pactl:tldr:f6356

The "pactl list ${sinks} short" command is used to retrieve a short list of audio sinks (output devices) using the PulseAudio sound server.

Here's a breakdown of the command:

• "pactl" is the command-line interface for managing the PulseAudio sound server in Linux.
• "list" is the subcommand used to list various objects accessible by the PulseAudio sound server, such as sinks, sources, clients, etc.
• "${sinks}" is a variable enclosed in curly braces. This suggests that the value of the variable "sinks" is passed as an argument to the "list" subcommand. The actual value of the "sinks" variable would be replaced when executing the command.
• "short" is an option that is part of the "list" subcommand. It specifies that the short form of the output should be displayed. The short form typically provides only essential information about the sinks.

Overall, this command would list the sinks (output devices) available in PulseAudio in a concise format, providing essential information about each sink. The variable "${sinks}" needs to be replaced with the actual value representing the sinks you want to list.