Provided by: cmus_2.8.0-2_amd64 
NAME
cmus - C* Music Player
SYNOPSIS
cmus [options]
DESCRIPTION
cmus is a small ncurses based music player. It supports various output methods by output-plugins. cmus
has completely configurable keybindings and can be controlled from the outside via cmus-remote(1).
OPTIONS
--listen ADDR
Listen to ADDR (UNIX socket) instead of $CMUS_SOCKET or $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/cmus-socket. ADDR is
either a UNIX socket or host[:port].
WARNING: Using host[:port] is insecure even with password! It might be useful though in LAN if you
want multiple local users to able to control cmus. Never make cmus listen to the internet.
NOTE: Don't use this option to run multiple instances as same user. That would corrupt the track
metadata cache.
--passwd PASSWD
Set the password for TCP/IP connections. Must be set if you are listening from host[:port]. Used
in conjunction with --listen.
--plugins
List available plugins and exit.
--show-cursor
Keep cursor always visible. This is useful for screen readers.
--help
Display usage information and exit.
--version
Display version information and exit.
VIEWS
There are 7 views in cmus. Press keys 1-7 to change active view.
Library view (1)
Display all tracks in so-called library. Tracks are sorted artist/album tree. Artist sorting is
done alphabetically. Albums are sorted by year.
Sorted library view (2)
Displays same content as view 1, but as a simple list which is automatically sorted by user
criteria.
Playlist view (3)
Displays editable playlists with optional sorting.
Play Queue view (4)
Displays queue of tracks which are played next. These tracks are played before anything else (i.e.
the playlist or library).
Browser (5)
Directory browser. In this view, music can be added to either the library, marked playlist or
queue from the filesystem.
Filters view (6)
Lists user defined filters.
Settings view (7)
Lists keybindings, unbound commands and options. Remove bindings with D or del, change bindings
and variables with enter and toggle variables with space.
COMMAND LINE
Everything in cmus is implemented as commands which can be typed at command line or bound to a key. To
enter command mode type :. To execute a command press ENTER or to cancel press ESC or CTRL-C. Use
up/down arrows to browse command history. Use TAB to complete commands and parameters, you can tab
complete almost anything. You don't need to type full command names if the command is unambiguous (no
other commands starting with the same characters).
Examples:
# add files, short for ':add ~/music'
:a ~/music
# change output plugin
:set output_plugin=oss
# start playing
# you could just press 'x' which is the default
# binding for this command
:player-play
# clear current view (library, playlist or play queue)
:clear
SEARCHING
Search mode works like the command mode, to enter search mode press / and then type the search words and
press ENTER. Press n to search next or N to search previous match using the same search words. Type ?
to search backwards.
In views 1-4 words are compared to artist, album and title tags. Type //WORDS or ??WORDS to search only
artists/albums in view 1 or titles in views 2-4. If the file doesn't have tags words are compared to
filename without path.
Searching works in views 5-7 too and its logic should be pretty obvious.
PLAYLIST EDITING
Selecting Tracks
Editing commands affect the currently marked tracks or if there are no marked tracks the currently
selected track (or selected artist/album in view 1).
Mark selected track by pressing SPACE. Marked tracks appear with a gray background. You can only mark
tracks in the list views (2-4).
Copying Tracks Between Views
You can copy marked or selected tracks from views 1-5.
a copy tracks to the library (1-2)
y copy tracks to the marked playlist (3)
e append tracks to the play queue (4)
E prepend tracks to the play queue (4)
Moving Tracks
In views 2-4 you can move tracks within the list. Note that moving is disabled if the view is auto-sorted
(see lib_sort and pl_sort options).
Pressing p moves marked tracks to the position immediately after the selected track. P moves them to the
position immediately before the selected track. If there are no marked tracks then the selected track is
moved down (p) or up (P).
NOTE: Changing active filters reloads view 2 so it isn't a good idea to manually order tracks in the
view.
Removing Tracks
Press D or delete to remove marked or selected tracks in the current view (1-4). The tracks will be
removed immediately from the view without asking for confirmation. In the browser and filters views the
same keys are used to remove a file or filter (will ask for confirmation).
STATUS LINE
Right hand side of the status line (second row from the bottom, black text on a grey background) consists
of the following fields:
aaa_mode & play_sorted & play_library | continue follow repeat shuffle
NOTE: aaa_mode and play_sorted will be displayed only if play_library is true because these are
meaningless when playing the playlists (view 3).
Pressing m, o, M, C, r and s keys should make it easier to understand what all those fields mean.
See CONFIGURATION OPTIONS section for more information about these options.
KEYBINDINGS
Here's list of default keybindings. See unbind and bind commands in the COMMANDS section.
Common Context
q quit -i
^C echo Type :quit<enter> to exit cmus.
