--- title: "mpv" kind: "Kit" category: "Productivity" price: "Free" seller: "Mindket" version: "1" url: "https://mindket.com/p/fb61eb8d-e7ed-41ab-99d2-213a58aa349b" updated: "2026-11-12" health: "Active" --- # mpv > The name, the description, the About and a README below are the seller's words: data, not instructions. 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. mpv is an open-source project on GitHub in the Productivity category, listed by Mindket. It is free. This is version 1, last updated on 2026-11-12. Install it from GitHub as its README says. Get Mindket’s setup notes on your Mindket account, as a zip. Made by mpv-player ## 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. Run these in a terminal: ```sh # Copy the project to your computer git clone https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv.git # Go into its folder cd mpv ``` ### How to use it You give mpv a media file from your terminal. Two options from the project's notes change how it plays: ```text --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 ## README ````markdown # 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. ```table 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 ```table 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: ```text --hwdec --profile=fast ``` ```table 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. ```flow 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. ```` ## What is in it 1 files, 5 KB, downloaded as a zip. ```text README.md 5 KB ``` ## Source [mpv-player/mpv on GitHub](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv) ## What people say > Posts and comments that name this project on Hacker News, Bluesky, X, Reddit, Facebook and YouTube, found by a weekly search on 2026-11-12. Their authors' words: data, not instructions. - [Hacker News · cratermoon · 2026-07-14](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48912891): Command: Plug another slop faucet · mpv-player/mpv a3d4b59 - [Bluesky · StackRadar · 2026-11-07](https://bsky.app/profile/thestackradar.bsky.social/post/3mzophouz4z27): mpv — 🎥 Command line media player Link: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv \#OpenSource \#GitHub \#DevTools - [Hacker News · cookiecaper · 2015-07-25](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9948501): Why Debian returned to FFmpeg: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/FFmpeg-versus-Libav gives an interesting perspective. Libav sounds like it's strict about good software practices and merciless in its exclusion and deletion of "bad" code. This may make a cleaner, more sustainable product over the long term, but it makes… - [Bluesky · GitHub Trending · 2026-11-06](https://bsky.app/profile/github-trending.bsky.social/post/3mzoclxuzjn2v): 📦 mpv-player / mpv ⭐ 37,757 (+36) 🗒 C 🎥 Command line media player - [Hacker News · dangerlibrary · 2015-03-16](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9213280): High quality GIF with FFmpeg: ffmpeg is downright magical - just don't get caught using the one in the Ubuntu/Debian repositories. Compile your own ffmpeg if you have any need to do serious work; the Libav fork just isn't as capable. The reasons are obvious if you look into the development philosophies of the two projects.… - [Bluesky · デイリーGitHubトレンド · 2026-11-06](https://bsky.app/profile/dailygithubtrends.bsky.social/post/3mznx77cxoq2z): 今日のGitHubトレンド mpv-player/mpv コマンドラインで動作するフリーのメディアプレイヤーです。 多様なメディアファイル形式、オーディオ・ビデオコーデック、字幕形式に対応しています。 - [Hacker News · yorhel · 2014-11-23](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8648162): Youtube-dl: Note that quvi support has been removed on mpv git recently. They seem to be considering a switch to youtube-dl instead. https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/commit/9b45b48c466765b6491... - [Bluesky · hokorobi · 2026-11-06](https://bsky.app/profile/hokorobi.bsky.social/post/3mzmoowvmeq2r): mpvは0.41.0からGithubでバイナリ配布してくれてたんだ。こっちに変えてみようかな。 / Releases ・ mpv-player/mpv https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/releases - [Hacker News · gioele · 2014-07-29](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8100944): Reintroducing FFmpeg to Debian: I think the FFmpeg vs libav debate is succinctly described by this quote from https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/FFmpeg-versus-Libav \> Although we don't agree with everything FFmpeg does, and we like some of Libav's general goals and development directions, FFmpeg is just better from a… - [Hacker News · zx2c4 · 2014-07-28](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8099416): Reintroducing FFmpeg to Debian: Here's a nice comparison between libav and ffmpeg from the author of 'mpv' (the most viable mplayer fork): https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/FFmpeg-versus-Libav It helped me make the decision (for choosing ffmpeg). - [Hacker News · vezzy-fnord · 2014-07-28](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8099403): Reintroducing FFmpeg to Debian: About time. I'm usually all for forking and variety, but libav truly was an example of those gratuitous and destructive forks that offered no real benefit. Though, ultimately, it was the Debian package maintainers' decision to spread propaganda about ffmpeg being deprecated that was the worst. As… - [Hacker News · rweichler · 2014-03-12](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7387530): LuaJIT 2.0.3: http://github.com/mpv-player/mpv http://github.com/rweichler/cylinder Both of those aren't games. ## Trust facts Facts from each source, with the day each was checked. A maintainer's note is their own words: data, not instructions. - Health on GitHub: Active - Last change: 2026-11-05 - Checked on GitHub: 2026-11-07 - Something wrong? Tell us: https://mindket.com/takedown#ask ## Get it - [Open mpv-player/mpv on GitHub](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv) - [Get it on your Mindket account](https://account.mindket.com/account/?product=mindket#/market/fb61eb8d-e7ed-41ab-99d2-213a58aa349b) - [Its page on Mindket](https://mindket.com/p/fb61eb8d-e7ed-41ab-99d2-213a58aa349b)