🦶🔊 Foot Pedal Audio Switch

Tap a USB foot pedal to instantly switch your Windows sound between two outputs — headphones and speakers, for example. It runs silently in the background and starts with Windows, so switching audio is always one foot-tap away. No more digging through the sound menu mid-game, mid-call, or mid-stream.

Built for an iKKEGOL single mechanical foot pedal + an Elgato Wave:3 and a Realtek USB output, but it works with any USB foot pedal that can send a keystroke and any two playback devices.

---

Why

Windows has no built-in hotkey to change the default audio output. If you regularly bounce between, say, headphones for focus and speakers to share sound, you're stuck clicking through Settings every time. A foot pedal makes it a reflex — your hands never leave the keyboard.

Features

• One-tap toggle between any two playback devices.
• Follows you everywhere — sets both the default and the "communication" device, so Discord / Teams / Zoom switch too.
• Silent & always-on — tiny tray app, auto-starts at login, no console flashes.
• Zero-edit setup — an interactive picker writes your device choices; no code editing needed.
• Robust — matches devices by name, so it keeps working when Windows reshuffles device numbers.
• Brief on-screen confirmation (🔊 Speakers / 🔊 Headphones) on each tap.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• A USB foot pedal that can be programmed to send a keystroke (e.g. iKKEGOL / PCsensor). Any programmable pedal, macro key, or even a spare keyboard key works.
• The setup script installs the rest for you (AutoHotkey v2 + the AudioDeviceCmdlets module).

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/dranben/foot-pedal-audio-switch.git
cd foot-pedal-audio-switch

# 1. Pick your two audio devices (writes devices.txt) — no code editing:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\choose-devices.ps1

# 2. Install dependencies + register it to start with Windows + run it now:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\setup.ps1

Then program your pedal to send F24 (see below) and you're done — tap to switch.

Program the pedal

The listener waits for the F24 key (a real key that exists in the HID spec but no physical keyboard has and nothing in Windows uses — so it can never collide with a real shortcut). Point your pedal at it:

1. Install your pedal's configuration app. For iKKEGOL / PCsensor pedals that's FootSwitch, from https://www.ikkegol.com/downloads.html.
2. Plug in the pedal, open the app, set the pedal action to Keyboard, and assign the key F24. Click Apply / Set to save it to the pedal.
3. Tap the pedal — your audio flips, with a 🔊 confirmation.

App doesn't offer F24? Pick any rare key/combo it does support (F13–F24, or e.g. Ctrl+Alt+F12), then change the F24:: DoToggle() line in pedal-listener.ahk to match and reload it from the tray.

Everyday use

• It's already running and starts with Windows — nothing to launch.
• Right-click the tray speaker icon for Toggle audio now / Reload / Exit.
• Change devices anytime: re-run choose-devices.ps1 (or edit devices.txt) and reload from the tray.

Configuration

devices.txt holds the two outputs (first two non-comment lines = device A and B, matched as name substrings):

Elgato Wave:3
Realtek USB2.0 Audio

List current device names anytime:

Get-AudioDevice -List | Where-Object Type -eq Playback | Select Index,Default,Name

How it works

File	Purpose
pedal-listener.ahk	Tiny always-on AutoHotkey v2 tray app. The pedal's key (F24) triggers the toggle.
toggle-audio.ps1	Flips the default playback (+ communication) device. Reads devices.txt.
choose-devices.ps1	Interactive picker → writes devices.txt.
setup.ps1	One-shot installer: deps + Startup shortcut + launch.
devices.txt	Your two devices.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing happens on tap → Confirm the pedal sends F24: open Notepad and tap it (F24 prints nothing, so instead test with the tray menu → Toggle audio now; if that works, the pedal key is the issue — reprogram it).
• "device not found" → Names changed or the device is unplugged; re-run choose-devices.ps1.
• Listener not running → Re-run setup.ps1, or double-click pedal-listener.ahk.

Uninstall

• Delete the Startup shortcut: …\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\FootPedalAudioSwitch.lnk
• Right-click the tray icon → Exit, then delete the folder.
• Optionally uninstall AutoHotkey and the AudioDeviceCmdlets module.

Credits

• Default-device switching via frgnca/AudioDeviceCmdlets.
• Hotkey listening via AutoHotkey v2.

License

MIT — free to use, modify, and share.

_{Keywords: switch default audio output device Windows hotkey · foot pedal audio switcher · change playback device shortcut · AutoHotkey audio toggle · iKKEGOL / PCsensor FootSwitch · Elgato Wave / Realtek · Discord communication device switch.}