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mpg123(1) General Commands Manual mpg123(1)
NAME
mpg123 - play audio MPEG 1.0/2.0/2.5 stream (layers 1, 2 and 3)
SYNOPSIS
mpg123 [ options ] file-or-URL...
DESCRIPTION
mpg123 reads one or more files (or standard input if ``-'' is specified) or URLs and plays
them on the audio device (default) or outputs them to stdout. file/URL is assumed to be
an MPEG audio bit stream.
OPERANDS
The following operands are supported:
file(s) The path name(s) of one or more input files. They must be valid MPEG-1.0/2.0/2.5
audio layer 1, 2 or 3 bit streams. If a dash ``-'' is specified, MPEG data will
be read from the standard input. Furthermore, any name starting with ``http://''
is recognized as URL (see next section).
OPTIONS
mpg123 options may be either the traditional POSIX one letter options, or the GNU style
long options. POSIX style options start with a single ``-'', while GNU long options start
with ``--''. Option arguments (if needed) follow separated by whitespace (not ``='').
Note that some options can be absent from your installation when disabled in the build
process.
INPUT OPTIONS
-k num, --skip num
Skip first num frames. By default the decoding starts at the first frame.
-n num, --frames num
Decode only num frames. By default the complete stream is decoded.
--fuzzy
Enable fuzzy seeks (guessing byte offsets or using approximate seek points from
Xing TOC). Without that, seeks need a first scan through the file before they can
jump at positions. You can decide here: sample-accurate operation with gapless
features or faster (fuzzy) seeking.
-y, --no-resync
Do NOT try to resync and continue decoding if an error occurs in the input file.
Normally, mpg123 tries to keep the playback alive at all costs, including skipping
invalid material and searching new header when something goes wrong. With this
switch you can make it bail out on data errors (and perhaps spare your ears a bad
time). Note that this switch has been renamed from --resync. The old name still
works, but is not advertised or recommended to use (subject to removal in future).
-F, --no-frankenstein
Disable support for Frankenstein streams. Normally, mpg123 stays true to the con-
cept of MPEG audio being just a concatenation of MPEG frames. It will continue de-
coding even if the type of MPEG frames varies wildly. With this switch, it will
only decode the input as long as it does not change its character (from layer I to
layer III, changing sampling rate, from mono to stereo), silently assuming end of
stream on such occasion. The switch also stops decoding of compatible MPEG frames
if there was an Info frame (Xing header, Lame tag) that contained a length of the
track in MPEG frames. This comes a bit closer to the notion of a MP3 file as a de-
fined collection of MPEG frames that belong together, but gets rid of the flexibil-
ity that can be fun at times but mostly is hell for the programmer of the parser
and decoder ...
--resync-limit bytes
Set number of bytes to search for valid MPEG data once lost in stream; <0 means
search whole stream. If you know there are huge chunks of invalid data in your
files... here is your hammer. Note: Only since version 1.14 this also increases
the amount of junk skipped on beginning.
-p URL | none, --proxy URL | none
The specified proxy will be used for HTTP requests. It should be specified as full
URL (``http://host.domain:port/''), but the ``http://'' prefix, the port number and
the trailing slash are optional (the default port is 80). Specifying none means
not to use any proxy, and to retrieve files directly from the respective servers.
See also the ``HTTP SUPPORT'' section.
-u auth, --auth auth
HTTP authentication to use when receiving files via HTTP. The format used is
user:password.
--ignore-mime
Ignore MIME types given by HTTP server. If you know better and want mpg123 to de-
code something the server thinks is image/png, then just do it.
--no-icy-meta
Do not accept ICY meta data.
--streamdump filename
Dump a copy of the input data (as read by libmpg123) to the given file. This en-
ables you to store a web stream to disk while playing, or just create a concatena-
tion of the local files you play for ... why not?
--icy-interval bytes
This setting enables you to play a stream dump containing ICY metadata at the given
interval in bytes (the value of the icy-metaint HTTP response header). Without it,
such a stream will play, but will cause regular decoding glitches with resync.
--no-seekbuffer
Disable the default micro-buffering of non-seekable streams that gives the parser a
safer footing.
-@ file, --list file
Read filenames and/or URLs of MPEG audio streams from the specified file in addi-
tion to the ones specified on the command line (if any). Note that file can be ei-
ther an ordinary file, a dash ``-'' to indicate that a list of filenames/URLs is to
be read from the standard input, or an URL pointing to a an appropriate list file.
Note: only one -@ option can be used (if more than one is specified, only the last
one will be recognized).
