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<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
"docbook/dtd/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
<book>
<title>The Music Player Daemon - User's Manual</title>
<chapter>
<title>Introduction</title>
<para>
This document is work in progress. Most of it may be incomplete
yet. Please help!
</para>
<para>
MPD (Music Player Daemon) is, as the name suggests, a server
software allowing you to remotely play your music, handle
playlists, deliver music (HTTP STREAMS with various
sub-protocols) and organizze playlists.
</para>
<para>
It has been written with minimal resource usage and stability in
mind! Infact, it runs fine on a Pentium 75, allowing you to use
your cheap old PC to create a stereo system!
</para>
<para>
MPD supports also Gapless playback, buffered audio output, and
crossfading!
</para>
<para>
The separate client and server design allows users to choose a
user interface that best suites their tastes independently of
the underlying daemon, which actually plays music!
</para>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Installation</title>
<para>
We recommend that you use the software installation routines of
your distribution to install MPD. Most operating systems have a
MPD package, which is very easy to install.
</para>
<section>
<title>Installing on Debian/Ubuntu</title>
<para>
Install the package <filename>mpd</filename> via APT:
</para>
<programlisting>apt-get install mpd</programlisting>
<para>
When installed this way, MPD by default looks for music in
/var/lib/mpd/music/; this may not be correct. Look at your
/etc/mpd.conf file...
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Compiling from source</title>
<para>
Download the source tarball from <ulink
url="http://www.musicpd.org/download.html">the MPD home
page</ulink> and unpack it:
</para>
<programlisting>tar xf mpd-version.tar.xz
cd mpd-version</programlisting>
<para>
Make sure that all the required libraries and build tools are
installed. The <filename>INSTALL</filename> file has a list.
</para>
<para>
Now configure the source tree:
</para>
<programlisting>./configure</programlisting>
<para>
The <parameter>--help</parameter> argument shows a list of
compile-time options. When everything is ready and
configured, compile:
</para>
<programlisting>make</programlisting>
<para>
And install:
</para>
<programlisting>make install</programlisting>
</section>
<section>
<title><filename>systemd</filename> socket activation</title>
<para>
Using <filename>systemd</filename>, you can launch
<filename>mpd</filename> on demand when the first client
attempts to connect. Create two files in
<filename>/etc/systemd/system/</filename>; first
<filename>mpd.socket</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/mpd.socket
ListenStream=6600
[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target</programlisting>
<para>
Now create <filename>mpd.service</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>[Unit]
Description=Music Player Daemon
After=sound.target
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/mpd --stdout --no-daemon</programlisting>
<para>
Start the socket:
</para>
<programlisting>systemctl enable mpd.socket
systemctl start mpd.socket</programlisting>
<para>
In this configuration, <filename>mpd</filename> will ignore
the <varname>bind_to_address</varname> and
<varname>port</varname> settings.
</para>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Configuration</title>
<section>
<title>Configuring the music directory</title>
<para>
When you play local files, you should organize them within a
directory called the "music directory". This is configured in
MPD with the <varname>music_directory</varname> setting.
</para>
<para>
By default, MPD follows symbolic links in the music directory.
This behavior can be switched off:
<varname>follow_outside_symlinks</varname> controls whether
MPD follows links pointing to files outside of the music
directory, and <varname>follow_inside_symlinks</varname> lets
you disable symlinks to files inside the music directory.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring database plugins</title>
<para>
If a music directory is configured, one database plugin is
used. To configure this plugin, add a
<varname>database</varname> block to
<filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>database {
plugin "simple"
path "/var/lib/mpd/db"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the <varname>database</varname>
options valid for all plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>plugin</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring input plugins</title>
<para>
To configure an input plugin, add a <varname>input</varname>
block to <filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>input {
plugin "despotify"
user "foo"
password "bar"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the <varname>input</varname> options
valid for all plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>plugin</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>enabled</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Allows you to disable a input plugin without
recompiling. By default, all plugins are enabled.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring decoder plugins</title>
<para>
Most decoder plugins do not need any special configuration.
