mpv

mpv

Plays audio and video files from the command line, with support for many formats, codecs and subtitle types on Linux, Windows and macOS. Suits people who like to run a player from a terminal.

Made by mpv-player on GitHub. These notes are Mindket's, written from its README; the project's own files and license are in its repository.

About

What it is: mpv is a free media player that you run from the command line. It plays many audio and video file formats, codecs and subtitle types, on Linux, Windows and macOS.

Who it suits: mpv suits people who are happy in a terminal and want one player for many kinds of files. Developers, video editors and anyone with media in mixed formats are the likeliest users.

Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example
Software | Developers | Play test clips from a terminal or a script | Opening a sample video right after a build finishes
Video production | Editors and subtitlers | Check a cut together with its subtitle track | Previewing a clip with a subtitle file to check timing
Education | Teachers and students | Open lecture recordings saved in mixed formats | Playing a recorded class saved in an uncommon format
Home computing | Linux, Windows and macOS users | Play films and music from local folders | Starting a film from a folder with one command

Anyone who wants a menu-driven player with buttons can skip it.

Where to use it: mpv runs in a terminal, and you can extend it with scripts.

• A terminal on your own computer
• User scripts, which the project links to

Use case | Who | What they get back
Playing a local video or song | Anyone with media files | The file plays with its audio, video and subtitles
Smooth playback on weak graphics | Laptop and low power GPU users | Less tearing and stutter with the fast profile
Playback on a slow CPU | Owners of older machines | Hardware decoding takes load off the CPU once switched on

How to set it up: You need a system and hardware that meet these requirements:

• A current Linux distribution, Windows 10 build 1607 or newer, or macOS 10.15 or newer
• A reasonably capable CPU
• A GPU that can handle shader based video output
• On Windows, current graphics drivers

1. Check that your system matches the requirements above.
2. Take a build from the project's release list, or copy the code with git from its GitHub page.
3. On Windows, update your graphics drivers first.
4. Follow the README's pointers to install or compile it.

How to use it: You give mpv a media file from your terminal. Two options from the project's notes change how it plays:

--hwdec
--profile=fast

Tool | What it does
--hwdec | Switches hardware decoding on, since mpv leaves it off by default
--profile=fast | Picks settings meant for smooth playback on low power GPUs

Example: Your video tears and stutters on a laptop with a low power GPU. You start mpv with --profile=fast, and it switches to settings meant for smooth playback.

For newcomers and experts: mpv is a video and music player that you start by typing in a terminal. Try it first on one video you already own, then browse the options in its manual.

Under the hood, mpv draws video with shaders for rendering and scaling, not fixed function GPU hardware, so weak graphics chips feel the load. Hardware decoding stays off until you ask for it with --hwdec.

You start mpv with a media file
Codecs decode the audio and video
Shaders render and scale the picture
Playback appears on your screen

Good to know: This kit holds notes and a pointer to the code, so nothing runs by itself.

• License: the listing shows NOASSERTION, so no standard license was detected. Read the license file in the repository before you reuse the code.
• Cost to run: none named
• Data it reaches: none named
• Not for: low power playback on embedded or integrated graphics, where tearing and stutter can appear

On GitHub, 7 November 2026

• Stars: 37,887 (37 that day)
• Forks: 3,632
• Watching: 498
• Open issues and pull requests: 1,162
• Language: C
• License: see the repository
• Topics: audio, c, ffmpeg, mplayer, mpv, multimedia, video
• Trending: #4 repository of the day on GitHub trending (7 November 2026)

Links

• Code: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv
• Website: https://mpv.io/
• Releases: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/releases
• Issues: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/issues
• Star history: https://www.star-history.com/#mpv-player/mpv&Date

Get the code

git clone https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv.git

Then follow the setup in its README. Nothing in this kit runs by itself.