diff --git a/spa/include/spa/utils/string.h b/spa/include/spa/utils/string.h
index 31b3a5c8a..3c7ec94c1 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/utils/string.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/utils/string.h
@@ -82,6 +82,17 @@ static inline bool spa_atoi32(const char *str, int32_t *val, int base)
 	return true;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Convert \a str to a boolean. Allowed boolean values are "true" and a
+ * literal "1", anything else is false.
+ *
+ * \return true on success, false otherwise
+ */
+static inline bool spa_atob(const char *str)
+{
+	return spa_streq(str, "true") || spa_streq(str, "1");
+}
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }  /* extern "C" */
 #endif
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/acp/acp.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/acp/acp.c
index 21cb9b4e8..16531a6ac 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/acp/acp.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/acp/acp.c
@@ -1480,19 +1480,19 @@ struct acp_card *acp_card_new(uint32_t index, const struct acp_dict *props)
 
 	if (props) {
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "api.alsa.use-ucm")) != NULL)
-			impl->use_ucm = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			impl->use_ucm = spa_atob(s);
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "api.alsa.soft-mixer")) != NULL)
-			impl->soft_mixer = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			impl->soft_mixer = spa_atob(s);
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "api.alsa.ignore-dB")) != NULL)
-			ignore_dB = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			ignore_dB = spa_atob(s);
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "device.profile-set")) != NULL)
 			profile_set = s;
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "device.profile")) != NULL)
 			profile = s;
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "api.acp.auto-profile")) != NULL)
-			impl->auto_profile = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			impl->auto_profile = spa_atob(s);
 		if ((s = acp_dict_lookup(props, "api.acp.auto-port")) != NULL)
-			impl->auto_port = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			impl->auto_port = spa_atob(s);
 	}
 
 	impl->ucm.default_sample_spec.format = PA_SAMPLE_S16NE;
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-acp-device.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-acp-device.c
index a0e8c3013..a700c1364 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-acp-device.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-acp-device.c
@@ -959,9 +959,9 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_API_ALSA_PATH)) != NULL)
 			snprintf(this->props.device, sizeof(this->props.device), "%s", str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "api.acp.auto-port")) != NULL)
-			this->props.auto_port = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) != 0;
+			this->props.auto_port = spa_atob(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "api.acp.auto-profile")) != NULL)
-			this->props.auto_profile = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) != 0;
+			this->props.auto_profile = spa_atob(str);
 
 		items = alloca((info->n_items) * sizeof(*items));
 		spa_dict_for_each(it, info)
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
index 5718bef2a..c52241cc7 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-sink.c
@@ -808,11 +808,11 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.start-delay")) {
 			this->default_start_delay = atoi(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
-			this->disable_mmap = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->disable_mmap = spa_atob(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
-			this->disable_batch = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->disable_batch = spa_atob(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
-			this->props.use_chmap = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->props.use_chmap = spa_atob(s);
 		}
 	}
 	return 0;
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
index c710590f2..273139e8e 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm-source.c
@@ -826,11 +826,11 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.headroom")) {
 			this->default_headroom = atoi(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.disable-mmap")) {
-			this->disable_mmap = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->disable_mmap = spa_atob(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.disable-batch")) {
-			this->disable_batch = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->disable_batch = spa_atob(s);
 		} else if (spa_streq(k, "api.alsa.use-chmap")) {
-			this->props.use_chmap = (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) == 1);
+			this->props.use_chmap = spa_atob(s);
 		}
 	}
 	return 0;
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-udev.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-udev.c
index 2f5e70d9c..99741c807 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-udev.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-udev.c
@@ -768,7 +768,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 
 	if (info) {
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "alsa.use-acp")) != NULL)
-			this->use_acp = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) != 0;
+			this->use_acp = spa_atob(str);
 	}
 
 	return 0;
diff --git a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
index 2c8bd65a8..c1a39660e 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/channelmix.c
@@ -1392,14 +1392,11 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	for (i = 0; info && i < info->n_items; i++) {
 		const char *k = info->items[i].key;
 		const char *s = info->items[i].value;
-		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.normalize") &&
-		    (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) != 0))
+		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.normalize") && spa_atob(s))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_NORMALIZE;
-		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.mix-lfe") &&
-		    (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) != 0))
+		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.mix-lfe") && spa_atob(s))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_MIX_LFE;
-		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.upmix") &&
-		    (spa_streq(s, "true") || atoi(s) != 0))
+		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.upmix") && spa_atob(s))
 			this->mix.options |= CHANNELMIX_OPTION_UPMIX;
 		if (spa_streq(k, "channelmix.lfe-cutoff"))
 			this->mix.lfe_cutoff = atoi(s);
diff --git a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/merger.c b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/merger.c
index 0702f1051..ef1ea5923 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/merger.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/merger.c
@@ -1385,7 +1385,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	this->monitor_channel_volumes = false;
 	if (info) {
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "monitor.channel-volumes")) != NULL)
-			this->monitor_channel_volumes = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+			this->monitor_channel_volumes = spa_atob(str);
 	}
 
