Wanted a quick way to play local music on Linux without messing with heavy GUI apps. After trying a few options, mpv won out. It’s simple, fast, and handles pretty much any media format, audio or video.

Installation

On Ubuntu or Debian:

sudo apt install mpv

Other distros have it too. Check your package manager.

Basic Usage

  • Play everything in a folder:

    mpv .

  • Play a specific file (music or video):

    mpv ./file.mp3
mpv ./file.mp4

Handy mpv Controls

  • Play/Pause: Space
  • Next: > (Shift + .) or Enter
  • Previous: < (Shift + ,)
  • Volume Up/Down: 0 / 9
  • Mute: m
  • Seek: Arrow keys (Right/Left for 5s, Up/Down for 1 min)
  • Quit: q or Ctrl+C

Extra Notes

  • Playlists work too: mpv playlist.m3u
  • Custom settings go in ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf

  • To hide album art when playing audio files:

    mpv --no-audio-display ./file.mp3

mpv has been the go-to for local media ever since. No media library to maintain, no app to babysit.