> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/mpv-player/mpv/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Playback options

> Control playback behavior: speed, looping, start time, chapters, and more

These options control how mpv begins, progresses through, and ends playback of media files.

## Start and end positions

<ParamField path="--start" type="relative time">
  Seek to a position before playback begins.

  **Time formats:**

  * `[[hh:]mm:]ss[.ms]` — absolute timestamp
  * `-[[hh:]mm:]ss[.ms]` — relative from the end of the file
  * `pp%` — percentage position (0–100)
  * `#c` — chapter number (chapters start at 1)
  * `none` — reset any previously set value

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --start=+56 file.mkv          # 56 seconds in
  mpv --start=01:10:00 file.mkv     # 1 hour 10 minutes in
  mpv --start=50% file.mkv          # seek to middle
  mpv --start=-56 file.mkv          # 56 seconds before end
  mpv --start='#2' file.mkv         # start at chapter 2
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--end" type="relative time">
  Stop playback at the given position. Uses the same format as `--start`.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --start=30 --end=40 file.mkv          # play seconds 30–40 then quit
  mpv --start='#2' --end='#4' file.mkv      # play chapters 2 and 3 then quit
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--length" type="relative time">
  Stop playback after a given duration relative to `--start`. Uses the same format as `--start`.

  If both `--end` and `--length` are given, playback stops at whichever endpoint comes first.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --start=-3:20 --length=10 file.mkv    # play 10s starting 3m20s before end
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--rebase-start-time" type="yes|no" default="yes">
  Move the file start time to `00:00:00`. Useful for transport streams that begin at a non-zero timestamp. Disable with `no` if you need to work with the actual timestamps in the file.
</ParamField>

## Speed and pitch

<ParamField path="--speed" type="float (0.01–100)" default="1.0">
  Play back at a multiple of normal speed. Values above 1 speed up; values below 1 slow down.

  When `--audio-pitch-correction` is enabled (the default), mpv automatically inserts the `scaletempo2` filter to preserve pitch when playing faster or slower than normal.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --speed=2.0 lecture.mp4    # double speed
  mpv --speed=0.5 video.mkv      # half speed
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--pause" type="flag">
  Start the player in the paused state. Playback does not begin until you press the play key (default: `Space`).

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --pause file.mkv
  ```
</ParamField>

## Looping

<ParamField path="--loop-file" type="N|inf|no" default="no">
  Loop a single file N times. `inf` means loop indefinitely. `no` plays through once.

  `--loop` is an alias for `--loop-file`.

  <Note>
    `--loop-file` counts the number of seeks to the beginning, not full playthroughs. `--loop-file=1` plays the file **twice** (one seek back).
  </Note>

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --loop-file=inf video.mkv   # loop forever
  mpv --loop=3 video.mkv          # play 4 times total (3 repeats)
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--loop-playlist" type="N|inf|no|force" default="no">
  Loop the entire playlist N times. `inf` means loop forever. `force` is like `inf` but continues even if some entries fail to open (useful for web radio with bad connectivity).

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --loop-playlist=inf *.mp3   # loop through all mp3 files forever
  ```
</ParamField>

### A-B loop

<ParamField path="--ab-loop-a" type="time">
  Set the start point of an A-B loop. When playback reaches `--ab-loop-b`, it seeks back to this point. Use `no` (or leave unset) to disable.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --ab-loop-a=1:20 --ab-loop-b=1:45 file.mkv   # loop 25s section
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--ab-loop-b" type="time">
  Set the end point of the A-B loop. See `--ab-loop-a`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--ab-loop-count" type="N|inf" default="inf">
  How many times to run the A-B loop before ignoring the loop points. `inf` means loop forever. `0` disables the A-B loop even if both points are set.
</ParamField>