 	this->node.iface = SPA_INTERFACE_INIT(
diff --git a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/resample.c b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/resample.c
index 2e9d475d8..3e769bd64 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/audioconvert/resample.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/audioconvert/resample.c
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "resample.quality")) != NULL)
 			this->props.quality = atoi(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "resample.peaks")) != NULL)
-			this->peaks = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+			this->peaks = spa_atob(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "factory.mode")) != NULL) {
 			if (spa_streq(str, "split"))
 				this->mode = MODE_SPLIT;
diff --git a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-hsphfpd.c b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-hsphfpd.c
index 6fe4616bc..feeb1c1df 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-hsphfpd.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-hsphfpd.c
@@ -1508,7 +1508,7 @@ struct spa_bt_backend *backend_hsphfpd_new(struct spa_bt_monitor *monitor,
 	backend->main_loop = spa_support_find(support, n_support, SPA_TYPE_INTERFACE_Loop);
 	backend->conn = dbus_connection;
 	if (info && (str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "bluez5.msbc-support")))
-		backend->msbc_supported = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+		backend->msbc_supported = spa_atob(str);
 	else
 		backend->msbc_supported = false;
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-native.c b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-native.c
index c2a1a8c62..eca88e419 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-native.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-native.c
@@ -1478,7 +1478,7 @@ static DBusHandlerResult profile_new_connection(DBusConnection *conn, DBusMessag
 	spa_list_append(&backend->rfcomm_list, &rfcomm->link);
 
 	if (d->settings && (str = spa_dict_lookup(d->settings, "bluez5.msbc-support")))
-		rfcomm->msbc_support_enabled_in_config = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+		rfcomm->msbc_support_enabled_in_config = spa_atob(str);
 	else
 		rfcomm->msbc_support_enabled_in_config = false;
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-ofono.c b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-ofono.c
index 82f456876..d87b4c36c 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-ofono.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/bluez5/backend-ofono.c
@@ -789,7 +789,7 @@ struct spa_bt_backend *backend_ofono_new(struct spa_bt_monitor *monitor,
 	backend->main_loop = spa_support_find(support, n_support, SPA_TYPE_INTERFACE_Loop);
 	backend->conn = dbus_connection;
 	if (info && (str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "bluez5.msbc-support")))
-		backend->msbc_supported = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+		backend->msbc_supported = spa_atob(str);
 	else
 		backend->msbc_supported = false;
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/bluez5/bluez5-dbus.c b/spa/plugins/bluez5/bluez5-dbus.c
index 04684e20b..b75060dc7 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/bluez5/bluez5-dbus.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/bluez5/bluez5-dbus.c
@@ -3876,7 +3876,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 		uint32_t tmp;
 
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "api.bluez5.connection-info")) != NULL &&
-		    (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str)))
+		    spa_atob(str))
 			this->connection_info_supported = true;
 
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "bluez5.default.rate")) != NULL &&
@@ -3888,7 +3888,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 			this->default_audio_info.channels = tmp;
 
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "bluez5.sbc-xq-support")) != NULL &&
-		    (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str)))
+		    spa_atob(str))
 			this->enable_sbc_xq = true;
 	}
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/support/logger.c b/spa/plugins/support/logger.c
index 79061255c..10eb62faf 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/support/logger.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/support/logger.c
@@ -266,11 +266,11 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 	}
 	if (info) {
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_LOG_TIMESTAMP)) != NULL)
-			this->timestamp = (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1);
+			this->timestamp = spa_atob(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_LOG_LINE)) != NULL)
-			this->line = (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1);
+			this->line = spa_atob(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_LOG_COLORS)) != NULL)
-			this->colors = (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1);
+			this->colors = spa_atob(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_LOG_LEVEL)) != NULL)
 			this->log.level = atoi(str);
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, SPA_KEY_LOG_FILE)) != NULL) {
diff --git a/spa/plugins/support/node-driver.c b/spa/plugins/support/node-driver.c
index 041d0771d..a669ce450 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/support/node-driver.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/support/node-driver.c
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ impl_init(const struct spa_handle_factory *factory,
 
 	if (info) {
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info, "node.freewheel")) != NULL)
-			this->props.freewheel = (spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1);
+			this->props.freewheel = spa_atob(str);
 	}
 
 	spa_loop_add_source(this->data_loop, &this->timer_source);
diff --git a/spa/plugins/videoconvert/videoadapter.c b/spa/plugins/videoconvert/videoadapter.c
index 74d123053..68d24785e 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/videoconvert/videoadapter.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/videoconvert/videoadapter.c
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ static void follower_info(void *data, const struct spa_node_info *info)
 
 	if (info->props) {
 		if ((str = spa_dict_lookup(info->props, SPA_KEY_NODE_DRIVER)) != NULL)
-			this->driver = spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) == 1;
+			this->driver = spa_atob(str);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/spa/tests/test-utils.c b/spa/tests/test-utils.c
index 270665275..cbdb5e9d9 100644
--- a/spa/tests/test-utils.c
+++ b/spa/tests/test-utils.c
@@ -493,6 +493,22 @@ static void test_streq(void)
 	spa_assert(!spa_strneq(NULL, "abc", 7));
 }
 
+static void test_atob(void)
+{
+	spa_assert(spa_atob("true"));
+	spa_assert(spa_atob("1"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("0"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("-1"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("10"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("11"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("t"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("yes"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("no"));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob(NULL));
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("True")); /* lower-case required */
+	spa_assert(!spa_atob("TRUE"));
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
     test_abi();
@@ -504,5 +520,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     test_ringbuffer();
     test_strtol();
     test_streq();
+    test_atob();
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/pipewire/pipewire.c b/src/pipewire/pipewire.c
index 6b9954979..a7ecd012e 100644
--- a/src/pipewire/pipewire.c
+++ b/src/pipewire/pipewire.c
@@ -525,8 +525,7 @@ void pw_init(int *argc, char **argv[])
 			pw_log_set(log);
 
 #ifdef HAVE_SYSTEMD
-		if ((str = getenv("PIPEWIRE_LOG_SYSTEMD")) == NULL ||
-				spa_streq(str, "true") || atoi(str) != 0) {
+		if ((str = getenv("PIPEWIRE_LOG_SYSTEMD")) == NULL || spa_atob(str)) {
 			log = load_journal_logger(support);
 			if (log)
 				pw_log_set(log);