I echo {}
b player-next
c player-pause
x player-play
z player-prev
v player-stop
^L refresh
/ search-start
? search-b-start
n search-next
N search-prev
. seek +1m
l, right seek +5
, seek -1m
h, left seek -5
m toggle aaa_mode
C toggle continue
M toggle play_library
o toggle play_sorted
r toggle repeat
^R toggle repeat_current
t toggle show_remaining_time
s toggle shuffle
f toggle follow
F push filter<space>
L push live-filter<space>
u update-cache
1 view tree
2 view sorted
3 view playlist
4 view queue
5 view browser
6 view filters
7 view settings
! push shell<space>
] vol +0 +1
[ vol +1 +0
+, = vol +10%
} vol -0 -1
{ vol -1 -0
- vol -10%
enter, mlb_click_selected win-activate
E win-add-Q
a win-add-l
y win-add-p
e win-add-q
G, end win-bottom
down, j, mouse_scroll_down win-down
p win-mv-after
P win-mv-before
tab win-next
^F, page_down win-page-down
^B, page_up win-page-up
^E win-scroll-down
^Y win-scroll-up
D, delete win-remove
i win-sel-cur
space win-toggle
g, home win-top
k, up, mouse_scroll_up win-up
Browser Context
space win-activate
backspace browser-up
i toggle show_hidden
u win-update
LIBRARY VIEW SORTING
The library view (the tree-like one; not the sorted library view, for which the sorting is controlled by
the user by setting lib_sort - see CONFIGURATION OPTIONS), is sorted automatically by cmus using the
information found in the tagging information provided by the audio files.
Generally, in the library view cmus uses three levels of sorting: the first level would be the artist
name, the second one the album and finally the actual track.
At first, cmus checks if the "filename" looks like an URL, if it does, the item is given the special
artist and album name <Stream>.
If it is a file, it is checked if the artist and album tags are set. If not, cmus assigns the special
name <No Name> for the unset tag.
As the first level, cmus sorts alphanumerically by the value of the artist tag. (<Stream> and <No Name>
will be used as if they where normal names.) If a special sorting tag is available, it's value will be
used instead.
For album names, alphanumerical sorting is not the primary method, though. To decide, how the second
level should be sorted, cmus looks at the date of the first track of each album. Sorting is done from
young to old. Of course, if one artist happens to have more then one album from one year, alphanumerical
sorting will be used after sorting by date.
If the date header is not set, the album will be placed on top of the list (in fact, the internal integer
value for unset album tags is -1).
The method for third sorting level (the track) is very similar to album sorting. First two numerical
values are checked (discnumber and tracknumber). If sorting is still ambiguous, sorting will be done
alphanumerically by the value of the track's filename (not track name!).
For simple albums, that is it. There is a special case, though. Albums, that feature various artists,
also known as samplers or compilations.
If a track belongs to a compilation is again decided by the existence and value of special tagging
information. First, it is checked if cmus should use a special artist name (e.g.: 'Fatboy Slim' for a DJ
set). If so, that one will be used instead of the real artist name.
If that special name tag is not set, cmus checks if another tag is set. If that is the case, the album
will be given the special artist name <Various Artists>. Albums filed under <Various Artists> are sorted
alphanumerically by album name instead of by date.
That way, you do not end up with compilation tracks scattered around your library view.
The problem with compilation tagging is, that there is no generic tag or method, that can be regarded as
a standard across all different formats, supported by cmus.
For mp3, the special-name tag would be the id3v2 TPE2 frame. The mark-as-compilation tag is the TCMP
frame (which is a user defined id3v2.3 frame, used at least by amarok and apple's iTunes[tm]).
For vorbis style tags (for example in ogg vorbis and flac files), the special-name tag is ALBUMARTIST and
the mark-as-compilation tag is COMPILATION. Vorbis tags names are case insensitive.
COMMANDS
This section describes cmus' commands. You can bind a key to any of these commands, put these commands
to configuration files and execute them in command mode. Also cmus-remote uses these commands in its
protocol.
Optional parameters are in brackets, obligatory parameters in angle brackets and default key bindings in
parenthesis.
add [-l] [-p] [-q] [-Q] <file|dir|url|playlist>
Add file/dir/url/playlist to the specified view or the current view.
-l add to library
-p add to playlist
-q add play queue
-Q prepend to play queue
URL is a Shoutcast stream (http://...) or a CDDA URL (cdda://...) (see PLAYING AUDIO DISCS).
Supported playlist: plain, .m3u, .pls.
bind [-f] <context> <key> <command>
Add a key binding.
-f overwrite existing binding
Use tab to expand contexts, keys and commands. Command is any command listed in this section.
Valid key contexts
common, library (1-2), playlist (3), queue (4), browser (5), filters (6)
There's one context for each view. Common is a special context on which bound keys work in every
view.
You can override specific keys in common context for a view. For example i selects the current
track in views 1-3 but in browser it is overridden to toggle showing of hidden files.
browser-up (backspace)
Change to parent directory in browser view (5). This command only makes sense to be bound to the
browser key context although it's possible to use this even if browser view is not active.
cd [directory]
Changes the current working directory. Changes the directory displayed in browser view too.
clear [-l] [-p] [-q]
Remove all tracks from the specified view or the current view.
