diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index e3e9c238d..724a3cfe0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -215,8 +215,8 @@ jobs:
           key: linux
           save: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
           evict-old-files: job
-      - name: Install lavapipe for the GPU execution tests
-        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libvulkan1 mesa-vulkan-drivers
+      - name: Install lavapipe for the GPU execution tests and the audio development files
+        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libvulkan1 mesa-vulkan-drivers libpipewire-0.3-dev libpulse-dev libasound2-dev
       - run: cmake -S . -B build $CONFIGURE -DANYPS5_ENABLE_SPIRV_TOOLS=ON
       - name: Check that every test executable is registered with ctest
         run: python3 tools/check_test_registration.py build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 544be3ea4..f54726afa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           key: ${{ matrix.platform }}
           save: false
-      - name: Install lavapipe for the GPU execution tests
+      - name: Install lavapipe for the GPU execution tests and the audio development files
         if: matrix.platform == 'linux'
-        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libvulkan1 mesa-vulkan-drivers
+        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libvulkan1 mesa-vulkan-drivers libpipewire-0.3-dev libpulse-dev libasound2-dev
       - name: Configure Linux
         if: matrix.platform == 'linux'
         run: cmake -S . -B build $CONFIGURE
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5cb4fb85c..ac7cf1f17 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -93,6 +93,16 @@ if(NOT ANYPS5_USE_SYSTEM_DEPS)
     set(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS "")
     add_subdirectory(3rdparty/SDL2)
     set(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS "${ANYPS5_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS}")
+    if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Linux")
+        get_directory_property(ANYPS5_SDL_PIPEWIRE DIRECTORY 3rdparty/SDL2 DEFINITION HAVE_PIPEWIRE)
+        get_directory_property(ANYPS5_SDL_PULSEAUDIO DIRECTORY 3rdparty/SDL2 DEFINITION HAVE_PULSEAUDIO)
+        get_directory_property(ANYPS5_SDL_ALSA DIRECTORY 3rdparty/SDL2 DEFINITION HAVE_ALSA)
+        if(NOT ANYPS5_SDL_PIPEWIRE AND NOT ANYPS5_SDL_PULSEAUDIO AND NOT ANYPS5_SDL_ALSA)
+            message(FATAL_ERROR "SDL found no PipeWire, PulseAudio or ALSA development files, so audio output would be silent. "
+                "Install libpipewire-0.3-dev, libpulse-dev and libasound2-dev (Debian, Ubuntu) "
+                "or pipewire-devel, pulseaudio-libs-devel and alsa-lib-devel (Fedora), then rerun configuration.")
+        endif()
+    endif()
 endif()
 set(ARCHITECTURE x86_64)
 add_subdirectory(3rdparty/ffmpeg-core)
diff --git a/docs/dev/BUILD.md b/docs/dev/BUILD.md
index 50e7023fe..29bfcddc6 100644
--- a/docs/dev/BUILD.md
+++ b/docs/dev/BUILD.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ git submodule update --init --recursive
 ## Requirements
 
 - x86-64, Git, CMake 3.22.1 or newer, Ninja, C++20.
-- Linux: GCC, G++, binutils. SDL's X11 backend requires X11 and Xext development headers (`libx11-dev` and `libxext-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu).
+- Linux: GCC, G++, binutils. SDL's X11 backend requires X11 and Xext development headers (`libx11-dev` and `libxext-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu). Audio output needs SDL's PipeWire, PulseAudio or ALSA backend, built from their development files (`libpipewire-0.3-dev`, `libpulse-dev` and `libasound2-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu; `pipewire-devel`, `pulseaudio-libs-devel` and `alsa-lib-devel` on Fedora). SDL loads them at run time. Without any of them SDL keeps only its silent dummy and disk drivers, so configuration fails.
 - Fedora: if CMake reports `Could NOT find Threads`, install `glibc-static` and `libstdc++-static` with `sudo dnf install glibc-static libstdc++-static`, then rerun configuration. The project enables static executable linking, and FFmpeg's thread check needs these libraries.
 - Windows: only MinGW-w64 GCC 15.2.0 (WinLibs `x86_64-ucrt-posix-seh`, release `15.2.0posix-14.0.0-ucrt-r7`) is currently supported. Add its `mingw64/bin` directory to `PATH` before configuring.
 - Windows antivirus software can quarantine the executables that the relinker tests create in the temp directory, which fails `optional_plt`, `empty_tls`, `windows_address_space` and `windows_icon`. Set `TEMP` and `TMP` to a directory the scanner excludes before running `ctest`.