If you keep your music in folders and do not want an app to build its own library, mpz is for you. There is no import step: add your music folders and play.
The window has three columns: the folder tree, the playlists, and the tracks of the selected playlist. Middle-click a folder to make a playlist from it. You can drag folders and tracks between the columns, or drop them from your file manager.
mpz is written in C++ with Qt 6. It starts fast and stays responsive with large collections. It uses your desktop theme and the audio codecs already installed on your system (GStreamer or ffmpeg through QtMultimedia on Linux). License: GPL-3.0.
m3u, m3u8 and pls play directly, or you can import them into the radio library. The library comes with stations from
SomaFM, Radio Paradise, FIP, France Musique and Nightride FM, and you can add your own. HTTPS streams and
IceCast stream titles are supported. The playback log records what was played.
.lrc/.txt files next to the track. Online sources (Deezer, Apple Music,
Cover Art Archive; LRCLIB,
NetEase, QQ Music, Lyrics.ovh) are off until you enable them.
m3u, m3u8 and pls, including radio streams.
Native packages for openSUSE, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, RedHat, Mageia, Arch and Manjaro:
The repository contains only mpz, so it cannot break anything else on your system. Packages can also be downloaded directly, without adding a repository.
Available on Flathub, or from your desktop's software centre:
flatpak install flathub org.mpz_player.mpzAppImage builds (x86_64 and aarch64) are on the GitHub releases page.
Arch and Manjaro can use the native packages, but there is also an AUR package.
Run the installer from the GitHub releases page. It creates Start Menu shortcuts and registers an uninstaller.
To uninstall, use the "Uninstall mpz" Start Menu shortcut or Control Panel. Settings → Apps may not work on Windows 11 (a known Qt Installer Framework bug).
Download the portable build from the GitHub releases page, unpack it anywhere and run it. Nothing is installed system-wide and there is no Start Menu entry.
Builds: win-x86_64-qt6 for 64-bit x64 (recommended), win-arm64-qt6 for native ARM64 (Windows on ARM), and win-legacy-qt5 for 32-bit systems
older than Windows 10.
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen: "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. If there is no Run anyway button: right-click the file → Properties → check Unblock → Apply.
Smart App Control: "cannot be verified", with no button to click and no exception list. Turn it off in Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control, install mpz, then turn it on again. On older Windows 11 builds the switch cannot be turned on again, so check that first. Only clean installs of Windows 11 have it on.
Download the .dmg from the GitHub releases page. Universal binary
for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs (macOS 11 Big Sur or later).
The build is not signed with an Apple Developer ID, so macOS Gatekeeper blocks it on first launch. After you drag mpz music player.app to /Applications,
use one of the two methods below.
Terminal: remove the quarantine flag, then open the app normally:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/mpz music player.app"
System Settings: try to open mpz music player.app once and dismiss the warning, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security. Near the
bottom there is a message that mpz was blocked. Click Open Anyway and confirm. After that the app opens normally.
See the README for details.
Or build from source, see the README.
A free and open-source folder player for large local music collections, written in C++ and Qt. It plays directly from your folder structure instead of importing it into a database, with three columns for the folder tree, playlists and tracks. Middle-click any folder to make a playlist from it.
Partly. mpz is inspired by Foobar2000, especially its "Album list", but it is not a clone: an exact cross-platform copy is not possible and not the goal. It has the features the author has used daily for years, in a native folder-based player for Linux, macOS and Windows. Foobar2000 itself runs only on Windows.
Yes, that is what it is made for. Your folder structure is the library, so nothing has to be scanned into a database before you can play.
Linux, macOS and Windows. On Linux, install the native packages (openSUSE, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, RedHat, Mageia, Arch, Manjaro) for x86_64 and aarch64, or use the AUR, Flathub (flatpak install flathub org.mpz_player.mpz) or an AppImage. On Windows, download a release from GitHub: 64-bit x64, native ARM64 (Windows on ARM) or 32-bit for old systems. On macOS, download the .dmg from GitHub
releases. That build is not signed, so Gatekeeper blocks it on first launch: remove the quarantine flag with
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/mpz music player.app", or click Open Anyway under System Settings → Privacy & Security. Building from
source works on any platform with Qt and a C++ compiler.
Yes, on Flathub as org.mpz_player.mpz. Install it with
flatpak install flathub org.mpz_player.mpz, or from your desktop's software centre. It works on any distribution, but native packages are better if your distribution has
them.
No. mpz is a desktop player for Linux, macOS and Windows; there is no Android or iOS version. On Linux you can control playback from a phone over MPRIS, for example with KDE Connect.
Yes. mpz is free and open-source software, licensed under the GNU GPL v3.
No, mpz is for local music files. Internet radio works (a radio library with built-in stations, plus m3u, m3u8 and pls stream playlists), but
streaming services are not supported.
Yes. Stream playlists in m3u, m3u8 and pls play like any other playlist. Version 2.1.0 added a radio library with built-in stations from SomaFM,
Radio Paradise, FIP, France Musique and Nightride FM, your own stations, HTTPS, a radio row view, and stream titles from IceCast's status-json.xsl. Stream playlists still
play directly, or can be imported into the library.
FLAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Opus, Speex, AAC, ALAC, M4A/M4B/MP4, WAV, AIFF, WMA/ASF, APE, WavPack, Musepack, TTA, MKA, DSD (DSF/DFF) and Shorten, played through your system's codecs
(QtMultimedia with the GStreamer or ffmpeg backend on Linux, native backends on macOS and Windows). Playlists and radio streams: m3u, m3u8, pls.
Because playback uses system codecs, the exact list depends on what is installed.
Yes, between any two tracks, not only inside CUE-sheet albums. Decoded audio is kept in memory (100 MB by default, changeable in Settings → Advanced), so seeking is instant too. Qt 6 builds only.
Yes. Two modes: 10-band graphic and full parametric. Presets can be imported from AutoEq, SquigLink and similar sources. Each output device ("Default" is one of them) has its own on/off switch and selected preset; the presets themselves are shared. When the audio device changes, for example when you unplug headphones, the equalizer changes with it.
Yes. mpz reads existing ReplayGain tags and can also measure tracks itself, in the background: the current playlist, the selected tracks or the whole library. Results are stored in a separate database, so the audio files are not changed, or written into the file tags. Track or album gain, with a preamp, optional dynamics compensation for very loud, compressed masters, and clipping prevention.
Yes, including gapless playback of single-file albums with a CUE sheet.
Yes. Select tracks and choose "Dynamic range" in the playlist context menu, or open it from the track info dialog. You get a per-track and album DR log in the foobar2000 Dynamic Range Meter format.
The interface is available in English, Russian, Japanese and Serbian. The system language is used by default.
Yes, as an experimental mode. You can add an mpd server as a library folder. There are limitations: see the mpd section of the README.
Yes. Lyrics can come from tags, from .lrc or .txt files next to the track, or from online sources:
LRCLIB, NetEase, QQ Music or Lyrics.ovh. Online lookup is off until you enable a provider in
Settings → Online lyrics & covers. Lyrics appear in the Track Info dialog or in a dockable Lyrics panel.
Yes, after you enable it. Cover art comes from tags or folder images first. If there is none, mpz can look it up online through Deezer, Apple Music or Cover Art Archive. These sources are off by default: enable and reorder them in Settings → Online lyrics & covers, where downloaded covers can also be deleted.
Yes. There is a built-in tag editor for track metadata (title, artist, album and so on) for the formats TagLib supports: ID3v2, Vorbis Comment, MP4 and APE.
The "z" stands for a simple approach: nothing extra, nothing distracting.