VR Audio Switcher

One-click audio management for VRChat.

You play VRChat on PC and want music from any app (Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, VLC, whatever) to play through your VRChat mic so friends can hear it. You also want independent volume control over what they hear vs. what you hear, and you want everything to switch back to your desktop speakers automatically when you take off the headset. That's exactly what this does.

Works with any VR headset: Quest (via Steam Link or Virtual Desktop), Index, Vive, Rift, or anything else with its own audio output.

What It Does

• Auto-detects VR by watching for a configurable process (defaults to vrserver.exe, works with SteamVR, Virtual Desktop, and others). Boots VoiceMeeter when VR starts, shuts it down when VR stops. Switches all your audio apps automatically.
• 3 audio modes with buttons in the mixer UI:
  • Desktop (green): music plays through your speakers, VoiceMeeter bypassed
  • Private (yellow): music in your headset only, mic stays clean
  • Public (red): music plays through your VRChat mic AND your headset
• Mixer UI with independent sliders for:
  • Music volume for others (what friends hear)
  • Music volume for you (what you hear in your headset)
  • Your voice volume in VRChat
  • Bass / Mid / Treble EQ
• Preset system for saving, loading, renaming, and reordering audio profiles with drag-and-drop
• VR-synced lifecycle: everything boots and shuts down with SteamVR automatically
• Tabbed interface: Mixer, Guide, Settings, and Help all in one window
• Auto-updater that checks for new versions on boot and from the Settings tab
• Clean uninstall via uninstall.bat (may show as just uninstall)

How It Works

                      ┌──────────────────────────────┐
  Physical Mic ─────► │  VoiceMeeter Banana           │
  (your headset mic)  │                               │
                      │  Strip[0] (Mic) ──► B1 ───────┼──► VRChat (mic input)
                      │                               │
  Any Audio App ────► │  Strip[3] (VAIO) ──► B2 ──────┼──► VR Headset (you hear)
  (Spotify, YouTube,  │         └──► B1 (if Public) ──┼──► VRChat (friends hear)
   VLC, browser, etc) │                               │
                      │  Mixer controls Strip/Bus     │
                      │  gains independently          │
                      └──────────────────────────────┘

  VRChat is automatically excluded. Its audio always stays on your headset.
  All other apps with active audio are switched together.

Desktop mode: All your apps output directly to your speakers (soundbar, headphones, etc). VoiceMeeter runs silently in the background with no effect.

VR modes: Every audio app on your system (except VRChat) is automatically routed to VoiceMeeter's virtual input (VAIO). VoiceMeeter sends the audio to B2 (your headset via "Listen to this device") and optionally B1 (VRChat mic). Doesn't matter if you're using Spotify, a browser, VLC, or anything else. They all get switched together. The Mixer UI controls the gain split so you can make music quieter for friends while keeping it loud for yourself.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Python 3.10+: python.org/downloads
• VoiceMeeter Banana (free): vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/banana
• Any VR headset: Quest, Index, Vive, Rift, etc. Just needs its own audio output device that shows up in Windows

Quick Start

1. Download

Download VR Audio Switcher (.zip)

2. Unblock and extract

Windows blocks files downloaded from the internet. You need to unblock the ZIP before extracting:

1. Open your Downloads folder
2. Find the file called vr-audio-switcher-main.zip (it may show as just vr-audio-switcher-main if extensions are hidden)
3. Right-click the ZIP file (not a folder, the file you just downloaded). A menu will appear. Click Properties
4. At the bottom of the General tab, check the Unblock checkbox → click OK
5. Now right-click the ZIP file again → Extract All → Extract
6. Open the extracted vr-audio-switcher-main folder (double-click into it)

You should see files like install.bat, README.md, setup_wizard.py, etc. If Windows hides extensions, they'll show as install, README, setup_wizard, etc. That's normal.

If you already extracted without unblocking: Delete the extracted folder, go back to the ZIP in Downloads, unblock it (steps 3-4 above), then extract again.

4. Run the installer

Double-click install.bat (if Windows hides extensions, it will just show as install). A green terminal window will appear, followed by the Setup Wizard.

5. Walk through the Setup Wizard

1. Make sure SteamVR (or your VR runtime) is running so your headset audio is available
2. Click Set Up Everything
3. The wizard downloads and installs everything automatically. Here's what to expect:
   • VoiceMeeter Banana will download, then its installer will pop up. You'll see a Windows security prompt (UAC) asking for permission -- click Yes. Then click Install in the VoiceMeeter installer window and wait for it to finish.
   • When VoiceMeeter finishes installing, the wizard automatically closes the installer windows and continues. A VB-Audio "Thank You" page may open in your browser -- you can close that.
   • If a PC restart is needed, the wizard will show a countdown, restart your PC, and re-launch itself after reboot to pick up where it left off. If no restart is needed, it moves straight to the next step.
   • The wizard then downloads a small audio routing tool (svcl.exe) and installs Python packages. This takes a few seconds.
   • Finally it detects your audio devices.
4. Once everything is installed, pick your microphone and VR headset audio from the dropdowns. If your headset audio doesn't appear, make sure SteamVR is running and click Refresh Devices.
5. Click Finish Setup. You'll see one more security prompt (UAC) to configure audio routing -- click Yes.
6. Click Launch

6. Set your VRChat mic (one time)

Open VRChat and go to Settings > Audio > Microphone and select "Voicemeeter Out B1". You only need to do this once.