To configure a decoder, add a <varname>decoder</varname> block
to <filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>decoder {
plugin "wildmidi"
config_file "/etc/timidity/timidity.cfg"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the <varname>decoder</varname>
options valid for all plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>plugin</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>enabled</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Allows you to disable a decoder plugin without
recompiling. By default, all plugins are enabled.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring encoder plugins</title>
<para>
Encoders are used by some of the output plugins (such as
<varname>shout</varname>). The encoder settings are included
in the <varname>audio_output</varname> section.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring audio outputs</title>
<para>
Audio outputs are devices which actually play the audio chunks
produced by MPD. You can configure any number of audio output
devices, but there must be at least one. If none is
configured, MPD attempts to auto-detect. Usually, this works
quite well with ALSA, OSS and on Mac OS X.
</para>
<para>
To configure an audio output manually, add an
<varname>audio_output</varname> block to
<filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>audio_output {
type "alsa"
name "my ALSA device"
device "hw:0"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the <varname>audio_output</varname>
options valid for all plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>type</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>name</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the audio output. It is visible to the
client. Some plugins also use it internally, e.g. as
a name registered in the PULSE server.
</entry>
</row>
<row id="ao_format">
<entry>
<varname>format</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>
Always open the audio output with the specified audio
format (samplerate:bits:channels), regardless of the
format of the input file. This is optional for most
plugins.
</para>
<para>
Any of the three attributes may be an asterisk to
specify that this attribute should not be enforced,
example: <parameter>48000:16:*</parameter>.
<parameter>*:*:*</parameter> is equal to not having
a <varname>format</varname> specification.
</para>
<para>
The following values are valid for
<varname>bits</varname>: <varname>8</varname>
(signed 8 bit integer samples),
<varname>16</varname>, <varname>24</varname> (signed
24 bit integer samples padded to 32 bit),
<varname>32</varname> (signed 32 bit integer
samples), <varname>f</varname> (32 bit floating
point, -1.0 to 1.0).
</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>enabled</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies whether this audio output is enabled when
MPD is started. By default, all audio outputs are
enabled.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>tags</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to "no", then MPD will not send tags to this
output. This is only useful for output plugins that
can receive tags, for example the
<varname>httpd</varname> output plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>always_on</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to "yes", then MPD attempts to keep this audio
output always open. This may be useful for streaming
servers, when you don't want to disconnect all
listeners even when playback is accidentally stopped.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>mixer_type</varname>
<parameter>hardware|software|none</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies which mixer should be used for this audio
output: the hardware mixer (available for ALSA, OSS
and PulseAudio), the software mixer or no mixer
("none"). By default, the hardware mixer is used for
devices which support it, and none for the others.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>replay_gain_handler</varname>
<parameter>software|mixer|none</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies how replay gain is applied. The default is
"software", which uses an internal software volume
control. "mixer" uses the configured (hardware) mixer
control. "none" disables replay gain on this audio
output.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring filters</title>
<para>
Filters are plugins which modify an audio stream.
</para>
<para>
To configure a filter, add a <varname>filter</varname> block
to <filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>filter {
plugin "volume"
name "software volume"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the <varname>filter</varname>
options valid for all plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>plugin</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>name</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the filter.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Configuring playlist plugins</title>
<para>
Playlist plugins are used to load remote playlists. This is
not related to MPD's playlist directory.