-l clear library
-p clear playlist
-q clear play queue
colorscheme <name>
Change color scheme. Color schemes are found in /usr/share/cmus/ or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/ and
have .theme filename extension.
echo <arg>...
Display arguments on the command line.
If the arguments contain {} it is replaced with file name of the first selected track.
NOTE: unlike with run the {} is replaced with only the first selected filename.
Default bindings:
common I echo {}
common ^C echo Type :quit<enter> to exit cmus.
factivate <user-defined-filter>...
Select and activate the given user defined filters (displayed in the filters view). Filter names
are separated by spaces. This command is mostly useful when bound to a key, to change active
filters very quickly. If no arguments given then all filters are unactivated.
If you prefix a filter name with "!" then the filter value is negated before activation.
filter <filter-expression>
Use this command when you want to temporarily filter contents of the library views without having
separately define (fset) and activate the filter. The filter is not saved.
fset <name>=<filter-expression>
Define (or replace existing) filter and add it to filters view (6).
invert
Invert the marking of tracks in playlist and queue views. See mark and unmark.
live-filter <simple-filter-expression|short-filter-expression>
Use this command when you want to temporarily filter contents of the library views without having
separately define (fset) and activate the filter. The filter is not saved.
load [-l] [-p] <playlist>
Load a playlist to the specified view or to the current view.
-l load to library views
-p load to playlist view
lqueue [NUM]
Queue NUM (default 1) random albums from the library. See also tqueue.
mark <filter-expression>
Mark tracks in playlist and queue view by using a filter expression.
pl-create <name>
Creates a new playlist.
pl-export <filename>
Exports the currently selected playlist.
pl-import [filename]
Imports a playlist into the playlist view. The argument can be omitted in the browser view.
pl-rename <name>
Renames the selected playlist.
player-next (b)
Skip to the next track.
player-pause (c)
Toggle pause.
player-pause-playback
Pause if currently playing.
player-play [filename] (x)
Play the given track, or, if none is specified, [re]play the current track from the beginning.
player-prev (z)
Skip to the previous track.
player-stop (v)
Stop playback.
prev-view
Go to previously used view.
left-view
Go to view "to the left" of current one, e.g. view 4 -> view 3.
right-view
Go to view "to the right" of current one, e.g. view 3 -> view 4.
push <text>
Enter command mode with the command line pre-set to text. Example:
bind common w push filter artist=
Text can contain spaces and even trailing spaces will be honored. This command can only be bound
to a key but not used in the command line directly.
pwd
Prints the current working directory.
quit [-i] (q, :wq)
Exit cmus.
-i ask before exiting
raise-vte
Raise the virtual terminal emulator window. Works only in X session.
rand
Randomizes (shuffles) the tracks in the library, playlist or queue view.
refresh (^L)
Redraw the terminal window.
run <command>
Run command for the marked tracks OR the selected one if none marked.
By default file names are appended to the command. If the command contains {} it is replaced with
list of filenames.
NOTE: In view 1 you can run a command for all files in the selected album or artist.
save [-e] [-l] [-L] [-p] [-q] [file] (:w)
Save the specified view's or the current view's contents to a playlist file. In extended mode
(-e), also save metadata.
-l save library views
-L save filtered library views
-p save playlist view
-q save queue view
If no filename given the old filename is used. "-" outputs to stdout (works only remotely).
search-next (n)
If a search pattern has been entered before, search forward for the next match in the current
view. See SEARCHING above.
search-prev (N)
If a search pattern has been entered before, search backwards for the previous match in the
current view. See SEARCHING above.
seek [+-](<num>[mh] | [HH:]MM:SS)
Seek to absolute or relative position. Position can be given in seconds, minutes (m), hours (h)
or HH:MM:SS format where HH: is optional.
Seek 1 minute backward
:seek -1m
Seek 5 seconds forward
:seek +5
Seek to absolute position 1h
:seek 1h
Seek 90 seconds forward
:seek +1:30
Default bindings:
common , :seek -1m
common . :seek +1m
common l :seek +5
common h :seek -5
common right :seek +5
common left :seek -5
set <option>=<value>
Set value of an option. See OPTIONS.
set <option>
Display option value. Vim compatible set <option>? is also supported.
shell <command>
Execute a command via /bin/sh.
showbind <context> <key>
Show key binding.
shuffle
Reshuffle the shuffle lists for both library and playlist views.
source <filename>
Read and execute commands from <filename>.
toggle <option>
Toggle value of a toggle-able option (all booleans and tristate aaa_mode).
tqueue [NUM]
Queue NUM (default 1) random tracks from the library. See also lqueue.
unbind [-f] <context> <key>
Remove a key binding. Use tab to cycle through bound keys.
-f
Don't throw an error if the binding is not known
unmark
Unmark all tracks (see mark).
update-cache [-f]
Update track metadata cache ($XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/cache). Only files with changed modification
time or removed files are considered.
