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rhythmbox-client(1)

Control Rhythmbox music player from the command line or send files to play.

UbuntuDebianFedoraArch

Synopsis

rhythmbox-client [OPTION]... [FILES]...

Description

rhythmbox-client is a command-line interface to the Rhythmbox music player. It allows you to control playback, query player status, manage the library, and enqueue or play music files without opening the GUI. If Rhythmbox is not running, this tool can start it in the background.

You can use it to play files, skip tracks, pause, print now-playing information, and interact with playlists. This is useful for scripting, hotkeys, and automation.

Common options

FlagWhat it does
--playStart playback or resume if paused
--pausePause playback
--stopStop playback
--nextSkip to next track
--previousSkip to previous track
--print-playingPrint the currently playing song (artist, album, title)
--print-playing-format=FORMATPrint now-playing info with custom format (%at, %aa, %as, %an)
--enqueueAdd files to queue instead of playing immediately
--clear-queueClear the current play queue
--set-volume=LEVELSet volume to 0-100 percent
--no-startDo not start Rhythmbox if not running
--versionShow version information

Examples

Play a specific music file

rhythmbox-client ~/Music/song.mp3

Display the currently playing song with artist and album

rhythmbox-client --print-playing

Print now-playing info in custom format (artist - album)

rhythmbox-client --print-playing-format='%aa - %at'

Skip to the next track

rhythmbox-client --next

Pause music for 30 seconds, then resume

rhythmbox-client --pause && sleep 30 && rhythmbox-client --play

Add all MP3 files in current directory to the queue

rhythmbox-client --enqueue *.mp3

Set volume to 50%

rhythmbox-client --set-volume=50

Play if Rhythmbox is running; do not launch it if it isn't

rhythmbox-client --no-start --play

Related commands