Vitunes
Version: 2.3 Web: http://vitunes.org
We tend to review music players that have a novel GUI layout, but this time we picked a tool that would complement a geek’s command line workspace. There are many software titles for Linux that make use of the popular Ncurses library – the one that draws pseudographical interfaces in terminals – and now we’ve come across a music player in the same vein. The Vitunes name refers to Apple’s music store and the legendary Vi text editor, and after a closer look it has something common with both. Vitunes offers a minimalistic command line interface to your music collection and lets you manage your music library and enjoy your tracks. The application depends on Taglib and needs either Mplayer or Gstreamer to play sound. The build process is as simple as this: $ mv Makefile.linux Makefile && make
You may want to launch the player right away as $ ./vitunes but it won’t work. Instead, create a database first ($ ./ vitunes -e init) and add at least one directory with music ($ ./vitunes -e add ~/Music). Now you’re ready to go and launch the bare-bones version of the executable.
Navigating between the player’s sections can be done with the Tab and arrow keys. Taking a tour ofVitunes reveals that the player has advanced features, like filtering (when searching for a specific track), playlist support with a Vi-like editor, as well as the expected solid customisation features. Play with the ~/.vitunes/vitunes.conf file and create a unique, and possibly colourful Vitunes setup. Consult the official documentation page at Vitunes website to find custom templates with pleasing colour schemes.
We liked Vitunes for its no-nonsense and neat approach that gently forces you to consolidate your music library (if it’s in a bit of a mess) and enjoy readable metadata for albums and tracks, as long as the player accurately extracts all names and titles using the Taglib integration.
“We liked Vitunes for its straightforward and neat approach.”