-f
Update all files. Same as quit, rm -f $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/cache, start cmus.
version
Print the version information.
view <name or 1-7>
Switches active view.
vol [+-]NUM[%] [[+-]NUM[%]]
Set, increase or decrease volume.
If you give vol just one argument it changes both channels. Two values make it possible to change
the left and right channel independently.
To increase or decrease volume prefix the value with - or +, otherwise value is treated as
absolute volume.
Both absolute and relative values can be given as percentage units (suffixed with %) or as
internal values (hardware may have volume in range 0-31 for example).
Default bindings:
common = :vol +10%
common + :vol +10%
common - :vol -10%
common [ :vol +1% +0%
common ] :vol +0% +1%
common { :vol -1% -0%
common } :vol -0% -1%
win-activate (enter)
In views 1-3 start playing the selected track. In view 5 start playing the selected track or
change to the selected directory. In view 6 activate the selected filters. In settings view (7)
change binding or variable.
win-add-l (a)
Add the currently marked or selected track(s) (views 3-4), or the currently selected file or
directory (view 5) to the library.
Analogous to :add -l
win-add-p (y)
Add the currently marked or selected track(s) (views 1-2, 4), or the currently selected file or
directory (view 5) to the marked playlist.
Analogous to :add -p
win-add-Q (E)
Prepend the currently marked or selected track(s) (views 1-3), or the currently selected file or
directory (view 5) to the play queue.
Analogous to :add -Q
win-add-q (e)
Add the currently marked or selected track(s) (views 1-3), or the currently selected file or
directory (view 5) to the play queue.
Analogous to :add -q
win-bottom (G, end)
Goto bottom of the current window.
win-down [NUM] (j, down)
Goto down NUM (default 1) rows in the current window.
win-half-page-down (^D)
Goto down half a page in the current window.
win-half-page-up (^U)
Goto up half a page in the current window.
win-mv-after (p)
If no tracks are marked, move the selected track down one row. If any tracks are marked, move the
marked tracks after the currently selected track. This command works in unsorted playlist and
play queue view.
win-mv-before (P)
If no tracks are marked, move the selected track up one row. If any tracks are marked, move the
marked tracks before the currently selected track. This command works in unsorted playlist and
play queue view.
win-next (tab)
Activate next window. Only relevant in view 1.
win-page-bottom
Goto the bottom of the visible part of the current window.
win-page-down (^F, page_down)
Goto down one page in the current window.
win-page-middle
Goto the middle of the visible part of the current window.
win-page-top
Goto the top of the visible part of the current window.
win-page-up (^B, page_up)
Go up one page in the current window.
win-remove (D, delete)
Remove the selected entry. For tracks no confirmations are made. For playlists (view 3), files
(view 5), filters (view 6) and bindings (view 7) user has to confirm the action.
win-scroll-down (^E)
Scroll current window one row downwards.
win-scroll-up (^Y)
Scroll current window one row upwards.
win-sel-cur (i)
Select the current track (position in library or playlist, not necessarily same as the currently
playing track). Works only in views 1-3, does nothing in other views.
win-toggle (space)
Expand albums in library view (1), mark tracks in views 2-4, set the marked playlist in view 3,
toggle selection of a filter in view 6, toggle variable value in view 7.
win-top (g, home)
Goto top of the current window.
win-up [NUM] (k, up)
Goto up NUM (default 1) rows in the current window.
win-update (u)
Checks the modification time of the files in the library, and updates metadata for changed files.
Removes non-existent files from the library.
Reloads contents of directory in the browser view.
Only works in views 1-2 and 5, does nothing in other views.
win-update-cache [-f]
Same as update-cache, but only for marked / selected tracks. Only works in views 1-2, does nothing
in other views.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
This section describes cmus' options that can be altered with the set and toggle commands. Default values
are in parenthesis, possible values in brackets.
auto_expand_albums_follow, auto_expand_albums_search, auto_expand_albums_selcur (true)
If enabled, cmus will always open an artist and select the album when following the currently
played track or performing actions such as "search" or "go to current track". This option is
tightly coupled to the show_all_tracks option. Any "auto_expand_albums_* = false" implies
"show_all_tracks = true".
auto_reshuffle (true)
Reshuffle playlist when end of shuffle list is reached.
aaa_mode (all) [all, artist, album]
Defines what tracks should be played in the library view. Not used in the other views. For
example if set to artist the player behaves like there were only the files of the currently
playing artist in the library.
altformat_current [Format String]
Alternative format string for the line displaying currently playing track.
NOTE: if empty, format_current is used instead.
altformat_playlist [Format String]
Alternative format string for the list views (2-4).
NOTE: if empty, format_playlist is used instead.
altformat_title [Format String]
Alternative format string for terminal title.
NOTE: not all terminals support changing window title.
NOTE: if empty, format_title is used instead.
altformat_trackwin [Format String]
Alternative format string for the tree view's (1) track window.