</para>
<para>
To configure a playlist plugin, add a
<varname>playlist_plugin</varname> block to
<filename>mpd.conf</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>playlist_plugin {
name "m3u"
enabled "true"
}
</programlisting>
<para>
The following table lists the
<varname>playlist_plugin</varname> options valid for all
plugins:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Name
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>name</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>enabled</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Allows you to disable a input plugin without
recompiling. By default, all plugins are enabled.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title>Audio Format Settings</title>
<section>
<title>Global Audio Format</title>
<para>
The setting <varname>audio_output_format</varname> forces
MPD to use one audio format for all outputs. Doing that is
usually not a good idea. The values are the same as in
<link linkend="ao_format"><varname>format</varname> in the
<varname>audio_output</varname> section</link>.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>Resampler</title>
<para>
Sometimes, music needs to be resampled before it can be
played; for example, CDs use a sample rate of 44,100 Hz
while many cheap audio chips can only handle 48,000 Hz.
Resampling reduces the quality and consumes a lot of CPU.
There are different options, some of them optimized for high
quality and others for low CPU usage, but you can't have
both at the same time. Often, the resampler is the
component that is responsible for most of MPD's CPU usage.
Since MPD comes with high quality defaults, it may appear
that MPD consumes more CPU than other software.
</para>
<para>
The following resamplers are available (if enabled at
compile time):
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
<ulink
url="http://www.mega-nerd.com/SRC/">libsamplerate</ulink>
a.k.a. Secret Rabbit Code (SRC).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/soxr/">libsoxr</ulink>,
the SoX Resampler library
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
internal: low CPU usage, but very poor quality. This is
the fallback if MPD was compiled without an external
resampler.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
The setting <varname>samplerate_converter</varname> controls
how MPD shall resample music. Possible values:
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>
Value
</entry>
<entry>
Description
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>internal</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
The internal resampler. Low CPU usage, but very
poor quality.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>soxr</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
Use libsoxr.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>Best Sinc Interpolator</parameter>" or
"<parameter>0</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
libsamplerate: Band limited sinc interpolation, best
quality, 97dB SNR, 96% BW.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>Medium Sinc Interpolator</parameter>" or
"<parameter>1</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
libsamplerate: Band limited sinc interpolation,
medium quality, 97dB SNR, 90% BW.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>Fastest Sinc Interpolator</parameter>" or
"<parameter>2</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
libsamplerate: Band limited sinc interpolation,
fastest, 97dB SNR, 80% BW.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>ZOH Sinc Interpolator</parameter>" or
"<parameter>3</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
libsamplerate: Zero order hold interpolator, very
fast, very poor quality with audible distortions.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
"<parameter>Linear Interpolator</parameter>" or
"<parameter>4</parameter>"
</entry>
<entry>
libsamplerate: Linear interpolator, very fast, poor
quality.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Using MPD</title>
<section>
<title>The client</title>
<para>
After you have installed, configured and started MPD, you
choose a client to control the playback.
</para>
<para>
The most basic client is <filename>mpc</filename>, which
provides a command line interface. It is useful in shell
scripts. Many people bind specific <filename>mpc</filename>
commands to hotkeys.
</para>
<para>
The <ulink url="http://www.musicpd.org/clients/">MPD
Wiki</ulink> contains an extensive list of clients to choose
from.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>The music directory and the database</title>
<para>
The "music directory" is where you store your music files.
MPD stores all relevant meta information about all songs in
its "database". Whenever you add, modify or remove songs in
the music directory, you have to update the database, for
example with <filename>mpc</filename>:
</para>
<programlisting>mpc update</programlisting>
<para>
Depending on the size of your music collection and the speed
of the storage, this can take a while.
</para>
<para>
To exclude a file from the update, create a file called
<filename>.mpdignore</filename> in its parent directory. Each
line of that file may contain a list of shell wildcards.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title>The queue</title>
<para>
The queue (sometimes called "current playlist") is a list of
songs to be played by MPD. To play a song, add it to the
queue and start playback. Most clients offer an interface to
edit the queue.
