cmus

small, fast console music player

TLDR

Open cmus in a specific directory

$ cmus [path/to/directory]

Add file or directory to library

$ :add [path/to/file_or_directory]

Refresh the metadata of songs in library

$ :update-cache

Search for songs, albums, or artists

$ /[something]

Pause/unpause current song

$ c

Toggle shuffle mode

$ s

Quit cmus

$ q

cmus is a small, fast, and powerful console music player for Unix-like systems. It supports a wide range of audio formats including Ogg Vorbis, MP3, FLAC, Opus, Musepack, WavPack, WAV, AAC, and MP4 through its plugin-based codec system.The interface provides seven views accessed via number keys 1-7: library (artist/album tree), sorted library (flat list), playlist, play queue, directory browser, filters, and settings. Navigation uses arrow keys and Enter to select, with vi-style keybindings available throughout.cmus features gapless playback, ReplayGain support, and can be controlled remotely via the cmus-remote command or its socket interface, making it suitable for integration with window managers and status bars.

PARAMETERS

--listen ADDR

Listen on a UNIX socket or host:port instead of the default location for cmus-remote

--plugins

List available input/output plugins and exit

--show-cursor

Always show the cursor (useful for screen readers)

--help

Display usage information and exit

--version

Display version information and exit

CONFIGURATION

~/.config/cmus/autosave

Automatically saved settings, library state, and playback position on exit.

~/.config/cmus/rc

Startup commands executed when cmus launches (keybindings, settings, colors).

KEYBINDINGS

Pause/unpause playback

Toggle shuffle

Toggle repeat

Next track

Previous track

1-7

Switch views (library, sorted, playlist, queue, browser, filters, settings)

Quit

:add path

Add files to library

/query

Search

CAVEATS

Terminal-based, requires a capable terminal emulator. Audio output depends on available backends (ALSA, PulseAudio, etc.). Some formats may require additional codec libraries.