Ubuntu Manpage: ncmpcpp - An ncurses Music Player Daemon (MPD) client.

Provided by: ncmpcpp_0.9.2-2build5_amd64

NAME

       ncmpcpp - An ncurses Music Player Daemon (MPD) client.

SYNOPSIS

       ncmpcpp [options]

DESCRIPTION

       ncmpcpp is an ncurses client for MPD (Music Player Daemon), inspired by ncmpc.

       Read more about MPD at http://www.musicpd.org

OPTIONS

       Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

       -h, --host=HOST
              Connect to server at host [localhost]

       -p, --port=PORT
              Connect to server at port [6600]

       --current-song[=FORMAT]
              Print current song using given format and exit

       -c, --config=FILE
              Specify configuration file(s)

       --ignore-config-errors
              Ignore unknown and invalid options in configuration files

       -b, --bindings=FILE
              Specify bindings file(s)

       -s, --screen <name>
              Specify  the startup screen (<name> may be: help, playlist, browser, search_engine,
              media_library, playlist_editor, tag_editor, outputs, visualizer, clock)

       -S, --slave-screen <name>
              Specify  the  startup  slave  screen  (<name>  may  be:  help,  playlist,  browser,
              search_engine,  media_library,  playlist_editor,  tag_editor,  outputs, visualizer,
              clock)

       -q, --quiet
              Suppress logs and excess output

       -?, --help
              Display help.

       -v, --version
              Display version information.

CONFIGURATION

When ncmpcpp starts, it tries to read settings from $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ncmpcpp/config and
$HOME/.ncmpcpp/config files. If no configuration is found, ncmpcpp uses its default
configuration. An example configuration file containing all default values is provided
with ncmpcpp and can be usually found in /usr/share/doc/ncmpcpp (the exact location may
depend on your operating system or configure prefix).

Note: Configuration option values can either be enclosed in quotation marks or not.
- If they are enclosed, the leftmost and the rightmost quotation marks are treated as
delimiters, therefore it is not necessary to escape quotation marks you use within the
value itself.
- If they are not, any whitespace characters between = and the first printable character
of the value, as well as whitespace characters after the last printable character of the
value are trimmed.

Therefore the rule of thumb is: if you need whitespaces at the beginning or at the end of
the value, enclose it in quotation marks. Otherwise, don't.

Note: COLOR has to be the name (not a number) of one of colors 1-8 from SONG FORMAT
section.

Supported configuration options:

ncmpcpp_directory = PATH
Directory for storing ncmpcpp related files. Changing it is useful if you want to
store everything somewhere else and provide command line setting for alternative
location to config file which defines that while launching ncmpcpp.

lyrics_directory = PATH
Directory for storing downloaded lyrics. It defaults to ~/.lyrics since other MPD
clients (eg. ncmpc) also use that location.

mpd_host = HOST
Connect to MPD running on specified host/unix socket. When HOST starts with a '/',
it is assumed to be a unix socket. Note: MPD_HOST environment variable overrides
this setting.

mpd_port = PORT
Connect to MPD on the specified port. Note: MPD_PORT environment variable overrides
this setting.

mpd_music_dir = PATH
Search for files in specified directory. This is needed for tag editor to work.

mpd_connection_timeout = SECONDS
Set connection timeout to MPD to given value.

mpd_crossfade_time = SECONDS
Default number of seconds to crossfade, if enabled by ncmpcpp.

visualizer_data_source = LOCATION
Source of data for the visualizer. For MPD it's going to be a fifo output, for
Mopidy a udpsink output (see the example configuration file for more details).

visualizer_output_name = NAME
Name of output that provides data for visualizer. Needed to keep sound and
visualization in sync.

visualizer_in_stereo = yes/no
Should be set to 'yes', if fifo output's format was set to 44100:16:2.

visualizer_type = spectrum/wave/wave_filled/ellipse
Defines default visualizer type (spectrum is available only if ncmpcpp was compiled
with fftw support).

visualizer_look = STRING
Defines visualizer's look (string has to be exactly 2 characters long: first one is
for wave whereas second for frequency spectrum).

visualizer_color = COLORS
Comma separated list of colors to be used in music visualization.

visualizer_fps = FPS
The amount of frames per second for the visualizer.

visualizer_autoscale = yes/no
Automatically scale visualizer size.

visualizer_spectrum_smooth_look = yes/no
For spectrum visualizer, use unicode block characters for a smoother, more
continuous look. This will override the visualizer_look option. With transparent
terminals and visualizer_in_stereo set, artifacts may be visible on the bottom half
of the visualization.