</para>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Plugin reference</title>
<section>
<title>Database plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>simple</varname></title>
<para>
The default plugin. Stores a copy of the database in
memory. A file is used for permanent storage.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>path</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The path of the database file.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>proxy</varname></title>
<para>
Provides access to the database of another MPD instance
using <filename>libmpdclient</filename>. This is useful
when you run mount the music directory via NFS/SMB, and the
file server already runs a MPD instance. Only the file
server needs to update the database.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>host</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The host name of the "master" MPD instance.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>port</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The port number of the "master" MPD instance.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Input plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>curl</varname></title>
<para>
Opens remote files or streams over HTTP.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>proxy</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the address of the HTTP proxy server.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>proxy_user</varname>,
<varname>proxy_password</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Configures proxy authentication.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>file</varname></title>
<para>
Opens local files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>mms</varname></title>
<para>
Plays streams with the MMS protocol.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>cdio_paranoia</varname></title>
<para>
Plays audio CDs. The URI has the form:
"<filename>cdda://[DEVICE][/TRACK]</filename>". The
simplest form <filename>cdda://</filename> plays the whole
disc in the default drive.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>default_bute_order</varname>
<parameter>little_endian|big_endian</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If the CD drive does not specify a byte order, MPD
assumes it is the CPU's native byte order. This
setting allows overriding this.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>despotify</varname></title>
<para>
Plays <ulink url="http://www.spotify.com">Spotify</ulink> tracks using the despotify
library. The despotify plugin uses a <filename>spt://</filename> URI and a Spotify
URL. So for example, you can add a song with:
</para>
<para>
<filename>mpc add spt://spotify:track:5qENVY0YEdZ7fiuOax70x1</filename>
</para>
<para>
You need a Spotify premium account to use this plugin, and you need
to setup username and password in the configuration file. The
configuration settings are global since the despotify playlist plugin
use the same settings.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>despotify_user</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets up the Spotify username (required)
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>despotify_password</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets up the Spotify password (required)
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>despotify_high_bitrate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Set up if high bitrate should be used for Spotify tunes.
High bitrate sounds better but slow systems can have problems
with playback (default yes).
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>smbclient</varname></title>
<para>
Allows MPD to access files on SMB/CIFS servers (e.g. Samba
or Microsoft Windows). All URIs with the
<filename>smb://</filename> scheme are used. Example:
</para>
<para>
<filename>mpc add smb://servername/sharename/filename.ogg</filename>
</para>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Decoder plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>dsdiff</varname></title>
<para>
Decodes DFF files containing DSDIFF data (e.g. SACD rips).
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>lsbitfirst</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Decode the least significant bit first. Default is
"no".
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>dsf</varname></title>
<para>
Decodes DSF files containing DSDIFF data (e.g. SACD rips).
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>fluidsynth</varname></title>
<para>
MIDI decoder based on libfluidsynth.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>sample_rate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The sample rate that shall be synthesized by the
plugin. Defaults to 48000.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>soundfont</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The absolute path of the soundfont file. Defaults
to
<filename>/usr/share/sounds/sf2/FluidR3_GM.sf2</filename>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>mikmod</varname></title>
<para>
Module player based on MikMod.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>loop</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Allow backward loops in modules. Default is
<parameter>no</parameter>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>sample_rate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the sample rate generated by
<filename>libmikmod</filename>. Default is 44100.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>modplug</varname></title>
<para>
Module player based on MODPlug.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>loop_count</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Number of times to loop the module if it uses backward loops.
Default is <parameter>0</parameter> which prevents looping.
<parameter>-1</parameter> loops forever.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>wildmidi</varname></title>
<para>
MIDI decoder based on libwildmidi.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>config_file</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
The absolute path of the timidity config file. Defaults
to
<filename>/etc/timidity/timidity.cfg</filename>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Encoder plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>flac</varname></title>
<para>
Encodes into FLAC (lossless).
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>compression</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the <filename>libFLAC</filename> compression
level. The levels range from 0 (fastest, least
compression) to 8 (slowest, most compression).
