How to show playback time and duration in mpv terminal?

Customizing the terminal status line in mpv allows you to view the exact playback time and total file duration directly from your command-line interface. By modifying the terminal string format using the --term-status-msg option, you can completely overwrite the default status readout to show real-time progress, time elapsed, and total length. This article covers how to configure this layout temporarily for a single session or permanently across all media playback.

Using Command-Line Flags

To test or apply custom terminal output styles for a single file, use the --term-status-msg property when running the media player from your terminal emulator.

The properties ${playback-time} and ${duration} represent the current timestamp and total track duration, respectively. Execute the following command in your terminal:

mpv --term-status-msg="Time: ${playback-time} / ${duration}" video.mp4

This updates your active terminal line dynamically while the media streams, showing the formatted playback track time against the length of the container.

Configuring Permanent Terminal Status Displays

To avoid passing the command-line flag every time you open a media stream, you can save this configuration to your local configuration files.

1. Open your mpv.conf file using a standard text editor. Depending on your operating system environment, this file is typically located at:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
• Windows: %APPDATA%\mpv\mpv.conf or inside your portable installation directory.

2. Append the status message definition directly into the configuration text file:

# Custom terminal status display
term-status-msg="Playback: ${playback-time} / ${duration}"

3. Save the changes and close the document.

Expanding Your Terminal Status Property Layouts

The configuration engine supports additional properties if you want more telemetry information on your command line alongside basic time indicators.

The table below outlines common string parameters that can be integrated into your custom status configuration syntax: