mpv Keyboard Shortcuts
Every one of mpv's 223 keyboard shortcuts, collected so you can play media from command line faster
Developed by mpv Contributors, mpv is a widely used media players tool built to help users play media from command line.
Keyboard shortcuts are essential for working efficiently in mpv. Memorizing even a handful of key combinations can cut hours from a weekly workflow.
mpv is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux, making these shortcuts useful no matter which operating system you prefer.
macOS
Windows
Linux
223 shortcuts
23 categories
Show shortcuts for:
Jump to Section (23 sections)
Playback Control 10 shortcuts
Play or pause
Space Space Space
Toggle pause
P P P
Seek forward 10 seconds
Right Right Right
Seek backward 10 seconds
Left Left Left
Seek forward 60 seconds
Shift +Right Shift +Right Shift +Right
Seek backward 60 seconds
Shift +Left Shift +Left Shift +Left
Seek to beginning of the file
Home Home Home
Seek to end of the file
End End End
Step forward one frame
N N N
Step backward one frame
Shift +N Shift +N Shift +N
Volume Control 3 shortcuts
Increase volume
Up Up Up
Decrease volume
Down Down Down
Mute
M M M
Subtitle Control 6 shortcuts
Cycle through subtitles
V V V
Toggle subtitle visibility
Shift +V Shift +V Shift +V
Move subtitles up
G G G
Move subtitles down
Shift +G Shift +G Shift +G
Increase subtitle delay
J J J
Decrease subtitle delay
Shift +J Shift +J Shift +J
Audio Control 3 shortcuts
Cycle through audio tracks
A A A
Increase audio delay
X X X
Decrease audio delay
Shift +X Shift +X Shift +X
Window Control 4 shortcuts
Toggle fullscreen
F F F
Toggle on top
T T T
Increase window brightness
9 9 9
Decrease window brightness
0 0 0
OSD Control 2 shortcuts
Show/hide OSD
O O O
Cycle OSD level
I I I
Miscellaneous 3 shortcuts
Quit
Q Q Q
Take a screenshot
S S S
Display the stats
? ? ?
Console Mode 8 shortcuts
Enter text mode
: : :
Execute command
Enter Enter Enter
Cancel text input
Esc Esc Esc
Move cursor left
Left Left Left
Move cursor right
Right Right Right
Delete character
Delete Delete Delete
Backspace
Backspace Backspace Backspace
Autocomplete
Tab Tab Tab
Playback 17 shortcuts
Pause/Unpause
Space Space Space
Step forward one frame
. . .
Step backward one frame
, , ,
Stop and quit, store playback position
Q Q Q
Decrease volume
/ / /
Decrease volume
* * *
Decrease volume
9 9 9
Increase volume
KP_DIVIDE KP_DIVIDE KP_DIVIDE
Increase volume
KP_MULTIPLY KP_MULTIPLY KP_MULTIPLY
Increase volume
0 0 0
Mute
M M M
Decrease playback speed
[ [ [
Increase playback speed
] ] ]
Halve playback speed
{ { {
Double playback speed
} } }
Reset playback speed to normal
Backspace Backspace Backspace
Save playback position
Shift +Q Shift +Q Shift +Q
Seeking 19 shortcuts
Seek backward 5 seconds
Left Left Left
Seek forward 5 seconds
Right Right Right
Seek backward 1 second (exact)
Shift +Left Shift +Left Shift +Left
Seek forward 1 second (exact)
Shift +Right Shift +Right Shift +Right
Seek backward 1 minute
Up Up Up
Seek forward 1 minute
Down Down Down
Seek backward 5 seconds (exact)
