playerctl

Control MPRIS media players from command line

TLDR

Toggle play/pause

$ playerctl play-pause

Skip to next track

$ playerctl next

Go to previous track

$ playerctl previous

List all players

$ playerctl -l

Control specific player

$ playerctl -p [player_name] [command]

Control all players

$ playerctl -a [command]

Display metadata

$ playerctl metadata -f "Now playing: {{artist}} - {{title}}"

SYNOPSIS

playerctl [-p player] [-a] [-l] command

playerctl controls media players that implement the MPRIS D-Bus specification. It provides a unified command-line interface for controlling Spotify, VLC, Firefox, and many other media applications.
The tool is commonly used for keyboard shortcuts and scripts to control media playback without focusing the player window.

PARAMETERS

-p, --player _player_

Target specific player

-a, --all-players

Control all players

-l, --list-all

List available players

-f, --format _format_

Output format template

COMMANDS

play-pause

Toggle playback

play

Start playback

pause

Pause playback

stop

Stop playback

next

Next track

previous

Previous track

position

Get or set position

volume

Get or set volume

status

Get playback status

metadata

Get track metadata

CAVEATS

Requires MPRIS-compatible player. Some players have limited MPRIS support. Player must be running to be controlled. Metadata availability varies by player.

HISTORY

playerctl was created by Tony Crisci to provide a simple, reliable way to control media players from scripts and keybindings. It's widely adopted in tiling window manager setups.