VLC Remote Control

A Python library for controlling VLC media player via its Remote Control interface.

Features

• Control playback: play, pause, stop, next, previous.
• Playlist management: add, view, clear, repeat, loop, random.
• Volume control: get and set the volume.
• Audio device management: get and set the active audio device.
• Command Line Interface (CLI) support.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• VLC media player with Remote Control interface enabled.

Installation

0. Install VLC media player

Download the installer at https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

1. Ensure the RC Interface is Enabled

From the VLC UI

1. Open VLC and navigate to Tools -> Preferences -> Show settings: All.
2. Under Interface -> Main Interfaces, select RC.

From the Command Line (Optional, but Recommended)

OS	Command
Windows	vlc --extraintf rc --rc-host=HOST:PORT
Linux	vlc --extraintf oldrc --rc-fake-tty --rc-host=HOST:PORT

Note: Ensure the specified port (e.g., PORT) is open in your firewall. For more details, refer to the VLC command-line help.

2. Install vlcrc

python -m pip install vlcrc

Usage

Python Library

from pathlib import Path
from vlcrc import VLCRemoteControl

# Create a VLCRemoteControl instance
vlc = VLCRemoteControl("127.0.0.1", 50000)

# Add a file to the playlist
vlc.add(Path("/path/to/media/file.mp4"))

# Play media
vlc.play()

# Get the current playlist
playlist = vlc.playlist()
print(playlist)

# Get and set volume
current_volume = vlc.get_volume()
print(current_volume)
vlc.set_volume(100)

# Get audio devices and set an active one
devices = vlc.get_adev()
print(devices)
vlc.set_adev(devices[0].id)

Available Commands

Command	Description
add	Add a file to the playlist.
playlist	Get the current playlist.
play	Play the current media.
stop	Stop playback.
next	Skip to the next media in the playlist.
prev	Skip to the previous media.
goto	Go to a specific playlist index.
repeat	Toggle playlist item repeat.
loop	Toggle playlist loop.
random	Toggle playlist random jumping.
clear	Clear the playlist.
status	Get the current status of the player.
pause	Pause or resume playback.
get_volume	Get the current audio volume.
set_volume	Set the audio volume (0-320).
get_adev	Get a list of available audio devices.
set_adev	Set the active audio device.
quit	Quit VLC.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

usage: vlcrc [-h] [--timeout TIMEOUT] host port {play,stop,next,prev,clear,status,pause,repeat,loop,random,playlist,quit,add,goto,volume,adev} ...

Command Line Interface for VLC Remote Control

positional arguments:
  host                  VLC host address (e.g., 127.0.0.1, 192.168.1.100)
  port                  VLC Remote Control interface port
  {play,stop,next,prev,clear,status,pause,repeat,loop,random,playlist,quit,add,goto,volume,adev}
                        Commands
    play                play command
    stop                stop command
    next                next command
    prev                prev command
    clear               clear command
    status              status command
    pause               pause command
    repeat              repeat command
    loop                loop command
    random              random command
    playlist            playlist command
    quit                quit command
    add                 Add file to playlist
    goto                Go to specific track
    volume              Get/set volume
    adev                Audio device control

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --timeout TIMEOUT     Connection timeout in seconds (default: 1.0)