JACK Audio Connection Kit
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 3 audio servers by recommenders
Free low-latency audio server that lets pro audio apps share sound on Linux. Common caveat: setup can be fiddly.
Free low-latency audio server that lets pro audio apps share sound on Linux. Common caveat: setup can be fiddly.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very low audio latency
“Linux has much better low-latency, multi application audio support than Windows & Mac now (via JACK)”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March” “The biggest thing with any Linux and Wine mix for DAWs is using JACK and WineASIO for low latency”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too” “To properly support Pro Audio you have to completely switch the audio stack to JACK”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Everyone hates OneDrive, Microsofts cloud app that steals and deletes files” - Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”
Connects audio between many apps
“Jack is amazing, though - being able to do arbitrary audio filter chains with random pieces of software is seriously cool.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “John Giannandrea to retire from Apple” “Linux has much better low-latency, multi application audio support than Windows & Mac now (via JACK)”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Windows quality update: Progress we've made since March” Mature, older than PulseAudio
“Audio latency on Linux was already very low long before PipeWire, thanks to JACK.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “We got the much superior jack two years before pulseaudio was even a thing.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Wayland set the Linux Desktop back by 10 years”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Fiddly setup and configuration
“getting jackd to run properly with Ardour is something I haven't had success with yet”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Run macOS Software on Linux” “I had to go into Jack and align the audio streams etc and fiddle around a bit.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: Cynthia – Reliably play MIDI music files – MIT / Portable / Windows” “Unfortunately Qsynth and Jack can be a real pain to setup and keep working.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: Cynthia – Reliably play MIDI music files – MIT / Portable / Windows” - Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Are We ... Yet?”
Other audio servers people recommend
The two most recommended other audio servers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 3 audio servers, rankedWhat people said
16 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“getting jackd to run properly with Ardour is something I haven't had success with yet”
“Linux has much better low-latency, multi application audio support than Windows & Mac now (via JACK)”
“up to the point to replacing jack itself”
“Professional flows that care use stuff like jack”
“JACK by itself is unsuitable as an audio server for general desktop usage”
“We got the much superior jack two years before pulseaudio was even a thing.”
“Audio latency on Linux was already very low long before PipeWire, thanks to JACK.”
“wrote one of the APIs (JACK) that it implements (pretty well, too!).”
“I was not building it correctly”
“The jack crate is broken.”
“The biggest thing with any Linux and Wine mix for DAWs is using JACK and WineASIO for low latency”
“To properly support Pro Audio you have to completely switch the audio stack to JACK”
“you then have to install the Jack bridge to get audio working”
“Jack is amazing, though - being able to do arbitrary audio filter chains with random pieces of software is seriously cool.”
“I had to go into Jack and align the audio streams etc and fiddle around a bit.”
“Unfortunately Qsynth and Jack can be a real pain to setup and keep working.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.