Shift +Up Shift +Up Shift +Up
Seek forward 5 seconds (exact)
Shift +Down Shift +Down Shift +Down
Seek to the previous subtitle
Ctrl +Left Ctrl +Left Ctrl +Left
Seek to the next subtitle
Ctrl +Right Ctrl +Right Ctrl +Right
Adjust subtitle delay to display previous subtitle
Ctrl +Shift +Left Ctrl +Shift +Left Ctrl +Shift +Left
Adjust subtitle delay to display next subtitle
Ctrl +Shift +Right Ctrl +Shift +Right Ctrl +Shift +Right
Undo the last seek
Shift +Backspace Shift +Backspace Shift +Backspace
Mark the current position for undo seek
Ctrl +Shift +Backspace Ctrl +Shift +Backspace Ctrl +Shift +Backspace
Seek to the beginning of the file
Home Home Home
Seek to the beginning of the previous chapter
PageUp PageUp PageUp
Seek to the beginning of the next chapter
PageDown PageDown PageDown
Seek backward 10 minutes
Shift +PageUp Shift +PageUp Shift +PageUp
Seek forward 10 minutes
Shift +PageDown Shift +PageDown Shift +PageDown
Playlist 5 shortcuts
Go backward in the playlist
< < <
Go forward in the playlist
> > >
Go forward in the playlist
Enter Enter Enter
Go to the first playlist entry
Shift +Home Shift +Home Shift +Home
Go to the last playlist entry
Shift +End Shift +End Shift +End
Video 25 shortcuts
Toggle fullscreen / Adjust subtitle font size
F F F
Exit fullscreen mode
Esc Esc Esc
Decrease pan-and-scan range / Increase pan-and-scan range
W W W
Show progression bar, elapsed time and total duration on the OSD / Toggle OSD states
O O O
Show progression bar, elapsed time and total duration on the OSD
P P P
Toggle subtitle visibility
V V V
Toggle secondary subtitle visibility
Opt +V Alt +V Alt +V
Cycle through the available subtitles
J J J
Adjust subtitle delay
Z Z Z
Adjust subtitle font size
G G G
Move subtitles up / Move subtitles down
R R R
Take a screenshot without subtitles
S S S
Take a screenshot as the window shows it
Ctrl +S Ctrl +S Ctrl +S
Cycle aspect ratio override
A A A
Toggle hardware video decoding on/off
Ctrl +H Ctrl +H Ctrl +H
Move the video rectangle (panning)
Opt +Left Alt +Left Alt +Left
Move the video rectangle (panning)
Opt +Right Alt +Right Alt +Right
Move the video rectangle (panning)
Opt +Up Alt +Up Alt +Up
Move the video rectangle (panning)
Opt +Down Alt +Down Alt +Down
Change video zoom
Opt ++ Alt ++ Alt ++
Change video zoom
Opt +- Alt +- Alt +-
Reset pan/zoom settings
Opt +Backspace Alt +Backspace Alt +Backspace
Toggle stay-on-top
T T T
Cycle the deinterlacing filter
D D D
Activate/deactivate debanding
B B B
Audio 4 shortcuts
Cycle through the available audio tracks
# # #
Adjust audio delay by +/- 0.1 seconds
Ctrl ++ Ctrl ++ Ctrl ++
Adjust audio delay by +/- 0.1 seconds
Ctrl +- Ctrl +- Ctrl +-
Mute sound
M M M
Other 27 shortcuts
Quit
Q Q Q
Show the playlist and the current position in it
F8 F8 F8
Show the list of audio and subtitle streams
F9 F9 F9
Append the file or URL in the clipboard to the playlist
Ctrl +V Ctrl +V Ctrl +V
Reload the current file
Ctrl +R Ctrl +R Ctrl +R
Show/toggle an overlay displaying statistics
I I I
Toggle an overlay displaying the active key bindings
? ? ?