-l n, --listentry n
Of the playlist, play specified entry only. n is the number of entry starting at
1. A value of 0 is the default and means playing the whole list, a negative value
means showing of the list of titles with their numbers...
--continue
Enable playlist continuation mode. This changes frame skipping to apply only to the
first track and also continues to play following tracks in playlist after the se-
lected one. Also, the option to play a number of frames only applies to the whole
playlist. Basically, this tries to treat the playlist more like one big stream
(like, an audio book). The current track number in list (1-based) and frame number
(0-based) are printed at exit (useful if you interrupted playback and want to con-
tinue later). Note that the continuation info is printed to standard output unless
the switch for piping audio data to standard out is used. Also, it really makes
sense to work with actual playlist files instead of lists of file names as argu-
ments, to keep track positions consistent.
--loop times
for looping track(s) a certain number of times, < 0 means infinite loop (not with
--random!).
--keep-open
For remote control mode: Keep loaded file open after reaching end.
--timeout seconds
Timeout in (integer) seconds before declaring a stream dead (if <= 0, wait for-
ever).
-z, --shuffle
Shuffle play. Randomly shuffles the order of files specified on the command line,
or in the list file.
-Z, --random
Continuous random play. Keeps picking a random file from the command line or the
play list. Unlike shuffle play above, random play never ends, and plays individual
songs more than once.
-i, --index
Index / scan through the track before playback. This fills the index table for
seeking (if enabled in libmpg123) and may make the operating system cache the file
contents for smoother operating on playback.
--index-size size
Set the number of entries in the seek frame index table.
--preframes num
Set the number of frames to be read as lead-in before a seeked-to position. This
serves to fill the layer 3 bit reservoir, which is needed to faithfully reproduce a
certain sample at a certain position. Note that for layer 3, a minimum of 1 is en-
forced (because of frame overlap), and for layer 1 and 2, this is limited to 2 (no
bit reservoir in that case, but engine spin-up anyway).
OUTPUT and PROCESSING OPTIONS
-o module, --output module
Select audio output module. You can provide a comma-separated list to use the first
one that works. Also see -a.
--list-modules
List the available modules.
--list-devices
List the available output devices for given output module. If there is no function-
ality to list devices in the chosen module, an error will be printed and mpg123
will exit with a non-zero code.
-a dev, --audiodevice dev
Specify the audio device to use. The default as well as the possible values depend
on the active output. For the JACK output, a comma-separated list of ports to con-
nect to (for each channel) can be specified.
-s, --stdout
The decoded audio samples are written to standard output, instead of playing them
through the audio device. This option must be used if your audio hardware is not
supported by mpg123. The output format per default is raw (headerless) linear PCM
audio data, 16 bit, stereo, host byte order (you can force mono or 8bit).
-O file, --outfile
Write raw output into a file (instead of simply redirecting standard output to a
file with the shell).
-w file, --wav
Write output as WAV file. This will cause the MPEG stream to be decoded and saved
as file file , or standard output if - is used as file name. You can also use --au
and --cdr for AU and CDR format, respectively. Note that WAV/AU writing to non-
seekable files, or redirected stdout, needs some thought. Since 1.16.0, the logic
changed to writing the header with the first actual data. This avoids spurious WAV
headers in a pipe, for example. The result of decoding nothing to WAV/AU is a file
consisting just of the header when it is seekable and really nothing when not (not
even a header). Correctly writing data with prophetic headers to stdout is no easy
business.
--au file
Does not play the MPEG file but writes it to file in SUN audio format. If - is
used as the filename, the AU file is written to stdout. See paragraph about WAV
writing for header fun with non-seekable streams.
--cdr file
Does not play the MPEG file but writes it to file as a CDR file. If - is used as
the filename, the CDR file is written to stdout.
--reopen
Forces reopen of the audiodevice after ever song
--cpu decoder-type
Selects a certain decoder (optimized for specific CPU), for example i586 or MMX.
The list of available decoders can vary; depending on the build and what your CPU
supports. This option is only available when the build actually includes several
optimized decoders.
--test-cpu
Tests your CPU and prints a list of possible choices for --cpu.
--list-cpu
Lists all available decoder choices, regardless of support by your CPU.
-g gain, --gain gain
[DEPRECATED] Set audio hardware output gain (default: don't change). The unit of
the gain value is hardware and output module dependent. (This parameter is only
provided for backwards compatibility and may be removed in the future without prior
notice. Use the audio player for playing and a mixer app for mixing, UNIX style!)