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>lame</varname></title>
<para>
Encodes into MP3 using the LAME library.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>quality</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the quality for VBR. 0 is the highest quality,
9 is the lowest quality. Cannot be used with
<varname>bitrate</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bitrate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the bit rate in kilobit per second. Cannot be
used with <varname>quality</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>null</varname></title>
<para>
Does not encode anything, passes the input PCM data as-is.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>twolame</varname></title>
<para>
Encodes into MP2 using the <filename>twolame</filename>
library.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>quality</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the quality for VBR. 0 is the highest quality,
9 is the lowest quality. Cannot be used with
<varname>bitrate</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bitrate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the bit rate in kilobit per second. Cannot be
used with <varname>quality</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>vorbis</varname></title>
<para>
Encodes into Ogg Vorbis.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>quality</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the quality for VBR. -1 is the lowest quality,
10 is the highest quality. Cannot be used with
<varname>bitrate</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bitrate</varname>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the bit rate in kilobit per second. Cannot be
used with <varname>quality</varname>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>wave</varname></title>
<para>
Encodes into WAV (lossless).
</para>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Output plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>alsa</varname></title>
<para>
The "Advanced Linux Sound Architecture" plugin uses
<filename>libasound</filename>. It is recommended if you
are using Linux.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>device</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the device which should be used. This can be
any valid ALSA device name. The default value is
"default", which makes
<filename>libasound</filename> choose a device. It
is recommended to use a "hw" or "plughw" device,
because otherwise, <filename>libasound</filename>
automatically enables "dmix", which has major
disadvantages (fixed sample rate, poor resampler,
...).
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>use_mmap</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>yes</parameter>, then
<filename>libasound</filename> will try to use
memory mapped I/O.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>buffer_time</varname>
<parameter>US</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the device's buffer time in microseconds.
Don't change unless you know what you're doing.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>period_time</varname>
<parameter>US</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the device's period time in microseconds.
Don't change unless you really know what you're
doing.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>auto_resample</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>no</parameter>, then
<filename>libasound</filename> will not attempt to
resample, handing the responsibility over to MPD.
It is recommended to let MPD resample (with
libsamplerate), because ALSA is quite poor at doing
so.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>auto_channels</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>no</parameter>, then
<filename>libasound</filename> will not attempt to
convert between different channel numbers.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>auto_format</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>no</parameter>, then
<filename>libasound</filename> will not attempt to
convert between different sample formats (16 bit, 24
bit, floating point, ...).
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>dsd_usb</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>yes</parameter>, then DSD over
USB according to the <ulink
url="http://www.sonore.us/DoP_openStandard_1v1.pdf">pro
posed standard by dCS and others</ulink> is enabled. This wraps
DSD samples in fake 24 bit PCM, and is understood by
some DSD capable products, but may be harmful to
other hardware. Therefore, the default is
<parameter>no</parameter> and you can enable the
option at your own risk.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>ao</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>ao</varname> plugin uses the portable
<filename>libao</filename> library.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>driver</varname>
<parameter>D</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
The <filename>libao</filename> driver to use for
audio output. Possible values depend on what libao
drivers are available. See <ulink
url="http://www.xiph.org/ao/doc/drivers.html">http://www.xiph.org/ao/doc/drivers.html</ulink>
for information on some commonly used drivers.
Typical values for Linux include "oss" and "alsa09".
The default is "default", which causes libao to
select an appropriate plugin.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>options</varname>
<parameter>O</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Options to pass to the selected
<filename>libao</filename> driver.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>write_size</varname>
<parameter>O</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
This specifies how many bytes to write to the audio
device at once. This parameter is to work around a
bug in older versions of libao on sound cards with
very small buffers. The default is 1024.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>fifo</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>fifo</varname> plugin writes raw PCM data to a
FIFO (First In, First Out) file. The data can be read by
another program.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>path</varname>
<parameter>P</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
This specifies the path of the FIFO to write to.
Must be an absolute path. If the path does not
exist, it will be created when MPD is started, and
removed when MPD is stopped. The FIFO will be
created with the same user and group as MPD is
running as. Default permissions can be modified by
using the builtin shell command "umask". If a FIFO
already exists at the specified path it will be
reused, and will not be removed when MPD is stopped.
