Repolode
Submit
mpv-player

mpv-player/mpv

A free command-line media player that plays a wide range of audio and video formats, codecs and subtitle types.

Open-source alternative to:VLC

View on GitHubWebsite
Stars
37,982
Forks
3,642
Open issues
1,162
Last commit
15 hours ago

What is it?

mpv is a free media player that runs from the command line. It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types, and it runs on Linux, Windows 10 and macOS.

The player renders video through shaders rather than fixed-function GPU hardware, and hardware decoding is available through the --hwdec option. It can use FFmpeg and libplacebo for decoding and rendering, and libass for on-screen text and subtitles. Its behavior is configured with command-line options and profiles.

The project is a fork of the MPlayer lineage, developed under the GPLv2-or-later license by default, with an LGPL build option. Source is built with Meson, and the project maintains a wiki, a manual and user scripts for extending playback.

Key features

  • 01Plays a wide range of video, audio and subtitle formats
  • 02Hardware decoding can be enabled with the --hwdec option
  • 03Shader-based video rendering and scaling via libplacebo
  • 04Subtitle and on-screen text rendering through libass
  • 05Configurable through command-line options, profiles and user scripts

Use cases

  • Playing local video files from a terminal or over SSH
  • Watching media on a desktop Linux system with a keyboard-driven workflow
  • Scripting playback behavior with Lua user scripts
  • Playing a broad set of legacy or uncommon media formats

Quick start

  1. 1

    Get mpv from the installation page (semi-official builds and third-party packages)

  2. 2

    Or build from source: set up the build directory

    meson setup build
  3. 3

    Compile the project

    meson compile -C build
  4. 4

    Install it

    meson install -C build

Things to know

  • Requires many external development libraries to build with full features.
  • Only the latest release receives maintenance; older releases are unsupported.
  • Hardware decoding must be explicitly enabled and is not on by default.

In collections

AI video & audio tools

Topics

#media-player#video#audio#command-line#ffmpeg#multimedia#subtitles#mplayer#mpv

FAQ

What is mpv?
A free command-line media player that plays a wide range of audio and video formats, codecs and subtitle types. mpv is a free media player that runs from the command line. It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types, and it runs on Linux, Windows 10 and macOS.
Is mpv free to use? What license does it have?
mpv is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is mpv still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to mpv was on Nov 7, 2026.
What can I use mpv for?
Playing local video files from a terminal or over SSH Watching media on a desktop Linux system with a keyboard-driven workflow Scripting playback behavior with Lua user scripts Playing a broad set of legacy or uncommon media formats
How do I install mpv?
Get mpv from the installation page (semi-official builds and third-party packages) Or build from source: set up the build directory: meson setup build Compile the project: meson compile -C build Install it: meson install -C build
Where can I get mpv?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

Related projects