-f factor, --scale factor
Change scale factor (default: 32768).
--rva-mix, --rva-radio
Enable RVA (relative volume adjustment) using the values stored for ReplayGain ra-
dio mode / mix mode with all tracks roughly equal loudness. The first valid infor-
mation found in ID3V2 Tags (Comment named RVA or the RVA2 frame) or ReplayGain
header in Lame/Info Tag is used.
--rva-album, --rva-audiophile
Enable RVA (relative volume adjustment) using the values stored for ReplayGain au-
diophile mode / album mode with usually the effect of adjusting album loudness but
keeping relative loudness inside album. The first valid information found in ID3V2
Tags (Comment named RVA_ALBUM or the RVA2 frame) or ReplayGain header in Lame/Info
Tag is used.
-0, --single0; -1, --single1
Decode only channel 0 (left) or channel 1 (right), respectively. These options are
available for stereo MPEG streams only.
-m, --mono, --mix, --singlemix
Mix both channels / decode mono. It takes less CPU time than full stereo decoding.
--stereo
Force stereo output
-r rate, --rate rate
Set sample rate (default: automatic). You may want to change this if you need a
constant bitrate independent of the mpeg stream rate. mpg123 automagically converts
the rate. You should then combine this with --stereo or --mono.
--resample method
Set resampling method to employ if forcing an output rate. Choices (case-insensi-
tive) are NtoM, dirty, and fine. The fine resampler is the default. It employs lib-
syn123's low-latency fairly efficient resampler to postprocess the output from
libmpg123 instead of the fast but very crude NtoM decoder (drop sample method) that
mpg123 offers since decades. If you are really low on CPU time, choose NtoM, as the
resampler usually needs more time than the MPEG decoder itself. The mpg123 program
is smart enough to combine the 2to1 or 4to1 downsampling modes with the postpro-
cessing for extreme downsampling.
-2, --2to1; -4, --4to1
Performs a downsampling of ratio 2:1 (22 kHz from 44.1 kHz) or 4:1 (11 kHz) on the
output stream, respectively. Saves some CPU cycles, but of course throws away the
high frequencies, as the decoder does not bother producing them.
--pitch value
Set a pitch change (speedup/down, 0 is neutral; 0.05 is 5% speedup). When not en-
forcing an output rate, this changes the output sampling rate, so it only works in
the range your audio system/hardware supports. When you combine this with a fixed
output rate, it modifies a software resampling ratio instead.
--8bit Forces 8bit output
--float
Forces f32 encoding
-e enc, --encoding enc
Choose output sample encoding. Possible values look like f32 (32-bit floating
point), s32 (32-bit signed integer), u32 (32-bit unsigned integer) and the variants
with different numbers of bits (s24, u24, s16, u16, s8, u8) and also special vari-
ants like ulaw and alaw 8-bit. See the output of mpg123's longhelp for actually
available encodings.
-d n, --doublespeed n
Only play every n'th frame. This will cause the MPEG stream to be played n times
faster, which can be used for special effects. Can also be combined with the
--halfspeed option to play 3 out of 4 frames etc. Don't expect great sound quality
when using this option.
-h n, --halfspeed n
Play each frame n times. This will cause the MPEG stream to be played at 1/n'th
speed (n times slower), which can be used for special effects. Can also be combined
with the --doublespeed option to double every third frame or things like that.
Don't expect great sound quality when using this option.
-E file, --equalizer
Enables equalization, taken from file. The file needs to contain 32 lines of data,
additional comment lines may be prefixed with #. Each data line consists of two
floating-point entries, separated by whitespace. They specify the multipliers for
left and right channel of a certain frequency band, respectively. The first line
corresponds to the lowest, the 32nd to the highest frequency band. Note that you
can control the equalizer interactively with the generic control interface. Also
note that these are the 32 bands of the MPEG codec, not spaced like you would see
for a usual graphic equalizer. The upside is that there is zero computational cost
in addition to decoding. The downside is that you roughly have bass in band 0, (up-
per) mids in band 1, treble in all others.
--gapless
Enable code that cuts (junk) samples at beginning and end of tracks, enabling gap-
less transitions between MPEG files when encoder padding and codec delays would
prevent it. This is enabled per default beginning with mpg123 version 1.0.0 .
--no-gapless
Disable the gapless code. That gives you MP3 decodings that include encoder delay
and padding plus mpg123's decoder delay.
--no-infoframe
Do not parse the Xing/Lame/VBR/Info frame, decode it instead just like a stupid old
MP3 hardware player. This implies disabling of gapless playback as the necessary
information is in said metadata frame.
