Controlling Music Player Daemon with MPC (with examples)
Music Player Daemon (MPD) is a flexible, powerful, and easy-to-use music player daemon for Unix-based operating systems. MPC, short for Music Player Client, is a command-line program that enables you to control MPD and access its functions. In this article, we will explore eight different use cases of MPC, along with code examples, motivations, explanations, and example outputs for each command.
1. Toggle play/pause
To toggle play/pause in MPD, use the toggle command with MPC:
mpc toggle
Motivation: This command allows you to conveniently pause or resume playback without opening a separate GUI or navigating through complex menus.
Explanation: The toggle command switches between play and pause states. If MPD is currently playing, the command pauses the playback. Conversely, if MPD is paused, it resumes playing.
Example output:
[paused] # Toggled from playing state
[playing] # Toggled from paused state
2. Stop playing
If you want to stop playback entirely, use the stop command in MPC:
mpc stop
Motivation: Sometimes you want to halt playback entirely, either because you finished listening to music or want to change the song manually.
Explanation: The stop command immediately stops playback in MPD. It does not pause the song or retain the current position; instead, it resets MPD to the start of the song, ready for the next playback.
Example output:
[stopped] # Music playback stopped
3. Show information about the currently playing song
To obtain information about the currently playing song, use the status command with MPC:
mpc status
Motivation: Gathering information about the currently playing song, such as its title, artist, album, and duration, helps in keeping track of the music library and making informed decisions for playback control.
Explanation: The status command displays detailed information about the currently playing song in MPD. It includes the song’s state (playing, paused, or stopped), title, artist, album, track number, genre, duration, elapsed time, and the total number of songs in the playlist.
Example output:
[playing] Foo Fighters - Everlong (The Colour and the Shape) [3 of 10] #0/288:02/04:54 (58%)
4. Play next song
If you want to play the next song in the playlist, use the next command in MPC:
mpc next
Motivation: When listening to a playlist or an album, it is often desirable to proceed to the next track seamlessly without interrupting the flow.
Explanation: The next command instructs MPD to move to the next song in the playlist. If MPD is already playing the last song in the playlist, the command wraps around to the first song.
Example output: No output will be displayed if the next song starts playing or the command is executed without any currently playing song.
5. Play previous song
To play the previous song in the playlist, use the prev command with MPC:
mpc prev
Motivation: In cases where you miss or want to repeat a song, having a command to play the previous song is useful, especially when operating MPD remotely.
Explanation: The prev command instructs MPD to move to the previous song in the playlist. If MPD is already playing the first song, the command wraps around to the last song.
Example output: No output will be displayed if the previous song starts playing or the command is executed without any currently playing song.
6. Forward or rewind the currently playing song
To forward or rewind the currently playing song, use the +seconds or -seconds argument with the mpc command:
mpc +seconds
mpc -seconds
Motivation: If you want to quickly jump forward or rewind the currently playing song to a specific position, these commands provide precise control over the playback.
Explanation: These commands allow you to either fast-forward or rewind the currently playing song by the specified number of seconds. The + symbol indicates forward seeking, while the - symbol indicates rewind seeking. The argument seconds represents the duration to seek.
Example output: No output will be displayed, but the currently playing song’s position will change accordingly.
Conclusion
In this article, we explored eight different use cases of MPC when controlling MPD. The examples provided code snippets, motivations, explanations, and example outputs for each command. With MPC’s powerful and convenient command-line interface, managing and controlling the Music Player Daemon becomes straightforward and efficient.