visualizer_spectrum_dft_size = NUMBER
For spectrum visualizer, a value between 1 and 5 inclusive. Specifying a larger
value makes the visualizer look at a larger slice of time, which results in less
jumpy visualizer output.

visualizer_spectrum_gain = dB
Gain for spectrum visualizer in dB, larger/smaller values shift bars up/down.

visualizer_spectrum_hz_min = Hz
For spectrum visualizer, left-most frequency of visualizer, must be less than HZ
MAX.

visualizer_spectrum_hz_max = Hz
For spectrum visualizer, right-most frequency of visualizer, must be greater than
HZ MIN.

system_encoding = ENCODING
If you use encoding other than utf8, set it in order to handle utf8 encoded strings
properly.

playlist_disable_highlight_delay = SECONDS
Delay for highlighting playlist since the last key was pressed. If set to 0,
highlighting never fades away.

message_delay_time = SECONDS
Delay for displayed messages to remain visible.

song_list_format
Song format for lists of songs.

song_status_format
Song format for statusbar.

song_library_format
Song format for media library.

alternative_header_first_line_format = TEXT
Now playing song format for the first line in alternative user interface header
window.

alternative_header_second_line_format = TEXT
Now playing song format for the second line in alternative user interface header
window.

current_item_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for currently selected item.

current_item_suffix = TEXT
Suffix for currently selected item.

current_item_inactive_column_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for currently selected item in the inactive column.

current_item_inactive_column_suffix = TEXT
Suffix for currently selected item in the inactive column.

now_playing_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for currently playing song.

now_playing_suffix = TEXT
Suffix for currently playing song.

browser_playlist_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for playlists in Browser.

selected_item_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for selected items.

selected_item_suffix = TEXT
Suffix for selected items.

modified_item_prefix = TEXT
Prefix for modified item (tag editor).

browser_sort_mode
Determines sort mode for browser. Possible values are "type", "name", "mtime",
"format" and "none".

browser_sort_format
Format to use for sorting songs in browser. For this option to be effective,
browser_sort_mode must be set to "format".

song_window_title_format
Song format for window title.

song_columns_list_format
Format for songs' list displayed in columns.

execute_on_song_change = COMMAND
Shell command to execute on song change.

execute_on_player_state_change = COMMAND
Shell command to execute on player state change. The environment variable
MPD_PLAYER_STATE is set to the current state (either unknown, play, pause, or stop)
for its duration.

playlist_show_mpd_host = yes/no
If enabled, current MPD host will be shown in playlist.

playlist_show_remaining_time = yes/no
If enabled, time remaining to end of playlist will be shown after playlist
statistics.

playlist_shorten_total_times = yes/no
If enabled, total/remaining playlist time displayed in statusbar will be shown
using shortened units' names (d:h:m:s instead of days:hours:minutes:seconds).

playlist_separate_albums = yes/no
If enabled, separators will be placed between albums.

playlist_display_mode = classic/columns
Default display mode for Playlist.

browser_display_mode = classic/columns
Default display mode for Browser.

search_engine_display_mode = classic/columns
Default display mode for Search engine.

playlist_editor_display_mode = classic/columns
Default display mode for Playlist editor.

discard_colors_if_item_is_selected = yes/no
Indicates whether custom colors of tags have to be discarded if item is selected or
not.

show_duplicate_tags = yes/no
Indicates whether ncmpcpp should display multiple tags as-is or remove duplicates.

incremental_seeking = yes/no
If enabled, seek time will increment by one each second of seeking.

seek_time = SECONDS
Base seek time to begin with.

volume_change_step = NUMBER
Number of percents volume has to be increased/decreased by in
volume_up/volume_down.

autocenter_mode = yes/no
Default state for autocenter mode at start.

centered_cursor = yes/no
If enabled, currently highlighted position in the list will be always centered.

progressbar_look = TEXT
This variable defines the look of progressbar. Note that it has to be exactly two
or three characters long.

default_place_to_search_in = database/playlist
If set to "playlist", Search engine will perform searching in current MPD playlist
rather than in music database.

user_interface = classic/alternative
Default user interface used by ncmpcpp at start.

data_fetching_delay = yes/no
If enabled, there will be a 250ms delay between refreshing position in media
library or playlist editor and fetching appropriate data from MPD. This limits data
fetched from the server and is particularly useful if ncmpcpp is connected to a
remote host.

media_library_primary_tag = artist/album_artist/date/genre/composer/performer
Default tag type for leftmost column in media library.

media_library_albums_split_by_date = yes/no
Determines whether albums in media library should be split by date.