-D n, --delay n
Insert a delay of n seconds before each track.
-o h, --headphones
Direct audio output to the headphone connector (some hardware only; AIX, HP, SUN).
-o s, --speaker
Direct audio output to the speaker (some hardware only; AIX, HP, SUN).
-o l, --lineout
Direct audio output to the line-out connector (some hardware only; AIX, HP, SUN).
-b size, --buffer size
Use an audio output buffer of size Kbytes. This is useful to bypass short periods
of heavy system activity, which would normally cause the audio output to be inter-
rupted. You should specify a buffer size of at least 1024 (i.e. 1 Mb, which equals
about 6 seconds of audio data) or more; less than about 300 does not make much
sense. The default is 0, which turns buffering off.
--preload fraction
Wait for the buffer to be filled to fraction before starting playback (fraction be-
tween 0 and 1). You can tune this prebuffering to either get faster sound to your
ears or safer uninterrupted web radio. Default is 0.2 (wait for 20 % of buffer to
be full, changed from 1 in version 1.23).
--devbuffer seconds
Set device buffer in seconds; <= 0 means default value. This is the small buffer
between the application and the audio backend, possibly directly related to hard-
ware buffers.
--smooth
Keep buffer over track boundaries -- meaning, do not empty the buffer between
tracks for possibly some added smoothness.
MISC OPTIONS
-t, --test
Test mode. The audio stream is decoded, but no output occurs.
-c, --check
Check for filter range violations (clipping), and report them for each frame if any
occur.
-v, --verbose
Increase the verbosity level. For example, displays the frame numbers during de-
coding.
-q, --quiet
Quiet. Suppress diagnostic messages.
-C, --control
Enable terminal control keys. This is enabled automatically if a terminal is de-
tected. By default use 's' or the space bar to stop/restart (pause, unpause) play-
back, 'f' to jump forward to the next song, 'b' to jump back to the beginning of
the song, ',' to rewind, '.' to fast forward, and 'q' to quit. Type 'h' for a full
list of available controls.
--no-control
Disable terminal control even if terminal is detected.
--title
In an xterm, rxvt, screen, iris-ansi (compatible, TERM environment variable is ex-
amined), change the window's title to the name of song currently playing.
--name name
Set the name of this instance, possibly used in various places. This sets the
client name for JACK output.
--long-tag
Display ID3 tag info always in long format with one line per item (artist, title,
...)
--utf8 Regardless of environment, print metadata in UTF-8 (otherwise, when not using UTF-8
locale, you'll get ASCII stripdown).
-R, --remote
Activate generic control interface. mpg123 will then read and execute commands
from stdin. Basic usage is ``load <filename> '' to play some file and the obvious
``pause'', ``command. ``jump <frame>'' will jump/seek to a given point (MPEG frame
number). Issue ``help'' to get a full list of commands and syntax.
--remote-err
Print responses for generic control mode to standard error, not standard out. This
is automatically triggered when using -s.
--fifo path
Create a fifo / named pipe on the given path and use that for reading commands in-
stead of standard input.
--aggressive
Tries to get higher priority
-T, --realtime
Tries to gain realtime priority. This option usually requires root privileges to
have any effect.
-?, --help
Shows short usage instructions.
--longhelp
Shows long usage instructions.
--version
Print the version string.
HTTP SUPPORT
In addition to reading MPEG audio streams from ordinary files and from the standard input,
mpg123 supports retrieval of MPEG audio files or playlists via the HTTP protocol, which is
used in the World Wide Web (WWW). Such files are specified using a so-called URL, which
starts with ``http://''. When a file with that prefix is encountered, mpg123 attempts to
open an HTTP connection to the server in order to retrieve that file to decode and play
it.
It is often useful to retrieve files through a WWW cache or so-called proxy. To accom-
plish this, mpg123 examines the environment for variables named MP3_HTTP_PROXY, http_proxy
and HTTP_PROXY, in this order. The value of the first one that is set will be used as
proxy specification. To override this, you can use the -p command line option (see the
``OPTIONS'' section). Specifying -p none will enforce contacting the server directly
without using any proxy, even if one of the above environment variables is set.
Note that, in order to play MPEG audio files from a WWW server, it is necessary that the
connection to that server is fast enough. For example, a 128 kbit/s MPEG file requires
the network connection to be at least 128 kbit/s (16 kbyte/s) plus protocol overhead. If
you suffer from short network outages, you should try the -b option (buffer) to bypass
such outages. If your network connection is generally not fast enough to retrieve MPEG
audio files in realtime, you can first download the files to your local harddisk (e.g. us-
ing wget(1)) and then play them from there.
