rhythmbox

rhythmbox [OPTION...] [FILE...]
Launches the Rhythmbox music player application, optionally opening specific files or performing immediate actions.

--help, -h
    Displays the command's help message, listing available options.

--help-all
    Shows all help options, including GTK+ specific ones.

--help-gtk
    Shows GTK+ Toolkit options specific to graphical applications.

--debug, -d
    Enables detailed debugging output in the terminal, useful for troubleshooting.

--no-daemon
    Prevents Rhythmbox from running in daemon mode (background service), causing it to exit when the window is closed.

--no-present
    Prevents the Rhythmbox window from automatically being raised to the front upon launch or action.

--play
    Starts playback of the current song or resumes paused playback. If Rhythmbox is not running, it will launch and then play.

--pause
    Pauses the currently playing song. If Rhythmbox is not running, it will launch paused.

--next
    Skips to the next song in the current playlist or queue.

--previous
    Skips to the previous song in the current playlist or queue.

--stop
    Stops the current playback.

--toggle-play
    Toggles between play and pause states.

--volume-up
    Increases the playback volume.

--volume-down
    Decreases the playback volume.

--set-volume=VOLUME
    Sets the playback volume to a specific level, where VOLUME is a value between 0 and 10.

--quit
    Quits the running Rhythmbox application.

--minimize
    Minimizes the Rhythmbox application window to the taskbar or dock.

--hide
    Hides the Rhythmbox application window, making it invisible but still running.

--show
    Shows a hidden or minimized Rhythmbox application window.

--open-location=LOCATION
    Opens and plays media from a specified URI (e.g., a web radio stream or local file path).

--enqueue=FILE
    Adds a specified media FILE to the current play queue without immediately starting playback.

--clear-queue
    Clears all songs from the current play queue.

--version, -v
    Displays the installed version of Rhythmbox.

--display=DISPLAY
    Specifies the X display to use for the application, useful in multi-display or remote X environments.

[FILE...]
    One or more media files specified by their paths. Rhythmbox will open and enqueue these files upon launch.

Rhythmbox is a free and open-source audio player designed for the GNOME desktop environment. Modeled after Apple's iTunes, it aims to provide an easy-to-use application for managing and playing digital music. It supports a wide array of audio formats through GStreamer, including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and WAV. Rhythmbox excels at managing large music libraries, allowing users to organize music by artist, album, genre, and more. Key features include playlist creation, internet radio streaming, podcast subscriptions, and audio CD playback/ripping. It also supports integration with various portable music devices and comes with a robust plugin architecture, extending its functionality to include features like Last.fm scrobbling, MPRIS D-Bus integration, and web remote control.

While the rhythmbox command itself accepts playback control options (--play, --next, --quit, etc.), using rhythmbox-client is generally recommended for controlling an already running instance of Rhythmbox, as it directly communicates with the running daemon without launching a new GUI instance.

Rhythmbox operates primarily as a daemon (background service) that can be controlled via its graphical interface or command-line tools. This is facilitated by D-Bus, an inter-process communication system, which allows rhythmbox-client and other applications to interact with a running Rhythmbox instance. This client-server model ensures efficient control and integration within the desktop environment.

A significant strength of Rhythmbox is its extensive plugin system. This allows third-party developers to extend its functionality, adding support for new features like lyrics display, remote control via a web browser, MPRIS support for media keys, integration with online music services, and more.

Rhythmbox was first released in 2003, making it a long-standing component of the GNOME desktop. It was developed to integrate deeply with the GNOME environment and its multimedia frameworks like GStreamer. Over the years, it has evolved significantly, adding support for various online services, portable devices, and extensive plugin capabilities, becoming a staple music player for many Linux distributions.

rhythmbox-client(1), totem(1), vlc(1), audacious(1)