Command line audio players

Solution 1:

I have compiled a complete list of commandline and other lightweight tools for linux: Best Lightweight Applications for Linux. It also has a list of other music players.

Here is my personal favorite: cmus.

Solution 2:

MOC

With MOC we have a powerful commandline player that is capable of browsing directories, generates playlist can can even be extended with plugins, e.g. for lastFM streams.

Solution 3:

VLC has a command line interface:

cvlc -I ncurses ~/Music/

MPlayer has also a command line interface, but I am not sure if it can play audio as well.

Solution 4:

Install vorbis-tools (sudo apt-get install vorbis-tools) to get ogg123:

$ ogg123 -v example.ogg 

Audio Device:   Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) output
Author:   Bill Currie <[email protected]>/Kevin Cody, Jr. <[email protected]>
Comments: Outputs to the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture version 0.9/1.x

Playing: example.ogg
Ogg Vorbis stream: 1 channel, 44100 Hz
Vorbis format: Version 0
Bitrate hints: upper=0 nominal=160000 lower=0 window=0
Encoded by: Xiph.Org libVorbis I 20101101 (Schaufenugget)
Encoded by: SONY IC RECORDER MP3 1.1.0
Album: ptiha
Date: 2012
Artist: Michael Laitman
Time: 00:42.17 [218:51.85] of 219:34.02  (142.0 kbps)  Output Buffer  88.9%

ogg123 reads Ogg Vorbis audio files and decodes them to the devices specified on the command line. By default, ogg123 writes to the standard sound device, but output can be sent to any number of devices. Files can be read from the file system, or URLs can be streamed via HTTP. If a directory is given, all of the files in it or its subdirectories will be played.