Dynamic-Head

One-click switcher between two audio output devices in the Windows system tray.

Dynamic-Head is a tiny Windows tray utility that toggles the default audio output device between two configured endpoints — for example Speakers ⇄ Headphones — with a single left-click. No more digging through Settings → System → Sound every time you plug in a headset.

• 🇬🇧 English (this file)
• 🇷🇺 Русская версия

Why Dynamic-Head?

Windows has no built-in one-click way to switch the default playback device. Dynamic-Head sits in the system tray and gives you exactly that: one click, one toggle, done. It is lightweight (a single small executable), has no installer, and stores everything in a plain JSON file next to the app.

Features

• 🔘 Single tray toggle — left-click the tray icon to instantly switch the default playback device.
• 🖱️ Context menu item — "Switch to «…»" does the same thing from the menu.
• 🎨 Two distinct icons — blue (speakers) and green (headphones) so you can see the active device at a glance.
• ⚙️ Settings window — pick any two active playback devices and give them custom labels.
• 🚀 Run at startup — optional autostart entry in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
• 💾 Portable config — settings live in config.json next to the executable.
• 🔊 All roles — switching applies to Console, Multimedia, and Communications audio roles at once.
• 🛟 Robust lookup — if a device ID changes (driver/port change), the app falls back to matching by device name.

Requirements

• Windows 10 / 11, x64.
• .NET 8 Desktop Runtime — required to run the prebuilt release.
• For building from source: .NET SDK 8.

Download & Install

1. Go to the Releases page and download the latest DynamicHead-*-win-x64.zip.
2. Unpack the archive to any folder (e.g. C:\Tools\Dynamic-Head).
3. Make sure the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime is installed.
4. Run DynamicHead.exe. On first launch the settings window opens automatically.

There is no installer — the app is portable. To remove it, exit from the tray menu and delete the folder.

Usage

1. Run DynamicHead.exe. On the first run the settings window appears.
2. Choose Device 1 (e.g. speakers) and Device 2 (e.g. headphones). You can edit the labels shown in the tray menu.
3. Click Save. You can close the window — the app keeps running in the tray.
4. Left-click the tray icon to toggle. Right-click for the menu:
   • Switch to «…» — change the active device;
   • Settings… — open the settings window (also via double-click);
   • Refresh device list — re-sync with the system;
   • Run at startup — enable/disable autostart;
   • Exit — quit the app.

Configuration (config.json)

The file is created next to the executable on first save:

{
  "DeviceAId": "{0.0.0.00000000}.{...}",
  "DeviceAName": "Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)",
  "DeviceBId": "{0.0.0.00000000}.{...}",
  "DeviceBName": "Headphones (USB Audio)",
  "LabelA": "Speakers",
  "LabelB": "Headphones",
  "RunAtStartup": false,
  "ActiveSlot": "A"
}

Build from source

# Using the helper script (recommended)
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\tools\build.ps1

# Or manually
dotnet restore .\src\DynamicHead\DynamicHead.csproj
dotnet build   .\src\DynamicHead\DynamicHead.csproj -c Release
dotnet publish .\src\DynamicHead\DynamicHead.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false -o .\dist

The result is dist\DynamicHead.exe (framework-dependent). It requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.

The helper script searches for dotnet in D:\dotnet first and then in PATH. On CI (GitHub Actions) the SDK is provided by actions/setup-dotnet.

Project structure

src/DynamicHead/Program.cs        entry point, single-instance guard
src/DynamicHead/AppConfig.cs      settings model and config.json
src/DynamicHead/AudioSwitcher.cs  device enumeration and default-device switching
src/DynamicHead/TrayApp.cs        tray icon, menu, autostart
src/DynamicHead/SettingsForm.cs   settings window
src/DynamicHead/assets/           state icons (app-speakers.ico, app-headphones.ico)
tools/build.ps1                   build & publish to dist
tools/gen-icons.ps1               icon generator (not needed for build)

How it works

• Device enumeration and the current default endpoint are read through the Windows Core Audio API using NAudio.
• Switching the default output device is done through the undocumented IPolicyConfig COM interface (PolicyConfigClient), applied to all three audio roles.
• Settings are serialized with System.Text.Json to config.json next to the executable.

FAQ

Does it work with Bluetooth headphones? Yes — any active playback device that appears in the Windows sound settings can be selected.

Do I need administrator rights? No. The app writes only to HKCU and to its own folder.

Are there global hotkeys? Not yet. Control is via tray clicks. Feel free to open a feature request.

Where are my settings stored? In config.json next to DynamicHead.exe. Delete the file to reset.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md and the Code of Conduct first. For security issues, see SECURITY.md.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

---

Keywords

audio switcher · sound switcher · default audio device · switch audio output · change default playback device · system tray · tray app · windows · windows 11 · dotnet · c# · csharp · winforms · naudio · core audio · desktop utility · portable · смена устройства вывода звука · переключение звука · аудио переключатель