You can use the "mkfifo" command to create this, and
then you may modify the permissions to your liking.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>jack</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>jack</varname> plugin connects to a JACK
server.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>client_name</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
The name of the JACK client. Defaults to "Music
Player Daemon".
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>server_name</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Optional name of the JACK server.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>autostart</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>yes</parameter>, then
<filename>libjack</filename> will automatically
launch the JACK daemon. Disabled by default.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>source_ports</varname>
<parameter>A,B</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
The names of the JACK source ports to be created.
By default, the ports "left" and "right" are
created. To use more ports, you have to tweak this
option.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>destination_ports</varname>
<parameter>A,B</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
The names of the JACK destination ports to connect to.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>ringbuffer_size</varname>
<parameter>NBYTES</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the size of the ring buffer for each channel.
Do not configure this value unless you know what
you're doing.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>httpd</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>httpd</varname> plugin creates a HTTP server,
similar to ShoutCast / IceCast. HTTP streaming clients like
<filename>mplayer</filename> can connect to it.
</para>
<para>
You must configure either <varname>quality</varname> or
<varname>bitrate</varname>. It is highly recommended to
configure a fixed <varname>format</varname>, because a
stream cannot switch its audio format on-the-fly when the
song changes.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>port</varname>
<parameter>P</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Binds the HTTP server to the specified port.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bind_to_address</varname>
<parameter>ADDR</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Binds the HTTP server to the specified address (IPv4 or
IPv6). Multiple addresses in parallel are not supported.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>encoder</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Chooses an encoder plugin,
e.g. <parameter>vorbis</parameter>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>quality</varname>
<parameter>Q</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Configures the encoder quality (for VBR) in the
range -1 .. 10.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bitrate</varname>
<parameter>BR</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets a constant encoder bit rate, in kilobit per
second.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>max_clients</varname>
<parameter>MC</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets a limit, number of concurrent clients. When set
to 0 no limit will apply.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>null</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>null</varname> plugin does nothing. It
discards everything sent to it.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>sync</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
If set to <parameter>no</parameter>, then the timer
is disabled - the device will accept PCM chunks at
arbitrary rate (useful for benchmarking). The
default behaviour is to play in real time.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>oss</varname></title>
<para>
The "Open Sound System" plugin is supported on most Unix
platforms.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>device</varname>
<parameter>PATH</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the path of the PCM device. If not specified,
then MPD will attempt to open
<filename>/dev/sound/dsp</filename> and
<filename>/dev/dsp</filename>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>openal</varname></title>
<para>
The "OpenAL" plugin uses <filename>libopenal</filename>.
It is supported on many platforms.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>device</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the device which should be used. This can be
any valid OpenAL device name. If not specified, then
<filename>libopenal</filename> will choose a default device.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>osx</varname></title>
<para>
The "Mac OS X" plugin uses Apple's CoreAudio API.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>pipe</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>pipe</varname> plugin starts a program and
writes raw PCM data into its standard input.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>command</varname>
<parameter>CMD</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
This command is invoked with the shell.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>pulse</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>pulse</varname> plugin connects to a PulseAudio
server.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>server</varname>
<parameter>HOSTNAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the host name of the PulseAudio server. By
default, MPD connects to the local PulseAudio
server.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>sink</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies the name of the PulseAudio sink MPD should
play on.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>recorder</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>recorder</varname> plugin writes the audio
played by MPD to a file. This may be useful for recording
radio streams.
</para>
<para>
You must configure either <varname>quality</varname> or
<varname>bitrate</varname>.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>path</varname>
<parameter>P</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Write to this file.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>encoder</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Chooses an encoder plugin,
e.g. <parameter>vorbis</parameter>.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>quality</varname>
<parameter>Q</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Configures the encoder quality (for VBR) in the
range -1 .. 10.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>bitrate</varname>
<parameter>BR</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets a constant encoder bit rate, in kilobit per
second.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>shout</varname></title>
<para>
The <varname>shout</varname> plugin connects to a ShoutCast
or IceCast server. It forwards tags to this server.
