Tips and Plugins to Get the Most Out of Qmmp

How to Install and Configure Qmmp on Linux

Overview

Qmmp is a lightweight, Qt-based audio player resembling Winamp, with plugin support and low resource use. Below are installation and configuration steps for common Linux distributions and tips for basic setup.

Install

• Debian/Ubuntu (and derivatives)

  1. Update packages:

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     sudo apt update sudo apt install qmmp qmmp-plugin-pack 

  2. If qmmp-plugin-pack is unavailable, install individual plugins:

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     sudo apt install qmmp-plugin-qt qmmp-plugin-vorbis qmmp-plugin-mp3 

• Fedora

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  sudo dnf install qmmp qmmp-plugins 

• Arch Linux / Manjaro

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  sudo pacman -Syu qmmp qmmp-plugins 

  Or use AUR for additional plugin packs if needed.

• openSUSE

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  sudo zypper refresh sudo zypper install qmmp qmmp-plugins 

• From source (if packages missing or you want latest)

  1. Install build deps: Qt development packages, QtMultimedia, libmad/libmpg123, libvorbis, libflac, taglib, cmake, gcc/clang.
  2. Clone and build:

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     git clone https://github.com/qmmp-player/qmmp.git
     cd qmmp mkdir build && cd build cmake .. make -j$(nproc) sudo make install 

First-time configuration

1. Launch Qmmp from your desktop menu or terminal:

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   qmmp 

2. Switch skins: View → Skins. Choose a classic Winamp-style or Qt-style skin. Install additional skins by placing .wsz/.qss files in ~/.config/qmmp/skins or /usr/share/qmmp/skins and restarting.
3. Add music: File → Add Files / Add Folder. You can also drag-and-drop folders into the playlist.
4. Set default music folder: Settings → Preferences → Library → Add your music directories; enable “Monitor folders” if you want automatic updates.
5. Configure audio output: Settings → Preferences → Output. Select ALSA, PulseAudio, or PipeWire backend depending on your system. For lowest latency choose ALSA; for desktop integration use PulseAudio/PipeWire.
6. Plugins: Settings → Preferences → Plugins. Enable desired plugins (visualization, format support, DSP). Install extra plugin packages from your distro if needed.
7. Equalizer and DSP: View → Equalizer. Enable DSP plugins like crossfade, replaygain under Plugins or DSP section.
8. Keyboard shortcuts: Settings → Preferences → Shortcuts to customize playback and global hotkeys.

Useful tips

• Enable ReplayGain: Use the ReplayGain plugin to normalize track volumes. Scan files via right-click → Scan ReplayGain.
• Save playlists: File → Save Playlist, formats supported include M3U/PLS.
• Internet radio: File → Open URL and paste stream links (HTTP/ICY).
• Metadata/tag editing: Right-click track → Edit Tags to correct metadata stored by taglib.
• Transcoding/export: Use external tools (ffmpeg/sox) — Qmmp focuses on playback.
• Troubleshooting audio backend: If no sound, switch between ALSA, PulseAudio, and PipeWire; ensure your user is in the “audio” group if needed.

Example: Configure PulseAudio output

1. Settings → Preferences → Output → select “PulseAudio”.
2. Restart Qmmp.
3. Use pactl or pavucontrol to route Qmmp to desired sink.

Shortcuts (useful)

• Space: Play/Pause
• Enter: Open selected file
• Ctrl+L: Show playlist
• Ctrl+S: Save playlist