encoded formats. (#5155)


Suggested patches:

4c2692342efa7852cadd8535548a30745709e083 See #5159

### 1.6.0 — 1.6.0 (Penicillin)

- Date: 2026-02-19
- Version: 1.6.0
- Original notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.0
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/pipewire/releases/1.6.0

- **added** — Add LDAC decoder for bluetooth
- **added** — Add SpanDSP for bluetooth packet loss concealment
- **added** — Add safe parsing and building of PODs in shared memory
- **added** — Add support for metadata features to signal sync_timeline metadata RELEASE operation
- **added** — Add support for node commands and events to contain extra user data
- **added** — Add support for compressed format helper functions to create and parse formats
- **added** — Add support for audio channel layouts to set audio.layout instead of audio.position
- **added** — Add support for Capability Params to negotiate capabilities on a link
- **added** — Add more HDR colortypes
- **added** — Add configurable window functions such as blackman and kaiser windows to the resampler
- **added** — Add ffmpeg plugin for filter-graph to run audio AVFilterGraph
- **added** — Add ONNX plugin for filter-graph to run models such as silero VAD
- **added** — Add autoconnect ports support to jack-tunnel module
- **added** — Add multitrack layouts support to ROC
- **added** — Add rlimits configuration in the config file
- **added** — Add thread reset on fork configuration
- **added** — Add sysex and midiclip support to pw-cat
- **changed** — Increase max channels support to 128
- **changed** — Add locking with priority inversion to loops
- **changed** — Parse channel positions from EDID data
- **changed** — Set channel maps on ALSA
- **removed** — Remove support for v0 clients

#### PipeWire 1.6.0 (2026-02-19)

This is the 1.6 release that is API and ABI compatible with previous
1.4.x releases.

This release contains some of the bigger changes that happened since
the 1.4 release last year, including:

  * An LDAC decoder was added for bluetooth.
  * SpanDSP for bluetooth packet loss concealment.
  * Safe parsing and building of PODs in shared memory.
  * Added support for metadata features. This is used to signal that
    the sync_timeline metadata supports the RELEASE operation.
  * Node commands and events can contain extra user data.
  * Support for more compressed format helper functions to create
    and parse formats.
  * Support for compile time max channels. The max channels was
    increased to 128.
  * Support for audio channel layouts was added. This makes it possible
    to set "audio.layout" = "5.1" instead of the more verbose
    audio.position = [ FL, FR, FC, LFE, SL, SR ]
  * Support for Capability Params was added. This can be used to
    negotiate capabilities on a link before format and buffer
    negotiation takes place.
  * More HDR colortypes are added.
  * Loops now have locking with priority inversion. Most code was adapted
    to use the faster locks instead of epoll/eventfd to update shared state.
  * Channel position are parsed from EDID data.
  * Channel maps are now set on ALSA.
  * The resampler now supports configurable window functions such
    as blackman and kaiser windows. The phases are now also calculated
    with fixed point math, which makes it more accurate.
  * Many bluetooth updates and improvements.
  * The filter-graph has an ffmpeg and ONNX plugin. The ffmpeg plugin
    can run an audio AVFilterGraph. The ONNX plugin can run some models
    such as the silero VAD.
  * Many AVB updates. Work is ongoing to merge the Milan protocol.
  * Support for v0 clients was removed.
  * The jack-tunnel module can now autoconnect ports.
  * ROC support multitrack layouts now.
  * Many RTP updates.
  * rlimits can now be set in the config file.
  * Thread reset on fork can now be configured. JACK clients expect this
    to be disabled.
  * node.exclusive is now enforced.
  * node.reliable enables reliable transport.
  * pw-cat supports sysex and midiclip as well as some more uncompressed
    formats. Options were added to set the container and codec formats
    as well as list the supported containers, codecs, layouts and channel
    names.
  * Documentation updates.


##### Highlights (since the previous 1.5.85 prerelease)
  - Fix a 64 channel limit in the channel mixer.
  - Fix an fd leak in pulse-server in some error cases.
  - Some small fixes and improvements.


##### PipeWire
  - Fix Capability leaks.
  - Return an error in pw-stream get-time when not STREAMING.
  - Set the current time in the driver position before starting.
    Some followers might look at it.

##### Modules
  - Improve default channel handling in module-filter-chain.
  - Support source and sink only module-filter-chain.
  - Tweak the filter-chain spatializer example gains.
  - Handle new snapcast service type. (#5104)
  - Implement socket activation without depending on libsystemd.
  - Support ipv4 link-local addresses in RAOP and snapcast. (#4830)
  - Forward ROC-toolkit logs to pipewire.

##### SPA
  - Improve default channel handling in filter-graph. (#5084)
  - Clamp control values to min/max. (#5088)
  - Support mode JBL gaming headsets.
  - Handle some SOFA errors and add gain option.
  - Really handle more than 64 channels in the channelmixer. (#5118)
  - Allow removal in ALSA-udev of ignored cards.

#### pulse-server
  - Fix mono mixdown query.
  - Expose headset autoswitch message.
  - Handle EPROTO errors by disconnecting.
  - Handle timeouts in play-sample streams. (#5099)

##### GStreamer
  - Fix crop metadata.
  - Fix a race in the buffer release function.

##### Tools
  - Improve format support and detection in pw-cat.
  - Add some more options to pw-cat to list supported containers

_[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/releases/1.6.0]_