7. You're done

The app runs silently in the background and springs to life when SteamVR starts. It launches VoiceMeeter, opens the mixer UI, routes all your audio, and shuts everything down cleanly when VR stops.

Manual Setup

If you prefer to configure manually instead of using the wizard:

1. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Download svcl-x64.zip from NirSoft, extract svcl.exe into the project directory.

3. Find your device IDs by running:

   svcl.exe /scomma "" /Columns "Name,Command-Line Friendly ID,Type,Direction,Device State"

4. Create config.json:

   {
     "poll_interval_seconds": 3,
     "vr_process": "vrserver.exe",
     "exclude_processes": ["vrchat.exe"],
     "svcl_path": "svcl.exe",
     "vr_device": "<VoiceMeeter VAIO Friendly ID from svcl>",
     "debounce_seconds": 5,
     "music_strip": 3,
     "vrchat_mic_confirmed": false
   }

   • vr_process: The process name that indicates VR is running. Defaults to vrserver.exe (SteamVR). Virtual Desktop and most PCVR launchers start this process automatically. If your setup uses something different, change it here.
   • exclude_processes: Apps whose audio should NOT be switched (VRChat is always excluded). All other audio apps are switched automatically.
   • vr_device: The svcl Friendly ID for "Voicemeeter Input" (look for VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO\Device\Voicemeeter Input\Render).
   • You can also add apps to the exclusion list later from the Settings tab.

5. Create vm_devices.json with your mic device name (as shown in VoiceMeeter):

   {
     "Strip[0]": "Microphone (Your Mic Device Name)"
   }

6. Set up VoiceMeeter Banana:

   • Strip[0] hardware input: your microphone
   • Strip[3] (VAIO): this is where all app audio arrives, no setup needed
   • Enable "Listen to this device" on Voicemeeter Out B2 in Windows Sound settings, targeting your VR headset's audio output

7. Run:

   pythonw vr_audio_switcher.py

VoiceMeeter "Listen to this device" Setup

The setup wizard configures this automatically (with a UAC prompt). If it fails or you need to do it manually:

1. Open Windows Sound Settings > More sound settings
2. Go to the Recording tab
3. Find Voicemeeter Out B2 (VB-Audio VoiceMeeter VAIO)
4. Right-click > Properties > Listen tab
5. Check "Listen to this device"
6. Set playback device to your VR headset's audio output (e.g. Steam Streaming Speakers, Index speakers, etc.)
7. Click OK

This setting persists across reboots. You only need to do it once.

Modes Explained

Mode	Button	Audio Apps Output	Music in Headset	Music in VRChat Mic	Use Case
Desktop	Green	Your speakers	No	No	Normal desktop use
Private	Yellow	VoiceMeeter	Yes	No	Personal listening in VR
Public	Red	VoiceMeeter	Yes	Yes	DJ mode, friends hear your music

Mixer

The mixer opens automatically when SteamVR starts. Use the tabs to switch between Mixer, Guide, Settings, and Help.

Volume sliders (-100% to +100%):

• Music for Others: what friends hear through your VRChat mic (Public mode only)
• Music for Me: what you hear in your VR headset
• My Voice: your mic volume in VRChat

EQ sliders (0% to 100%):

• Bass, Mid, Treble. Shape the music before it hits VRChat.

Presets:

• Click a preset to load it instantly
• Drag presets to reorder them
• Double-click a preset name to rename it
• Use the save icon to overwrite a preset with current settings
• "Save Current" creates a new preset from your current slider positions

Troubleshooting

No audio after VoiceMeeter restart: The app automatically saves and restores VoiceMeeter device assignments and gain settings. If audio is missing, close the app (X button > Shut Down Everything) and relaunch.

Mic not working in VRChat:

• Make sure VRChat's mic input is set to Voicemeeter Out B1 (not your physical mic)
• Check that Strip[0] in VoiceMeeter shows your physical mic as the input device
• Verify Strip[0].B1 routing is enabled (the app enforces this every 5 seconds)

Audio apps not switching:

• At least one audio app (Spotify, Chrome, etc.) must be playing or have an active audio session
• The app uses svcl.exe for per-app audio routing. Make sure it's in the project directory.
• Check switcher.log for errors
• Open the Settings tab to check if the app is accidentally excluded

"svcl.exe not found": Run python setup_wizard.py to download it, or manually download svcl-x64.zip and extract svcl.exe to the project directory.

Antivirus flags svcl.exe: NirSoft tools are sometimes flagged as false positives by antivirus software. svcl.exe is a legitimate Windows audio management utility. You may need to add an exception in your antivirus.

Architecture

File	Purpose
vr_audio_switcher.py	Core app: VR-synced lifecycle, VoiceMeeter control, audio switching
mixer.py	Tabbed UI: mixer sliders, guide, settings, help
splash.py	Boot/shutdown splash screen with status updates
setup_wizard.py	First-run setup: device detection, config generation, svcl download
updater.py	Auto-updater: checks GitHub releases, downloads and applies updates
vm_path.py	VoiceMeeter detection: finds DLL/EXE via Windows registry
config.json	User config: device IDs, polling settings
vm_devices.json	Persisted VoiceMeeter device assignments
vm_state.json	Persisted VoiceMeeter gain/EQ values
presets.json	User-saved mixer presets
state.json	Runtime state (current mode, VR active)

Credits

• VoiceMeeter Banana by VB-Audio, the audio routing engine
• SoundVolumeCommandLine (svcl) by NirSoft, per-app audio device switching

License

GPL v3. Free for everyone, forever. See LICENSE.