Command Line Music Player

A true hacker must never touch the mouse. This script provides terminal commands that emulate a Spotify-like music player. Songs are saved as YouTube links in txt files. Each txt file is a playlist.

Setup

Prerequisites

# On macOS with homebrew:
brew install mpv youtube-dl socat

# On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install mpv youtube-dl socat

Installation

1. Make the script executable: chmod +x music_player.sh
2. Create a playlist file named playlist.txt with format:

song_label | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
another_song | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

3. Source the script: source music_player.sh

Commands and Aliases

Playback Control

# Play a specific song
play_song 3        # Full command
mx 3              # Quick alias
                  # Both play the third song in playlist

play_song drake_2  # Full command
mx drake_2        # Quick alias
                  # Both play song matching "drake_2"

# Next song
next_song         # Full command
mn               # Quick alias

# Previous song
previous_song     # Full command
mp               # Quick alias

# Toggle play/pause
toggle_pause      # Full command
mt               # Quick alias

# Shuffle play
shuffle_play      # Full command
msh              # Quick alias

Status and Information

# Show live status with progress bar
show_live_status  # Full command
ms               # Quick alias

# List all songs
list_songs       # Full command
ml               # Quick alias

# List all playlists
list_playlists   # Full command
mpl              # Quick alias

Navigation

# Skip forward 30 seconds
seek_forward     # Full command
mf              # Quick alias

# Skip backward 30 seconds
seek_backward    # Full command
mb              # Quick alias

# Seek to specific time or relative position
seek 1:30       # Jump to 1 minute 30 seconds
seek +30        # Skip forward 30 seconds
seek -30        # Skip backward 30 seconds

Playlist Management

# Switch playlist
switch_playlist rock  # Full command
msw rock            # Quick alias

# Create new playlist
create jazz         # Creates jazz.txt

Volume Control

# Adjust volume
adjust_volume +10   # Full command

Using Playlists

Playlist Format

Create playlist files (*.txt) with this format:

song_name | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
another_song | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

• One song per line
• The name of the song can be whatever string you like
• Use | to separate label from URL
• Labels can contain spaces
• URLs must be valid YouTube links

Managing Multiple Playlists

• All playlists are .txt files in the same directory
• Switch between playlists using msw or switch_playlist
• Create new playlists using create
• Edit playlists with any text editor

Live Status Display

Press ms (or show_live_status) to see:

Now Playing: Current Song Title
[1:23 / 3:45] [===============>                    ]

• Shows current track name
• Shows time position / total duration
• Shows visual progress bar
• Press 'q' to exit display

Tips

• Partial matches work for song labels (mx dra finds "drake")
• Live status (ms) is great for longer tracks
• Run help to see all commands and examples

Troubleshooting

• For socket errors, try stop_playback first
• If live display looks wrong, resize your terminal window

Getting Help

Run help in the terminal to see:

• All available commands
• All aliases
• Usage examples
• Tips and tricks

Run hlp to get a concise shortcut to see the available aliases.

Legal Notice

This tool is provided for personal use only. Users are responsible for complying with YouTube's Terms of Service and all applicable copyright laws. The script facilitates playback of YouTube content through legal open-source tools (mpv and youtube-dl) but does not download, store, or redistribute any copyrighted content. Please respect content creators' rights and YouTube's terms of service when using this tool.