kAirPods

Native AirPods® integration for KDE Plasma 6 powered by a modern, low-latency Rust backend.

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✨ Features

• 🔋 Real-time battery monitoring for AirPods, AirPods Max, case, and individual earbuds
• 🔇 Noise control switching between ANC, Transparency, and Off modes
• 👂 Ear detection status and control
• 🎨 Native Plasma integration with theme-aware panel widget
• ⚡ Zero-lag Bluetooth L2CAP communication for instant updates
• 🔧 System-wide D-Bus service architecture (no root required)

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🚀 Quick Install

One-liner install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/can1357/kAirPods/master/scripts/get.sh | bash

# With options:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/can1357/kAirPods/master/scripts/get.sh | bash -s -- --verbose --debug

Manual install

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/can1357/kAirPods.git
cd kAirPods

# Run the automated installer
./scripts/install.sh

The installer will:

• ✅ Check all prerequisites and dependencies
• ✅ Add you to the bluetooth group (if it exists)
• ✅ Build the Rust service in release mode
• ✅ Install all components system-wide
• ✅ Start the service via systemd
• ✅ Guide you through adding the widget

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📋 Prerequisites

Component	Minimum Version	Notes
KDE Plasma	6.0	Required for widget support
Rust toolchain	1.88+	Install Rust
BlueZ	5.50+	Bluetooth stack (package: bluez or bluez-libs)
Linux Kernel	5.10+	L2CAP socket support
systemd	247+	User services support
D-Bus	1.12+	IPC communication

📦 Development Packages

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libdbus-1-dev libbluetooth-dev

Fedora

sudo dnf install gcc pkg-config dbus-devel bluez-libs-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S base-devel pkgconf dbus bluez-libs

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🎯 Getting Started

1️⃣ Pair Your AirPods

First, pair your AirPods through KDE System Settings → Bluetooth

2️⃣ Install kAirPods

./scripts/install.sh

3️⃣ Add the Widget

• Right-click on your Plasma panel
• Select "Add Widgets"
• Search for "kAirPods"
• Drag to panel

4️⃣ Enjoy!

Click the widget to see battery levels and control your AirPods

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

Service won't start / No devices detected

1. Check bluetooth group (installer handles this automatically):

   groups | grep bluetooth

2. Check service logs:

   systemctl --user status kairpodsd
   journalctl --user -u kairpodsd -f

3. Ensure AirPods are paired via KDE Bluetooth settings first

Permission denied errors

• The installer automatically adds you to the bluetooth group
• If you still have issues, try: sudo setcap 'cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin+eip' $(command -v kairpodsd)

Widget not showing up

• Restart plasmashell: systemctl --user restart plasma-plasmashell
• Or simply log out and back in

Battery not showing / Debug logging

If your AirPods connect but battery information is missing, enable debug logging to help diagnose the issue:

Method 1: Running manually with debug output

1. Stop the service:

   systemctl --user stop kairpodsd.service

2. Start in debug mode:

   # Shows general debug info and all Bluetooth packets
   RUST_LOG=kairpodsd=debug,kairpodsd::bluetooth::l2cap=trace kairpodsd
   
   # Or use the full path if needed
   RUST_LOG=kairpodsd=debug,kairpodsd::bluetooth::l2cap=trace /usr/bin/kairpodsd

3. Reproduce the issue:

   • Put your AirPods in your ears (or just open the case)
   • Wait about 30 seconds for the handshake and first battery message
   • Copy the terminal output (you can redact MAC addresses like AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF)

Method 2: Using systemd with debug config

1. Create config file:

   mkdir -p ~/.config/kairpods
   echo 'log_filter = "debug"' > ~/.config/kairpods/config.toml

2. Restart the service:

   systemctl --user restart kairpodsd.service

3. View logs:

   journalctl --user -u kairpodsd.service -b --no-pager

The debug output will show:

• Connection handshake details
• All Bluetooth packet exchanges
• Battery update messages (or lack thereof)
• Any parsing errors or protocol issues

Common causes for missing battery info:

• BlueZ experimental features not enabled (installer handles this automatically)
• Enhanced Retransmission Mode (ERTM) disabled
• Outdated BlueZ version (need ≥ 5.50)

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🏗️ Architecture

                             ┌─────────────────────────┐
                             │      Plasma Widget      │
                             │  (Kirigami / QML UI)    │
                             └───────────▲─────────────┘
                                         │  D-Bus IPC
                                         │
┌───────────────────────┐   manages   ┌──▼────────────────┐
│   plasmashell (GUI)   │◀────────────│   kairpodsd       │
│  + panel & widgets    │  systemd-u  │  (Rust service)   │
└───────────────────────┘             └──┬────────────────┘
                                         │  Bluetooth L2CAP
                                         │
                                   ┌─────▼───────┐
                                   │  AirPods    │
                                   └─────────────┘

• Backend: High-performance Rust service (kairpodsd) with direct L2CAP access
• Frontend: QML Plasmoid with Kirigami components
• IPC: D-Bus interface at org.kairpods.manager

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🔌 D-Bus API

For developers and power users:

# List connected devices
busctl --user call org.kairpods /org/kairpods/manager \
    org.kairpods.manager GetDevices

# Control noise mode
busctl --user call org.kairpods /org/kairpods/manager \
    org.kairpods.manager SendCommand ssa{sv} "AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF" "set_noise_mode" 1 "value" s "anc"

Full API Reference

Methods

• GetDevices() → s - Returns JSON array of all connected AirPods
• GetDevice(address: s) → s - Returns JSON state of specific device
• SendCommand(address: s, action: s, params: a{sv}) → b - Send commands
• ConnectDevice(address: s) → b - Connect to AirPods
• DisconnectDevice(address: s) → b - Disconnect from AirPods

Signals

• BatteryUpdated(address: s, battery: s) - Battery level changes
• NoiseControlChanged(address: s, mode: s) - Noise control changes
• DeviceConnected(address: s) - Connection events
• DeviceDisconnected(address: s) - Disconnection events

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🗑️ Uninstalling

./scripts/install.sh --uninstall

Or with curl:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/can1357/kAirPods/master/scripts/get.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
See the LICENSE file for details.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

For more details on manual installation, advanced configuration, or packaging for distributions, see INSTALL.md.