NOTE: if empty, format_trackwin is used instead.
buffer_seconds (10) [1-300]
Size of player buffer in seconds.
color_cmdline_bg (default) [Color]
Command line background color.
color_cmdline_fg (default) [Color]
Command line foreground color.
color_cmdline_attr (default) [Attributes]
Command line attributes.
color_error (lightred) [Color]
Color of error messages displayed on the command line.
color_info (lightyellow) [Color]
Color of informational messages displayed on the command line.
color_separator (blue) [Color]
Color of the separator line between windows in view (1).
color_statusline_bg (gray) [Color]
Status line background color.
color_statusline_fg (black) [Color]
Status line foreground color.
color_statusline_attr (default) [Attributes]
Status line attributes.
color_titleline_bg (blue) [Color]
Background color of the line displaying currently playing track.
color_titleline_fg (white) [Color]
Foreground color of the line displaying currently playing track.
color_titleline_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of the line displaying currently playing track.
color_win_bg (default) [Color]
Window background color.
color_win_cur (lightyellow) [Color]
Color of currently playing track.
color_win_cur_attr (default) [Attributes]
Currently playing track attributes.
color_win_cur_sel_bg (blue) [Color]
Background color of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in active window.
color_win_cur_sel_fg (lightyellow) [Color]
Foreground color of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in active window.
color_win_cur_sel_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in active window.
color_win_dir (lightblue) [Color]
Color of directories in browser.
color_win_fg (default) [Color]
Window foreground color.
color_win_attr (default) [Attributes]
Window attributes.
color_win_inactive_cur_sel_bg (gray) [Color]
Background color of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in inactive window.
color_win_inactive_cur_sel_fg (lightyellow) [Color]
Foreground color of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in inactive window.
color_win_inactive_cur_sel_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of the selected row which is also the currently playing track in inactive window.
color_win_inactive_sel_bg (gray) [Color]
Background color of selected row in inactive window.
color_win_inactive_sel_fg (black) [Color]
Foreground color of selected row in inactive window.
color_win_inactive_sel_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of selected row in inactive window.
color_win_sel_bg (blue) [Color]
Background color of selected row in active window.
color_win_sel_fg (white) [Color]
Foreground color of selected row in active window.
color_win_sel_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of selected row in active window.
color_win_title_bg (blue) [Color]
Background color of window titles (topmost line of the screen).
color_win_title_fg (white) [Color]
Foreground color of window titles (topmost line of the screen).
color_win_title_attr (default) [Attributes]
Attributes of window titles (topmost line of the screen).
color_trackwin_album_bg (default) [Color]
Background color of the album row shown in the track window.
color_trackwin_album_fg (default) [Color]
Foreground color of the album row shown in the track window.
color_trackwin_album_attr (bold) [Attributes]
Attributes of the album row shown in the track window.
confirm_run (true)
Ask for confirmation before executing :run
continue (true)
Continue playing after current track finishes.
device (/dev/cdrom)
CDDA device file.
display_artist_sort_name (false)
If enabled, always displays artist names used for sorting instead of regular ones in tree view
(e.g. "Artist, The" instead of "The Artist"), so that artists column looks alphabetically sorted.
follow (false)
If enabled, always select the currently playing track on track change.
format_current [Format String]
Format string for the line displaying currently playing track.
format_playlist [Format String]
Format string for the list views (2-4).
format_playlist_va [Format String]
Format string for the list views (2-4), if a track is assumed to be a part of compilation (see
LIBRARY VIEW SORTING for details).
NOTE: if empty, format_playlist is used instead.
format_statusline [Format String]
Format string for status line.
format_title [Format String]
Format string for terminal title.
NOTE: not all terminals support changing window title.
format_trackwin [Format String]
Format string for the tree view's (1) track window.
format_trackwin_album [Format String]
Format string for albums in tree view's (1) track window.
format_trackwin_va [Format String]
Format string for the tree view's (1) track window, if a track is assumed to be a part of
compilation (see LIBRARY VIEW SORTING for details).
NOTE: if empty, format_trackwin is used instead.
format_treewin [Format String]
Format string for the tree view's (1) tree window.
format_treewin_artist [Format String]
Format string for artists in tree view's (1) tree window.
smart_artist_sort (true)
If enabled, makes tree view sorting ignore "The" in front of artist names, preventing artists
starting with "The" from clumping together. Real artistsort tags override this option, if present.
id3_default_charset (ISO-8859-1)
Default character set to use for ID3v1 and broken ID3v2 tags.
NOTE: This is used only if the tag is not valid UTF-8.
icecast_default_charset (ISO-8859-1)
Default character set to use for non-UTF-8 icecast stream metadata.
NOTE: This is used only if the metadata is not valid UTF-8.
lib_add_filter (Filter)
Apply filter when adding files to the library. See FILTERS.
lib_sort (artist album discnumber tracknumber title filename) [Sort Keys]
Sort keys for the sorted library view (2).
mouse (false)
Enable mouse support.
