How to Install mpv Media Player on Linux?

This guide provides a straightforward walkthrough for installing the mpv media player across various Linux distributions, including Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, and via universal package managers like Flatpak and Snap. mpv is a free, open-source, and highly versatile command-line media player known for its minimalist interface and powerful video decoding capabilities. By the end of this article, you will know the exact commands needed to get mpv up and running on your specific Linux environment.

Installing via Default Package Managers

Most major Linux distributions include mpv in their official software repositories. This is the quickest and safest method for most users.

Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint

For Debian-based systems, you can use the standard Advanced Package Tool (APT). Open your terminal and execute the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mpv

Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Fedora users can install mpv directly from the official repositories using the DNF package manager:

sudo dnf install mpv

Arch Linux and Manjaro

Arch Linux maintains mpv in its extra repository. You can install it using Pacman:

sudo pacman -S mpv

Installing via Universal Package Managers

If your distribution’s repositories have an outdated version of mpv, or if you prefer sandboxed applications, you can use universal packaging formats.

Flatpak (Flathub)

Flatpak is widely supported and often provides the most up-to-date stable release of mpv. First, ensure Flatpak is installed on your system, then run:

flatpak install flathub io.mpv.Mpv

Snap Store

Snap is another universal package manager pre-installed on Ubuntu and available for many other distributions. To install mpv via Snap, use:

sudo snap install mpv

Verifying the Installation

Once the installation process is complete, you can verify that mpv is working and check its version by running the following command in your terminal:

mpv --version

To open a video file immediately from the terminal, simply pass the file path as an argument:

mpv /path/to/your/video.mp4