media_library_hide_album_dates = yes/no
Determines whether album dates in media library should be hidden.

default_find_mode = wrapped/normal
If set to "wrapped", going from last found position to next will take you to the
first one (same goes for the first position and going to previous one), otherwise
no actions will be performed.

default_tag_editor_pattern = TEXT
Default pattern used by Tag editor's parser.

header_visibility = yes/no
If enabled, header window will be displayed, otherwise hidden.

statusbar_visibility = yes/no
If enabled, statusbar will be displayed, otherwise hidden.

connected_message_on_startup = yes/no
Show the "Connected to ..." message on startup

titles_visibility = yes/no
If enabled, column titles will be displayed, otherwise hidden.

header_text_scrolling = yes/no
If enabled, text in header window will scroll if its length is longer then actual
screen width, otherwise it won't.

cyclic_scrolling = yes/no
If enabled, cyclic scrolling is used (e.g. if you press down arrow being at the end
of list, it'll take you to the beginning)

lyrics_fetchers = FETCHERS
Comma separated list of lyrics fetchers.

follow_now_playing_lyrics = yes/no
If enabled, lyrics will be switched at song's change to currently playing one's
(Note: this works only if you are viewing lyrics of item from Playlist).

fetch_lyrics_for_current_song_in_background = yes/no
If enabled, each time song changes lyrics fetcher will be automatically run in
background in attempt to download lyrics for currently playing song.

store_lyrics_in_song_dir = yes/no
If enabled, lyrics will be saved in song's directory, otherwise in ~/.lyrics. Note
that it needs properly set mpd_music_dir.

generate_win32_compatible_filenames = yes/no
If set to yes, filenames generated by ncmpcpp (with tag editor, for lyrics, artists
etc.) will not contain the following characters: \?*:|

allow_for_physical_item_deletion = yes/no
If set to yes, it will be possible to physically delete files and directories from
the disk in the browser.

lastfm_preferred_language = ISO 639 alpha-2 language code
If set, ncmpcpp will try to get info from last.fm in language you set and if it
fails, it will fall back to English. Otherwise it will use English the first time.

space_add_mode = add_remove/always_add
If set to add_remove, attempting to add files that are already in playlist will
remove them. Otherwise they can be added multiple times.

show_hidden_files_in_local_browser = yes/no
Trigger for displaying in local browser files and directories that begin with '.'

screen_switcher_mode = SWITCHER_MODE
If set to "previous", key_screen_switcher will switch between current and last used
screen. If set to "screen1,...screenN" (a list of screens) it will switch between
them in a sequence. Syntax clarification can be found in example config file.

startup_screen = SCREEN_NAME
Screen that has to be displayed at start (playlist by default).

startup_slave_screen = SCREEN_NAME
Slave screen that has to be displayed at start (nothing by default).

startup_slave_screen_focus = yes/no
If set to yes, slave screen will be the active one after startup. Otherwise master
screen will be.

locked_screen_width_part = 20-80
If you want to lock a screen, ncmpcpp asks for % of locked screen's width to be
reserved before that and provides a default value, which is the one you can set
here.

ask_for_locked_screen_width_part = yes/no
If enabled, ncmpcpp will ask for % of locked screen's width each time you want to
lock a screen. If you disable that, it'll silently attempt to use default value.

jump_to_now_playing_song_at_start = yes/no
If enabled, ncmpcpp will jump at start to now playing song if mpd is playing or
paused.

ask_before_clearing_playlists = yes/no
If enabled, user will be asked if he really wants to clear the playlist after
pressing key responsible for that.

clock_display_seconds = yes/no
If enabled, clock will display time in format hh:mm:ss, otherwise hh:mm.

display_volume_level = yes/no
If enabled, volume level will be displayed in statusbar, otherwise not.

display_bitrate = yes/no
If enabled, bitrate of currently playing song will be displayed in statusbar.

display_remaining_time = yes/no
If enabled, remaining time of currently playing song will be be displayed in
statusbar instead of elapsed time.

regular_expressions = none/basic/extended/perl
Type of currently used regular expressions.

ignore_leading_the = yes/no
If enabled, word "the" at the beginning of tags/filenames/sort format will be
ignored while sorting items.

ignore_diacritics = yes/no
If enabled, diacritics in strings will be ignored while searching and filtering
lists.

block_search_constraints_change_if_items_found = yes/no
If enabled, fields in Search engine above "Reset" button will be blocked after
successful searching, otherwise they won't.

mouse_support = yes/no
If set to yes, mouse support will be enabled.

