# JACK Audio Connection Kit

12 Hacker News commenters recommended JACK Audio Connection Kit and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free low-latency audio server that lets pro audio apps share sound on Linux. Common caveat: setup can be fiddly.

## Why people recommend it

- Very low audio latency (4 comments): "Linux has much better low-latency, multi application audio support than Windows & Mac now (via JACK)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47997728)) "The biggest thing with any Linux and Wine mix for DAWs is using JACK and WineASIO for low latency" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46578194)) "To properly support Pro Audio you have to completely switch the audio stack to JACK" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46530197))
- Connects audio between many apps (2 comments): "Jack is amazing, though - being able to do arbitrary audio filter chains with random pieces of software is seriously cool." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116265)) "Linux has much better low-latency, multi application audio support than Windows & Mac now (via JACK)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47997728))
- Mature, older than PulseAudio (2 comments): "Audio latency on Linux was already very low long before PipeWire, thanks to JACK." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46796740)) "We got the much superior jack two years before pulseaudio was even a thing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47454695))

## What people warn about

- Fiddly setup and configuration (4 comments): "getting jackd to run properly with Ardour is something I haven't had success with yet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525517)) "I had to go into Jack and align the audio streams etc and fiddle around a bit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46052253)) "Unfortunately Qsynth and Jack can be a real pain to setup and keep working." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46041418))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [PipeWire](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pipewire.md): 70 recommend
- [ALSA](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alsa.md): 9 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "JACK Audio Connection Kit", https://hackerapproved.com/p/jack/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).