MPRIS (Media Player Remote Interfacing Specification) is a standard D-Bus interface which aims to provide a common programmatic API for controlling media players. This interface is most commonly used to pass media key control through to a media player, such as play and pause and music playback.
There are many apps that offer MPRIS functionality. For this roundup, I’m focusing exclusively on small independent tools.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Click the links below to learn more about each application and see which one is best suited for your requirements.
| MPRIS Tools | |
|---|---|
| playerctl | MPRIS media player command-line controller |
| mpris-ctl | Minimalistic command-line interface tool for controlling audio players |
| mpv-mpris | mpv plugin to control the player using standard media keys |
| mpd-mpris | MPRIS protocol for MPD |
| mprisence | Bridges MPRIS-compatible media players |
| empress | MPRIS media controls made simple |
| mpris-scrobbler | Minimalistic user daemon |
| MPRIS MiniPlayer | Displays whatever media in a MPRIS compatible player is playing. |
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