## Chapters

<ParamField path="--chapter" type="chapter">
  Start playback at the given chapter. Chapters are numbered from 1 in most contexts, but this option uses the same format as `--start='#c'`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--chapter-merge-threshold" type="integer (ms)" default="100">
  Threshold in milliseconds for merging nearly-consecutive ordered chapter parts in Matroska files. If the gap between the end of one chapter part and the start of the next is below this value, mpv plays through the boundary without seeking.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--chapter-seek-threshold" type="float (seconds)" default="5.0">
  When seeking backward within a chapter, if the current position is within this many seconds of the chapter start, the seek goes to the *previous* chapter. Beyond this threshold it goes to the beginning of the current chapter. A negative value always seeks to the previous chapter.
</ParamField>

## Seeking precision

<ParamField path="--hr-seek" type="no|absolute|default|yes" default="default">
  Control when to use precise (non-keyframe) seeks. Precise seeks decode from the previous keyframe to the exact target, which is slower but frame-accurate.

  | Value      | Behavior                                                       |
  | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
  | `no`       | Never use precise seeks                                        |
  | `absolute` | Precise seeks only for absolute positions (e.g. chapter seeks) |
  | `default`  | Like `absolute`, plus precise seeks in audio-only cases        |
  | `yes`      | Always use precise seeks                                       |

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --hr-seek=yes file.mkv    # always frame-accurate seeking
  mpv --hr-seek=no file.mkv     # always snap to keyframes (fastest)
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--hr-seek-framedrop" type="yes|no" default="yes">
  Allow the decoder to drop frames before the seek target during precise seeks. Enabling this makes precise seeks faster, but can cause issues with filters that modify timestamps or generate new frames (e.g. deinterlacers).
</ParamField>

## Playlist and idle behavior

<ParamField path="--shuffle" type="flag">
  Play files in random order when multiple files or a playlist is given.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --shuffle *.mp4
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--keep-open" type="yes|no|always" default="no">
  Do not exit when reaching the end of the last file in the playlist. Instead, pause the player.

  | Value    | Behavior                                               |
  | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
  | `no`     | Exit normally at end of playlist (default)             |
  | `yes`    | Pause instead of exiting when the last file ends       |
  | `always` | Pause at the end of every file, including mid-playlist |

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --keep-open=yes file.mkv    # stay open after playback ends
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--idle" type="yes|no|once" default="no">
  Keep mpv running (waiting for input) even when there are no files to play.

  | Value  | Behavior                                                   |
  | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
  | `no`   | Exit when playlist is empty (default)                      |
  | `yes`  | Wait indefinitely for input commands                       |
  | `once` | Wait at startup, but exit once the first playlist finishes |

  Primarily useful when controlling mpv via IPC or input commands.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv --idle --input-ipc-server=/tmp/mpv.sock   # daemonized with IPC control
  ```
</ParamField>

## Common recipes

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Start at a timestamp theme={null}
  mpv --start=1:23:45 long-movie.mkv
  ```

  ```bash Play only a segment theme={null}
  mpv --start=5:00 --end=10:00 video.mkv
  ```

  ```bash Loop a section indefinitely theme={null}
  mpv --ab-loop-a=0:30 --ab-loop-b=1:00 music.flac
  ```

  ```bash Double-speed lecture theme={null}
  mpv --speed=2.0 lecture.mp4
  ```

  ```bash Shuffle a music directory theme={null}
  mpv --shuffle --loop-playlist=inf ~/Music/*.flac
  ```

  ```bash Start paused, ready for inspection theme={null}
  mpv --pause --start=50% file.mkv
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Playlist options

<ParamField path="--playlist-start" type="auto|index" default="auto">
  Set which playlist entry to start from. `0` is the first entry. `auto` lets the resume mechanism decide.

  ```bash theme={null}
  mpv playlist.m3u --playlist-start=5   # start from the 6th entry
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--playlist" type="filename">
  Load and play files from a playlist file. Supports common playlist formats; unknown formats are treated as newline-separated file lists.

  <Warning>
    Only use `--playlist` with playlist files you trust. Since mpv 0.31.0, the same security checks apply as for directly-played playlist files. For untrusted sources, avoid this option entirely.
  </Warning>
</ParamField>