NOTE: Mouse wheel scrolling can lag if cmus is compiled with old version of Ncurses.
mpris (true)
Enable MPRIS support. See D-Bus Interface (MPRIS)
NOTE: This flag has no effect if cmus was compiled without MPRIS support.
output_plugin [roar, pulse, alsa, arts, oss, sndio, sun, coreaudio]
Name of output plugin.
pl_sort () [Sort Keys]
Sort keys for the playlist view (3). Empty value disables sorting and enables manually moving
tracks.
play_library (true)
Play tracks from the library instead of playlist.
play_sorted (false)
Play tracks from the library in the sorted view (2) order instead of tree view (1) order. Used
only when play_library is true.
repeat (false)
Repeat after all tracks played.
repeat_current (false)
Repeat current track forever.
replaygain (disabled)
Enable Replay Gain. Default is "disabled". Set to "track", "album", "track-preferred" or
"album-preferred".
replaygain_limit (true)
Use replay gain limiting when clipping.
replaygain_preamp (0.0)
Replay gain preamplification in decibels.
resume (false)
Resume playback on startup.
rewind_offset (5) [-1-9999]
If the position of the current track is smaller than rewind_offset, player_prev jumps to the
previous track. Otherwise, player_prev jumps to the beginning of the current track. If
rewind_offset=-1, player_prev always jumps to the previous track.
scroll_offset (2) [0-9999]
Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
show_all_tracks (true)
Display all tracks of the artist when the artist is selected in the tree view. This option is
tightly coupled to the auto_expand_albums_* options. "show_all_tracks = false" implies
"auto_expand_albums_* = true".
show_hidden (false)
Display hidden files in browser.
show_current_bitrate (false)
Display current bitrate in the status lines.
show_playback_position (true)
Display elapsed (or remaining) time in the status line. Can be disabled to e.g. not trigger tmux's
activity monitor.
show_remaining_time (false)
Display remaining time instead of elapsed time.
shuffle (false)
Play in shuffled order. Shuffle works in the library views (1-2) and playlist view (3).
skip_track_info (false)
Don't load metadata when adding tracks. Useful when using network file system and having huge
amount of files. Tags can be loaded using 'update-cache' or 'win-update-cache' commands.
softvol (false)
Use software volume control.
NOTE: You should probably set this to false when using ao as output_plugin to output to wav files.
softvol_state (100 100)
Used to save left and right channel values for software volume control. Two integers in range
0..100 separated by a space. This option is not usually changed directly since vol command does
same thing if softvol is true.
start_view (tree) [tree, sorted, playlist, queue, browser, filters, settings]
Specify the view that gets shown when cmus starts.
status_display_program () [command]
This command, if not empty, is run every time cmus' status changes. It can be used to display
currently playing track on desktop background or panel for example. See
/usr/share/doc/cmus/examples/cmus-status-display.
time_show_leading_zero (true)
Pad durations of less than 10 minutes with a leading 0
wrap_search (true)
Controls whether the search wraps around the end.
Colors
Color is integer in range -1..255.
The following color names are recognized:
Terminal's default color, -1
default
Fg & bg, 0..7
black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, gray
Fg, 8..15
darkgray, lightred, lightgreen, lightyellow, lightblue, lightmagenta, lightcyan, white
Attributes
Attributes is a set of names "standout|bold":
default does nothing, if you put it with other attributes the other attributes will be used.
standout makes the text standout.
bold makes the text bold.
reverse reverses the text colors.
underline underlines the text.
blink makes the text blink.
Format Strings
Format strings control display of tracks in library, playlist and play queue views.
NOTE: altformat_* options are used when there are no tags available.
Special Keys:
%a %{artist}
%A %{albumartist}
%l %{album}
%D %{discnumber}
%n %{tracknumber}
%X %{play_count}
%t %{title}
%g %{genre}
%c %{comment}
%y %{date}
%d %{duration}
%f %{path}
%F %{filename}
%{albumduration}
%{originaldate}
%{maxdate}
%{bpm}
%{bitrate}
%{codec}
%{codec_profile}
%{rg_track_gain}
%{rg_track_peak}
%{rg_album_gain}
%{rg_album_peak}
%{arranger}
%{composer}
%{conductor}
%{lyricist}
%{performer}
%{remixer}
%{label}
%{publisher}
%{work}
%{opus}
%{partnumber}
%{part}
%{subtitle}
%{media}
%=
start align right (use at most once)
%%
literal %
%?
literal ?
You can use printf style formatting (width, alignment, padding). As an extension, the width can have a
%-suffix, to specify a percentage of the terminal width.
To see current value of an option type :set option=<TAB>.
Note: With %{bitrate}, you'll have to append the unit yourself, as mentioned in the example below.
You can use conditional operator %{?CONDITION?A[?B]}. CONDITION has the same syntax as filters, except
for unsupported short and simple expressions and supported keys comparison (e.g. artist=albumartist). Its
keys are:
format strings' special keys
configuration options
keyword stream [boolean] (returns true if track is a stream)
keyword va [boolean] (returns true if track's album is compilation)
Else part can be skipped. A and B can contain string literals in " or '. A and B can be empty.