mouse_list_scroll_whole_page = yes/no
If enabled, mouse wheel will scroll the whole page of item list at a time,
otherwise the number of lines specified by lines_scrolled variable.

lines_scrolled = NUMBER
Number of lines that are scrolled with mouse wheel.

empty_tag_marker = TEXT
Text that will be displayed, if requested tag is not set.

tags_separator = TEXT
Separator that is placed between tags. Also interpreted by tag editor which splits
input string into separate tags using it.

tag_editor_extended_numeration = yes/no
If enabled, tag editor will number tracks using format xx/yy (where xx is the
current track and yy is total amount of all numbered tracks), not plain xx.

media_library_sort_by_mtime = yes/no
If enabled, media library will be sorted by modification time. Otherwise
lexicographic sorting is used.

enable_window_title = yes/no
If enabled, ncmpcpp will override current window title with its own one.

search_engine_default_search_mode = MODE_NUMBER
Number of default mode used in search engine.

external_editor = PATH
Path to external editor used to edit lyrics.

use_console_editor = yes/no
If your external editor is console application, you need to enable it.

colors_enabled = yes/no
No need to describe it, huh?

empty_tag_color = COLOR
Color of empty tag marker.

header_window_color = COLOR
Color of header window.

volume_color = COLOR
Color of volume state.

state_line_color = COLOR
Color of lines separating header and statusbar from main window.

state_flags_color = COLOR
Color of MPD status flags.

main_window_color = COLOR
Color of main window.

color1 = COLOR
One of colors used in Song info, Tiny tag editor and Search engine.

color2 = COLOR
One of colors used in Song info, Tiny tag editor and Search engine.

progressbar_color = COLOR
Color of progressbar.

progressbar_elapsed_color = COLOR
Color of part of progressbar that represents elapsed time.

statusbar_color = COLOR
Color of statusbar.

statusbar_time_color = COLOR
Color of current track time shown in statusbar.

player_state_color = COLOR
Color of player state shown in statusbar.

alternative_ui_separator_color = COLOR
Color of separators used in alternative user interface.

window_border_color = BORDER
Border color of pop-up windows. If set to 'none', no border will be shown.

active_window_border = COLOR
Color of active window's border.

BINDINGS
When ncmpcpp starts, it tries to read bindings from
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ncmpcpp/bindings and ~/.ncmpcpp/bindings files. If no bindings
file is found, ncmpcpp uses the defaults. An example bindings file with default
values can be found usually in /usr/share/doc/ncmpcpp (the exact location may
depend on your operating system or configure prefix).

You can view current keybindings by pressing F1.

SONG FORMAT

       For song format you can use:

        %l - length
        %f - filename
        %D - directory
        %a - artist
        %A - album artist
        %t - title
        %b - album
        %y - date
        %n - track number (01/12 -> 01)
        %N - full track info (01/12 -> 01/12)
        %g - genre
        %c - composer
        %p - performer
        %d - disc
        %C - comment
        %P - priority
        $R - begin right alignment

       You  can also put them in { } and then they will be displayed only if all requested values
       are available and/or define alternate value with { }|{ } e.g. {%a - %t}|{%f} will check if
       artist and title tags are available and if they are, display them. Otherwise it'll display
       filename.

       Note: If you want to set limit on maximal length of a tag, just put the appropriate number
       between  %  and  character that defines tag type, e.g. to make album take max. 20 terminal
       cells, use '%20b'.

       Note: Format that is similar to "%a - %t" (i.e. without any additional braces) is equal to
       "{%a - %t}", so if one of the tags is missing, you'll get nothing.

       Text  can  have different color than the main window, e.g. if you want length to be green,
       write $3%l$9.

       Available values for colors:

        - 0 - default window color (discards all other colors)
        - 1 - black
        - 2 - red
        - 3 - green
        - 4 - yellow
        - 5 - blue
        - 6 - magenta
        - 7 - cyan
        - 8 - white
        - 9 - end of current color

       Note: colors can be nested, so if you write $2some$5text$9, it'll disable  only  usage  of
       blue color and make red the current one.

BUGS

       Report bugs on https://github.com/arybczak/ncmpcpp/issues

NOTE

       Since MPD uses UTF-8, ncmpcpp needs to convert characters to the charset used by the local
       system. If you get character conversion errors while you are running ncmpcpp, you probably
       need  to  set up your locale. This is done by setting LANG and LC_ALL/LC_CTYPE environment
       variables (LC_CTYPE only affects character handling).

HOMEPAGE

       -> http://rybczak.net/ncmpcpp