mpv

![mpv logo](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mpv-player/mpv.io/master/source/images/mpv-logo-128.png)

# mpv


* [External links](#external-links)
* [Overview](#overview)
* [System requirements](#system-requirements)
* [Downloads](#downloads)
* [Changelog](#changelog)
* [Compilation](#compilation)
* [Release cycle](#release-cycle)
* [Bug reports](#bug-reports)
* [Contributing](#contributing)
* [License](#license)
* [Contact](#contact)


## External links


* [Wiki](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki)
* [User Scripts](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/User-Scripts)
* [FAQ][FAQ]
* [Manual](https://mpv.io/manual/master/)


## Overview


**mpv** is a free (as in freedom) media player for the command line. It supports
a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.

There is a [FAQ][FAQ].

Releases can be found on the [release list][releases].

## System requirements

- A not too ancient Linux (usually, only the latest releases of distributions
  are actively supported), Windows 10 1607 or later, or macOS 10.15 or later.
- A somewhat capable CPU. Hardware decoding might help if the CPU is too slow to
  decode video in realtime, but must be explicitly enabled with the `--hwdec`
  option.
- A not too crappy GPU. mpv's focus is not on power-efficient playback on
  embedded or integrated GPUs (for example, hardware decoding is not even
  enabled by default). Low power GPUs may cause issues like tearing, stutter,
  etc. On such GPUs, it's recommended to use `--profile=fast` for smooth playback.
  The main video output uses shaders for video rendering and scaling,
  rather than GPU fixed function hardware. On Windows, you might want to make
  sure the graphics drivers are current. In some cases, ancient fallback video
  output methods can help (such as `--vo=xv` on Linux), but this use is not
  recommended or supported.

mpv does not go out of its way to break on older hardware or old, unsupported
operating systems, but development is not done with them in mind. Keeping
compatibility with such setups is not guaranteed. If things work, consider it
a happy accident.

## Downloads


For semi-official builds and third-party packages please see
[mpv.io/installation](https://mpv.io/installation/).

## Changelog


There is no complete changelog; however, changes to the player core interface
are listed in the [interface changelog][interface-changes].

Changes to the C API are documented in the [client API changelog][api-changes].

The [release list][releases] has a summary of most of the important changes
on every release.

Changes to the default key bindings are indicated in
[restore-old-bindings.conf][restore-old-bindings].

Changes to the default OSC bindings are indicated in
[restore-osc-bindings.conf][restore-osc-bindings].

## Compilation


Compiling with full features requires development files for several
external libraries. Mpv requires [meson](https://mesonbuild.com/index.html)
to build. Meson can be obtained fr