</para>
<para>
You must set a <varname>format</varname>.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>host</varname>
<parameter>HOSTNAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the host name of the Shoutcast/Icecast server.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>port</varname>
<parameter>PORTNUMBER</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Connect to this port number on the specified host.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>timeout</varname>
<parameter>SECONDS</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Set the timeout for the shout connection in seconds.
Defaults to 2 seconds.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>protocol</varname>
<parameter>icecast2|icecast1|shoutcast</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies the protocol that wil be used to connect
to the icecast/shoutcast server. The default
is "<parameter>icecast2</parameter>".
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>mount</varname>
<parameter>URI</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Mounts the MPD stream in the specified URI.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>user</varname>
<parameter>USERNAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the user name for submitting the stream to the
server. Default is "source".
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>password</varname>
<parameter>PWD</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the password for submitting the stream to the
server.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>name</varname>
<parameter>NAME</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the name of the stream.
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>genre</varname>
<parameter>GENRE</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the genre of the stream (optional).
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>description</varname>
<parameter>DESCRIPTION</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets a short description of the stream (optional).
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>url</varname>
<parameter>URL</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets a URL associated with the stream (optional).
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>public</varname>
<parameter>yes|no</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Specifies whether the stream should be "public".
Default is "no".
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>encoder</varname>
<parameter>PLUGIN</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the name of the encoder plugin. Default is
"vorbis". "vorbis" and "lame" are valid encoder
plugins (provided that you enabled them at compile
time).
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>solaris</varname></title>
<para>
The "Solaris" plugin runs only on SUN Solaris, and plays via
<filename>/dev/audio</filename>.
</para>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>device</varname>
<parameter>PATH</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
Sets the path of the audio device, defaults to
<filename>/dev/audio</filename>.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Playlist plugins</title>
<section>
<title><varname>embcue</varname></title>
<para>
Reads CUE sheets from the "CUESHEET" tag of song files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>m3u</varname></title>
<para>
Reads <filename>.m3u</filename> playlist files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>extm3u</varname></title>
<para>
Reads extended <filename>.m3u</filename> playlist files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>pls</varname></title>
<para>
Reads <filename>.pls</filename> playlist files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>xspf</varname></title>
<para>
Reads <ulink url="http://www.xspf.org/">XSPF</ulink>
playlist files.
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>despotify</varname></title>
<para>
Adds <ulink url="http://www.spotify.com/">Spotify</ulink>
playlists. Spotify playlists use the <filename>spt://</filename> URI,
and a Spotify playlist URL. So for example, you can load a playlist
with
</para>
<para>
<filename>mpc load spt://spotify:user:simon.kagstrom:playlist:3SUwkOe5VbVHysZcidEZtH</filename>
</para>
<para>
See the despotify input plugin for configuration options (username
and password needs to be setup)
</para>
</section>
<section>
<title><varname>soundcloud</varname></title>
<para>
Adds <ulink url="https://www.soundcloud.com/">Soundcloud</ulink>
playlists. SoundCloud playlists use the <filename>soundcloud://</filename> URI,
and with a number of arguments, you may load different playlists with
</para>
<programlisting>
mpc load soundcloud://track/TRACK_ID
mpc load soundcloud://playlist/PLAYLIST_ID
mpc load soundcloud://user/USERNAME
mpc load soundcloud://search/SEARCH_QUERY
mpc load soundcloud://url/https://soundcloud.com/ARTIST/TRACK-NAME
</programlisting>
<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>Setting</entry>
<entry>Description</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
<varname>apikey</varname>
<parameter>client_id</parameter>
</entry>
<entry>
User apikey/client_id can override the MPD token provided by SoundCloud.
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
</section>
</chapter>
</book>