Show the console
` ` `
Adjust contrast
1 1 1
Adjust contrast
2 2 2
Adjust brightness
3 3 3
Adjust brightness
4 4 4
Adjust gamma
5 5 5
Adjust gamma
6 6 6
Adjust saturation
7 7 7
Adjust saturation
8 8 8
Resize video window to half its original size
Opt +0 Alt +0 Alt +0
Resize video window to half its original size
Cmd +0 N/A N/A
Resize video window to its original size
Opt +1 Alt +1 Alt +1
Resize video window to its original size
Cmd +1 N/A N/A
Resize video window to double its original size
Opt +2 Alt +2 Alt +2
Resize video window to double its original size
Cmd +2 N/A N/A
Toggle fullscreen
Cmd +F N/A N/A
Cycle OSC visibility
Delete Delete Delete
Set/clear A-B loop points. / Toggle infinite looping.
L L L
Switch between applying only `--sub-ass-*` overrides to SSA/ASS subtitles, and overriding them almost completely with the normal subtitle style
U U U
Cycle through which video data gets used for ASS rendering
V V V
Multimedia Keys 6 shortcuts
Pause
Pause Pause Pause
Stop and quit
STOP STOP STOP
Seek backward 1 minute
PREVIOUS PREVIOUS PREVIOUS
Seek forward 1 minute
NEXT NEXT NEXT
Change video zoom
ZOOMIN ZOOMIN ZOOMIN
Change video zoom
ZOOMOUT ZOOMOUT ZOOMOUT
General 2 shortcuts
Always save the current playback position on quit
Shift +Q Shift +Q Shift +Q
Quit mpv
Ctrl +Q Ctrl +Q Ctrl +Q
Navigation 2 shortcuts
Go to next track (cdda)
PageDown PageDown PageDown
Go to previous track (cdda)
PageUp PageUp PageUp
Windows-Specific 2 shortcuts
Register mpv as a media player
N/A --register N/A
Unregister mpv as a media player
N/A --unregister N/A
caca Driver 4 shortcuts
Toggle dithering algorithm
D D D
Toggle antialiasing method
A A A
Toggle charset method
H H H
Toggle color method
C C C
Console - Free-form text mode 48 shortcuts
Hide the console
Esc Esc Esc
Hide the console
Ctrl +[ Ctrl +[ Ctrl +[
Select the first completion and run the typed command
Enter Enter Enter
Select the first completion and run the typed command
Ctrl +J Ctrl +J Ctrl +J
Select the first completion and run the typed command
Ctrl +M Ctrl +M Ctrl +M
Type a literal newline character
Shift +Enter Shift +Enter Shift +Enter
Move the cursor to the previous character
Left Left Left
Move the cursor to the previous character
Ctrl +B Ctrl +B Ctrl +B
Move the cursor to the next character
Right Right Right
Move the cursor to the next character
Ctrl +F Ctrl +F Ctrl +F
Move the cursor to the beginning of the current word
Ctrl +Left Ctrl +Left Ctrl +Left
Move the cursor to the beginning of the current word
Opt +B Alt +B Alt +B
Move the cursor to the end of the current word
Ctrl +Right Ctrl +Right Ctrl +Right
Move the cursor to the end of the current word
Opt +F Alt +F Alt +F
Move the cursor to the start of the current line
Home Home Home
Move the cursor to the start of the current line
Ctrl +A Ctrl +A Ctrl +A
Move the cursor to the end of the current line
End End End
Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Ctrl +E Ctrl +E Ctrl +E
Delete the previous character
Backspace Backspace Backspace
Delete the previous character
Ctrl +H Ctrl +H Ctrl +H
Hide the console if the current line is empty, otherwise delete the next character
Ctrl +D Ctrl +D Ctrl +D
Delete text from the cursor to the beginning of the current word
Ctrl +Backspace Ctrl +Backspace Ctrl +Backspace
Delete text from the cursor to the beginning of the current word
Ctrl +W Ctrl +W Ctrl +W