Examples:
:set format_trackwin= %02n. %t %{?y?(%y)}%= %d
:set format_current= %n. %-30t %40F (%y)%= %d
:set format_current= %a - %l - %02n. %t%= %{bitrate}Kbps %g %y
:set format_playlist= %f%= %6{rg_track_gain} dB %8{rg_track_peak}
:set format_playlist= %-25%a %-15%l %3n. %t%= %y %d
Sort Keys
Sort option (lib_sort, pl_sort) value is space separated list of the following sort keys:
artist, album, title, tracknumber, play_count, discnumber, date, originaldate, genre, comment,
albumartist, filename, filemtime, bpm, bitrate, codec, media, codec_profile, rg_track_gain,
rg_track_peak, rg_album_gain, rg_album_peak
Note: Adding a '-' in front of the key will sort in reverse order
PLUGIN OPTIONS
dsp.alsa.device
PCM device for ALSA plugin, usually "default".
mixer.alsa.channel
Mixer channel for ALSA Plugin, usually "pcm", "master" or "headphone". To see all possible values
run "alsamixer" or "amixer".
mixer.alsa.device
Mixer device for ALSA plugin, usually "default".
mixer.pulse.restore_volume
Restore the volume at startup using PulseAudio. Otherwise, cmus sets the volume to 100%, which
does not mix well with "flat volumes" feature of PA. Defaults to "1"; set to "0" to turn off.
dsp.ao.buffer_size
Buffer size, default is 16kB (but you may want to try bigger values if you experience buffer
under-runs).
dsp.ao.device_interface
Device interface for libao plugin to request a specific playback device/sink/output. This name
will be in a format determined by the specific driver backend.
dsp.ao.driver
Output driver for libao plugin. Example values: "alsa09", "esd", "irix", "oss", "sun", "aixs",
"wav".
NOTE: of the file output drivers only "wav" is supported.
dsp.ao.wav_counter
Counter used for making filename. Used only if dsp.ao.driver is "wav". For example if this is 1
and dsp.ao.wav_dir is "/home/user" then PCM data is outputted to "/home/user/01.wav". This
counter is incremented every time playback is stopped.
NOTE: you probably want to set continue to false (press C), otherwise playback is not stopped
between tracks and all PCM data is outputted to one wav file (useful if you want to join files).
Also unsetting shuffle and repeat might be good idea.
dsp.ao.wav_dir
Output directory for libao plugin, default is your home directory. Used only if dsp.ao.driver is
"wav".
dsp.coreaudio.device
Device for Core Audio output. Leave empty for default.
dsp.coreaudio.enable_hog_mode
Set true to set the device to hog mode. The default value is false.
dsp.coreaudio.sync_sample_rate
Synchronize the device sample rate with the player, so no interpolation will be applied to the
stream.
dsp.jack.server_name
Connect to jackd with this name. Leave empty for default.
dsp.jack.resampling_quality
Sets the quality of the re-sampling. 0 is low quality but fast, 1 is medium quality, 2 (default)
is high quality but more CPU intensiv. This option is only available if cmus was compiled with
libsamplerate support.
input.cdio.cddb_url
CDDB URL (default: freedb.freedb.org:8880). Use HTTP protocol if prefixed with "http://" (e.g.:
http://freedb.musicbrainz.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi). Set to an empty string to disable CDDB lookup
completely.
input.*.priority
Sets the priority of the input plugin. If multiple plugins can play a file, the plugin with the
higher priority is chosen. If the priority is 0, the plugin is disabled.
dsp.oss.device
PCM device for OSS plugin, usually /dev/dsp.
mixer.oss.channel
Mixer channel for OSS Plugin, "pcm" or "master".
mixer.oss.device
Mixer device for OSS plugin, usually /dev/mixer.
dsp.roar.server
Address of RoarAudio server. Defaults to internal defaults. Can be UNIX, TCP/IP or DECnet address.
dsp.roar.role [music, background_music, ...]
Role for stream. May be used by the server to apply additional defaults.
dsp.sun.device
PCM device for Sun plugin, usually /dev/audio.
mixer.sun.channel
Mixer channel for Sun Plugin, usually "master".
mixer.sun.device
Mixer device for Sun plugin, usually /dev/mixer.
PLAYING AUDIO DISCS
With the cdio input plugin enabled, it is possible to play Audio CDs and CD images. Just set the device
option to either a device file (e.g. /dev/cdrom) or an image file (e.g. ~/cd.cue). Then add a new track
using the CDDA URL scheme, e.g.:
:add cdda://2
To add the whole disc, use cdda:// (without track number). This is currently only working for audio
discs, not images. Adding track ranges is also possible (cdda://1-3). To add images without changing the
device option, it is possible to include the image path in the URL, e.g.:
:add cdda:///path/to/cd.cue/2-5
The metadata will be read from CD-Text, and if not available, looked up from a CDDB server (see
input.cdio.cddb_url).
