Currently, Linux distributions work perfectly well with a desktop and graphical interface. But Linux is a kernel, and the most basic operating systems that use it function via the command line. Different projects decide whether or not to add a graphical interface, but the foundation of all of them is command-line interface (CLI). Perhaps that's why many people want tools of this type, and a relatively new one for listening to music has appeared. Its name is... CliampAnd it brings the classic Winamp to the terminal. Sort of.
Cliamp is an application written in Go and compatible with Linux, macOS, and Windows. Version 1.0.0 was released at the end of February, and I think it's an interesting offering. Being so new, it's understandable that it has limitations, but in some aspects, it's more compelling than other options like... cmusFor example, that it is available equalizer and spectrum viewThat is, the bars that go up and down depending on the intensity of the frequency.
How to use Cliamp
Cliamp is offered as a different executable for each operating system. Linux users can use this executable directly, but keep in mind that you must first grant it execute permissions, which can be done from the options by right-clicking or with the command chmod -x cliamp-linux-amd64 (or -arm64), and it must be launched from the terminal.
If we open a terminal and type "cliamp", while in the folder where the executable is located, we will see something like the following:
usage: cliamp [...] Local files cliamp track.mp3 song.flac ~/Music HTTP stream cliamp https://example.com/song.mp3 Radio / M3U cliamp http://radio.example.com/stream.m3u Podcast feed cliamp https://example.com/podcast/feed.xml Navidrome Set NAVIDROME_URL, NAVIDROME_USER, NAVIDROME_PASS Formats: mp3, wav, flac, ogg, m4a, aac, opus, wma (aac/opus/wma need ffmpeg)
The above explains how to launch the program. Let's say we want to play the album "Prueba" located in the folder of the same name. All we have to do is open the terminal, navigate to the folder containing the album, and type cliamp PruebaThis will open the folder and you will be ready to play all its contents.
In her GitHub page There is more information, such as how to play HTTP streams and podcasts, which is basically with cliamp url, or of Novidrome.
Installation complete
To fully install the program, so you don't have the executable file floating around on your desktop or anything like that, you need to open a terminal and type:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bjarneo/cliamp/HEAD/install.sh | sh
For those of us who are a bit meticulous and want more control, it might be worth downloading the file, granting execution permissions as mentioned above, and placing it in the ~/.local/bin folder, which is where a user's personal executables are stored. I, for example, keep the most up-to-date yt-dlp there.
Keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are available for navigating the interface:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Espacio |
Play / Pause |
s |
Stop |
> . |
Next track |
< , |
previous track |
Izquierda Derecha |
Search -/+5s |
+ - |
Volume up/down |
m |
Toggle mono |
Tabulador |
Alternate focus (Playlist / EQ) |
j k / Arriba Abajo |
Scroll over playlist / EQ band adjust |
h l |
EQ left/right cursor |
Enter |
Play selected track |
e |
EQ preset cycle |
/ |
Search playlist |
a |
Alternate queue (play next) |
r |
Repeat cycle (Off / All / One) |
z |
Alternate random |
Ctrl+K |
Show key map |
b Esc |
Return to the provider (Navidrome) |
q |
Logout |
What's missing in Cliamp
As we mentioned, Cliamp is still in its early stages, so some features may be missing. For example, it lacks support for libraries, which would allow us to add a Music folder and browse through it after launching the program. But isn't it the same if we launch cliamp ~/MúsicaNo. What this will achieve is that all our music will be available, and we'll even be able to find albums with the slash (/), but one album will immediately follow the next, since everything appears without any isolation. Furthermore, it won't find albums unless they're part of a playlist.
In any case, Cliamp is a very interesting application for playing music on the terminal and is worthwhile for those who prefer a CLI-type application without a graphical interface.