cimp

console interface music player A lightweight, keyboard-driven music player for the terminal, written in QuickBASIC (QB64). It plays audio files and M3U playlists directly from the command line, with a minimal two-line display showing playback state.

Features

• Plays individual audio files or M3U playlists
• Real-time progress bar and time display (elapsed or remaining)
• Volume control and seeking via arrow keys
• Shuffle and repeat modes
• Cross-platform: works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
• Unicode-aware display

Building

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://code.oscorp.dk/visionmercer/cimp.git
cd cimp

2. Open cimp.bas in QB64 and compile, or compile via the terminal:

qb64 -x cimp.bas

Usage

cimp [options] <file|playlist> [file2 ...]

Pass one or more audio files or .m3u playlists. At least one file is required.

Options

Flag	Long form	Description
-v <n>	--volume <n>	Set initial volume (0–100, default: 100)
-s	--shuffle	Shuffle the playlist on start
-r [1]	--repeat [1]	Repeat all (-r) or repeat one (-r 1)
-n	--nooutput	Run silently with no display

Examples

# Play a single file
cimp song.mp3

# Play a playlist shuffled at 80% volume
cimp -s -v 80 playlist.m3u

# Play multiple files with repeat
cimp -r track1.ogg track2.ogg track3.ogg

Keybindings

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Volume up / down
← / →	Seek backward / forward 5 seconds
Space / c	Toggle pause / resume
b	Next track
z	Previous track (or restart if past 2s)
x	Restart current track
v	Stop playback
s	Reshuffle playlist
t	Toggle time display (remaining ↔ elapsed)
q / Esc	Quit

Supported Audio Formats

All formats supported by QB64/QB64PE are supported by cimp, as the compiler handles the decoding. The following formats are supported by the most recent versions of both compilers:

mod, xm, s3m, it, mid, mp3, ogg, and flac

Files

File	Description
cimp.bas	Main player — QB64-PE source
terminkey.h	C library for cross-platform raw keyboard input and terminal width detection

Notes

• M3U paths can be absolute or relative to the playlist file's directory.
• Volume adjustment is non-linear (logarithmic-feeling) for a more natural response and better control at lower ranges.