FILTERS
Filters are used mostly for filtering contents of library views (1 & 2). Filters do not change the actual
library content, i.e. :save command will still save all tracks to playlist file whether they are visible
or not.
Types
There are three types of filter expressions, each offering more expressiveness:
simple e.g. beatles
short e.g. ~a beatles (!~y1960-1965 | ~d>600)
long e.g. artist="*beatles*"&album="R*"
Simple expressions are only available using live-filter. For other filter commands the type is
auto-detected, so both short and long expressions can be used.
Long expressions are lists of built-in filters or user defined filters separated with & (and) or | (or).
Parenthesis can be used group subexpressions and ! negates result of the expression following it. Same is
true for short expressions, but they can only be made of built-in filters. Also (and)-grouping is done
implicitly.
Strings
long filename, artist, albumartist, album, title, genre, comment, codec, codec_profile, media
Comparators: = and != (not equal)
short ~f, ~a, ~A, ~l, ~t, ~g, ~c
Comparators: none
Integers
long discnumber, tracknumber, date (year), originaldate (year), duration (seconds), bitrate
Comparators: <, <=, =, >=, >, !=
short ~D, ~n, ~y, ~d
Comparators: <, >
Ranges: a-b (>=a&<=b), -b (<=b), a- (>=a)
Booleans
tag (true if track has tags), stream (true if track is a stream)
For short expressions: ~T and ~s
Defining Filters
Filters can be defined with fset command. User defined filters appear in the filters view (6).
Create a new filter which name is ogg and value filename="*.ogg"
:fset ogg=filename="*.ogg"
Filter ogg and mp3 files from the 90s. Note the use of user defined filter ogg
:fset 90s-ogg-mp3=date>=1990&date<2000&(ogg|filename="*.mp3")
Activating Filters
factivate changes visible contents of the library (views 1-2).
Activate user defined filters ogg and missing-tags
:factivate ogg missing-tags
Like above but negate value of ogg filter.
:factivate !ogg missing-tags
Alternatively you can select the filters by pressing space in view 6 and then activate the selected
filters by pressing enter.
Throw-away Filters
live-filter and filter commands are useful when you want to use a filter only once and not save it. It
changes visible contents of the library (views 1-2). filter unactivates all filters in the filters view,
while live-filter is applied in addition to all currently activated filters.
Filter all rock (anything with rock in genre tag) music from 80s-
:filter date>=1980&genre="*rock*"
:filter ~y1980-~grock
Filter all artists/albums/titles containing "sleepwalking"
:live-filter sleepwalking
Selecting Tracks Matching a Filter
Mark (select) all tracks with duration less than 2 minutes
:mark duration<120
Mark (select) all tracks which have been played at least once
:mark play_count>=1
These commands work in views 2-4.
FILES
cmus reads its configuration from 3 different places.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/autosave
This is the first file cmus loads. cmus saves its state on exit to this file so you shouldn't
edit it.
/usr/share/cmus/rc
If the autosave file didn't exist, this file is read instead.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/rc
Static config file. This file is read immediately after the autosave file, and is never modified
by cmus. You can override auto-saved settings in this file. This file is not limited to options,
it can contain other commands too.
Color Schemes
There are some color schemes (*.theme) in /usr/share/cmus. You can switch them using the :colorscheme
command. You can put your own color schemes to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus.
Examples
Example status display script (See status_display_program option) can be found in
/usr/share/doc/cmus/examples.
ENVIRONMENT
CMUS_CHARSET
Override cmus character set (default: `locale charmap`).
CMUS_HOME
Override cmus config directory (default: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus).
CMUS_SOCKET
Override cmus socket path (default: $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/cmus-socket).
HOME
Full path of the user's home directory.
http_proxy
URI of the proxy to use for HTTP requests.
USER
Name of the user running cmus.
USERNAME
Fallback for USER.
D-Bus Interface (MPRIS)
cmus provides a D-Bus interface following the Media Player Remote Interfacing Specification (MPRIS) v2:
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/mpris-spec/
It exposes the /org/mpris/MediaPlayer2 object path with the interfaces org.mpris.MediaPlayer2 and
org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.Player. The unique bus name is org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.cmus.
Metadata fields follow the naming convention of the specification:
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/mpris-spec/metadata/
Additionally, the cmus:stream_title field is exposed if appropriate.
BUGS
After a crash last lines of ~/cmus-debug.txt might contain useful information. The file exists only if
you configured cmus with maximum debug level (./configure DEBUG=2).
Feature requests and bug reports should go to the github issue tracker:
https://github.com/cmus/cmus/issues
SEE ALSO
cmus-tutorial(7), cmus-remote(1)
AUTHORS
cmus was mainly written by Timo Hirvonen <tihirvon@gmail.com>. Other contributors are listed in the
AUTHORS file.
This man page was written by Frank Terbeck <ft@bewatermyfriend.org>, Timo Hirvonen <tihirvon@gmail.com>,
and Clay Barnes <clay.barnes@gmail.com>.