If authentication is needed to access the file it can be specified with the -u user:pass.
INTERRUPT
When in terminal control mode, you can quit via pressing the q key, while any time you can
abort mpg123 by pressing Ctrl-C. If not in terminal control mode, this will skip to the
next file (if any). If you want to abort playing immediately in that case, press Ctrl-C
twice in short succession (within about one second).
Note that the result of quitting mpg123 pressing Ctrl-C might not be audible immediately,
due to audio data buffering in the audio device. This delay is system dependent, but it
is usually not more than one or two seconds.
PLAYBACK STATUS LINE
In verbose mode, mpg123 updates a line with various information centering around the cur-
rent playback position. On any decent terminal, the line also works as a progress bar in
the current file by reversing video for a fraction of the line according to the current
position. An example for a full line is this:
> 0291+0955 00:01.68+00:28.22 [00:05.30] mix 100=085 192 kb/s 576 B acc 18 clip
p+0.014
The information consists of, in order:
> single-character playback state (``>'' for playing, ``='' for pausing/looping,
``_'' for stopped)
0291+0955
current frame offset and number of remaining frames after the plus sign
00:01.68+00:28.22
current position from and remaining time in human terms (hours, minutes, seconds)
[00:05.30]
fill of the output buffer in terms of playback time, if the buffer is enabled
mix selected RVA mode (possible values: mix, alb (album), and --- (neutral, off))
100=085
set volume and the RVA-modified effective volume after the equal sign
192 kb/s
current bitrate
576 B size of current frame in bytes
acc if positions are accurate, possible values are ``acc'' for accurate positions or
``fuz'' for fuzzy (with guessed byte offsets using mean frame size)
18 clip
amount of clipped samples, non-zero only if decoder reports that (generic does,
some optimized ones not)
p+0.014
pitch change (increased/decreased playback sampling rate on user request)
NOTES
MPEG audio decoding requires a good deal of CPU performance, especially layer-3. To de-
code it in realtime, you should have at least an i486DX4, Pentium, Alpha, SuperSparc or
equivalent processor. You can also use the -m option to decode mono only, which reduces
the CPU load somewhat for layer-3 streams. See also the -2 and -4 options.
If everything else fails, have mpg123 decode to a file and then use an appropriate utility
to play that file with less CPU load. Most probably you can configure mpg123 to produce a
format suitable for your audio device (see above about encodings and sampling rates).
If your system is generally fast enough to decode in realtime, but there are sometimes pe-
riods of heavy system load (such as cronjobs, users logging in remotely, starting of
``big'' programs etc.) causing the audio output to be interrupted, then you should use the
-b option to use a buffer of reasonable size (at least 1000 Kbytes).
EXIT CODE
Up to version 1.25.x, mpg123 always returned exit code 0 also for complete junk on the in-
put side. Fatal errors were only considered for output. With version 1.26.0, this changed
to the behaviour described below.
When not using the remote control interface (which returns input errors as text messages),
the process exit code is zero (success) only if all tracks in a playlist had at least one
frame parsed, even if it did not decode cleanly, or are empty, MPEG-wise (perhaps only
metadata, or really an empty file). When you decode nothing, nothing is the result and
that is fine. When a track later aborts because of parser errors or breakdown of the net-
work communication, this is treated as end of a track, but does not make the process as
such fail. One really bad (or non-existing) stream in the playlist results in a non-zero
error code, consistent with other UNIX tools.
An error in audio output results in the process ending with a non-zero exit code immedi-
ately, regardless of how much data has been successfully played before. The forgiveness is
only on the input side.
BUGS
Mostly MPEG-1 layer 2 and 3 are tested in real life. Please report any issues and provide
test files to help fixing them.
No CRC error checking is performed.
Some platforms lack audio hardware support; you may be able to use the -s switch to feed
the decoded data to a program that can play it on your audio device.
AUTHORS
Maintainer:
Thomas Orgis <maintainer AT mpg123.org>, <thomas AT orgis.org>
Original Creator:
Michael Hipp
Uses code or ideas from various people, see the AUTHORS file accompanying the source code.
LICENSE
mpg123 is licensed under the GNU Lesser/Library General Public License, LGPL, version 2.1
.
WEBSITE
http://www.mpg123.org
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpg123
26 Apr 2020 mpg123(1)
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