Delete text from the cursor to the end of the current word
Ctrl +Delete Ctrl +Delete Ctrl +Delete
Delete text from the cursor to the end of the current word
Opt +D Alt +D Alt +D
Delete text from the cursor to the beginning of the current line
Ctrl +U Ctrl +U Ctrl +U
Delete text from the cursor to the end of the current line
Ctrl +K Ctrl +K Ctrl +K
Clear the current line
Ctrl +C Ctrl +C Ctrl +C
Move back in the command history
Up Up Up
Move back in the command history
Ctrl +P Ctrl +P Ctrl +P
Move forward in the command history
Down Down Down
Move forward in the command history
Ctrl +N Ctrl +N Ctrl +N
Go to the first command in the history
PageUp PageUp PageUp
Stop navigating the command history
PageDown PageDown PageDown
Search the command history
Ctrl +R Ctrl +R Ctrl +R
Scroll the log one line up
Shift +Up Shift +Up Shift +Up
Scroll the log one line down
Shift +Down Shift +Down Shift +Down
Toggle insert mode
Insert Insert Insert
Paste text (uses the clipboard on X11 and Wayland)
Ctrl +V Ctrl +V Ctrl +V
Paste text (uses the primary selection on X11 and Wayland)
Shift +Insert Shift +Insert Shift +Insert
Copy the current line to the clipboard
Ctrl +Y Ctrl +Y Ctrl +Y
Cycle through completions
Tab Tab Tab
Cycle through completions
Ctrl +I Ctrl +I Ctrl +I
Cycle through the completions backwards
Shift +Tab Shift +Tab Shift +Tab
Clear all log messages from the console
Ctrl +L Ctrl +L Ctrl +L
Paste text (uses the primary selection on X11 and Wayland)
MBTN_MID MBTN_MID MBTN_MID
Move back in the command history
WHEEL_UP WHEEL_UP WHEEL_UP
Move forward in the command history
WHEEL_DOWN WHEEL_DOWN WHEEL_DOWN
Commands 1 shortcut
Open the console to enter commands
` ` `
Select 21 shortcuts
Select the focused item
Enter Enter Enter
Select the focused item
Ctrl +J Ctrl +J Ctrl +J
Select the focused item
Ctrl +M Ctrl +M Ctrl +M
Focus the item above
Up Up Up
Focus the item above
Ctrl +P Ctrl +P Ctrl +P
Focus the item below
Down Down Down
Focus the item below
Ctrl +N Ctrl +N Ctrl +N
Scroll up one page
PageUp PageUp PageUp
Scroll up one page
Ctrl +B Ctrl +B Ctrl +B
Scroll down one page
PageDown PageDown PageDown
Scroll down one page
Ctrl +F Ctrl +F Ctrl +F
Scroll left
Shift +Left Shift +Left Shift +Left
Scroll right
Shift +Right Shift +Right Shift +Right
Copy the focused item to the clipboard
Ctrl +Y Ctrl +Y Ctrl +Y
Select the item under the cursor, or close the console if clicking outside of the menu rectangle.
MBTN_LEFT MBTN_LEFT MBTN_LEFT
Scroll up
WHEEL_UP WHEEL_UP WHEEL_UP
Scroll down
WHEEL_DOWN WHEEL_DOWN WHEEL_DOWN
Scroll left
Shift +WHEEL_DOWN Shift +WHEEL_DOWN Shift +WHEEL_DOWN
Scroll right
Shift +WHEEL_UP Shift +WHEEL_UP Shift +WHEEL_UP
Scroll left
WHEEL_LEFT WHEEL_LEFT WHEEL_LEFT
Scroll right
WHEEL_RIGHT WHEEL_RIGHT WHEEL_RIGHT
Script Bindings (select.lua) 1 shortcut
Select playlist entry
Ctrl +P Ctrl +P Ctrl +P
We've Built 10s Of 1000s Of Keyboard Shortcuts Into The BuildBox Macropad
The BuildBox Macropad is the ultimate shortcut machine. One device with up to 160 configurable shortcuts for apps like mpv available at your fingertips, a crystal clear display showing what every key does, and a hall-effect scroll wheel for scrubbing through video, audio and graphic editing applications like butter!
Drop your email below to be eligible for our first production run of 500 BuildBox units, at a HUGE discount price: