Drift
[](https://github.com/socatlolmeow/drift/stargazers)
### A YouTube Music player for your terminal, with Vim keybinds.
Search, queue and play music with no account, no login and no browser.
---
---
## Features
- **Vim-style keybinds** - `j`/`k`, `gg`/`ge`, counts like `5j`, and `:` for the command line
- **Synced lyrics** - a side panel or fullscreen view that highlights the current line and fills it in as it's sung
- **Queue & playlists** - build a queue, save and reorder playlists, or import any YouTube / YouTube Music playlist by URL
- **Discovery** - press `ga` for an artist's songs, `gs` for similar songs, or use `:album` and `:playlist` to search albums and playlists
- **Song menu** - press `G` on a song to play it, qeue it, add it to a playlist, jump to the artist or see its info
- **Command palette** - `:search`, `:seek`, `:vol`, `:import` and more, with completion and history
- **Picks up where you left off** - your queue and position are restored the next time you start Drift
- **Desktop integration** - media keys and `playerctl` on Linux (MPRIS), plus optional Discord rich precense
- **Configurable** - volume, seek step, shuffle/repeat defaults, accent color, custom keybinds and more in a single TOML file
## Installation
Drift needs [mpv](https://mpv.io/) for playback and [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) for stream extraction. Run `drift --check` at any time to verify both are installed.
### Arch Linux (AUR)
```bash
yay -S driftmusic-git
```
Any AUR helper works, or build it by hand:
```bash
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/driftmusic-git.git
cd driftmusic-git
makepkg -si
```
`mpv` and `yt-dlp` are installed automatically.
### Install script
On Arch, Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Gentoo & Void the install script installs the dependencies and builds Drift with cargo:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/socatlolmeow/drift.git
cd drift
./install.sh
```
### From source
Install the dependencies and [Rust](https://rustup.rs/), then:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/socatlolmeow/drift.git
cd drift
cargo install --path .
```
This puts `drift` in `~/.cargo/bin/`, which is on your `$PATH` if you installed Rust with rustup.
Installing mpv and yt-dlp manually
| Platform | Command |
| --- | --- |
| Debian / Ubuntu | `sudo apt install mpv` and `pipx install yt-dlp` |
| macOS | `brew install mpv yt-dlp` |
| Arch | `sudo pacman -S mpv yt-dlp` |
| Windows | `winget install mpv.net yt-dlp.yt-dlp` or `scoop install mpv yt-dlp` |
## Usage
```bash
drift # start the player
drift "daft punk" # start with a search
drift --check # verify mpv and yt-dlp are installed
```
Press `/` to search, `Enter` to play, `a` to queue and `?` for the full list of keybinds.
## Keybinds
| Key | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `j` `k` / `↓` `↑` | move (counts work: `5j`) |
| `gg` `ge` | jump to top / bottom (`5gg` goes to row 5) |
| `Tab` `Shift-Tab` | cycle Results / Queue / Playlists |
| `gr` `gq` `gp` | jump to Results / Queue / Playlists |
| `Enter` | play the selected song |
| `Space` | pause / resume |
| `n` `N` | next / previous track |
| `h` `l` / `←` `→` | seek back / forward (counts: `6l`) |
| `+` `-` | volume up / down |
| `s` `r` | toggle shuffle / cycle repeat |
| `a` `A` `P` | queue the song / queue all results / play all results |
| `dd` `x` | remove from queue or playlist |
| `J` `K` | move a queue or playlist item down / up |
| `G` | song menu |
| `ga` | go to the artist |
| `gs` | see similar songs |
| `gb` | go to the album |
| `gB` | save the album as a playlist |
| `L` | toggle the lyrics panel |
| `F` | fullscreen lyrics |
| `/` `:` | search / command line |
| `?` | help |
| `q` | quit |
These are the defaults. See [Custom keys](#custom-keys) to change them.
### Commands
| Command | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `:search "query"` | search YouTube Music |
| `:play [N]` | play or resume, or play row `N` |
| `:seek 90` `1:30` `+10` | absolute or relative seek |
| `:vol 50` `+5` | set or change the volume |
| `:shuffle` `:repeat [off\|all\|one]` | playback modes |
| `:add [N]` `:addall` `:playall` | queue results |
| `:save name` `:load name` `:append name` | work with playlists |
| `:savealbum [name]` `:saveresults [name]` | save album or results directly as a playlist |
| `:addto name` `:delpl name` | add a song to / delete a playlist |
| `:import URL` | import a YouTube / YouTube Music playlist |
| `:album [query]` | open the selected song's album, or search albums |
| `:playlist query` | search YouTube Music playlists |
| `:similar` | radio: songs similar to the selected one (also `:radio`) |
| `:artist` | songs by the selected song's artist |
| `:lyrics` | toggle the lyrics panel |
## Lyrics
Press `L` for a side panel (needs a terminal at least 70 columns wide) or `F` for fullscreen. The current line is highlighted and fills in as it's sung. Songs without synced lyrics show plain text you can scroll with `j`/`k`.
Lyrics come from [LRCLIB](https://lrclib.net) and are only fetched while the panel or fullscreen view is open.
## Configuration
Settings live in `config.toml` inside Drift's config directory (`~/.config/drift/` on Linux). Drift only reads the file and never rewrites it, so your comments are safe. Restart Drift after editing.
```toml
[playback]
volume = 80
shuffle = false
repeat = "off" # off, all or one
autoplay = false
restore_session = true
seek_step = 5.0
volume_step = 5.0
[artist]
popular_first = false
[ui]
accent = "cyan" # a color name or a hex value like "#FF8800"
[discord]
client_id = "" # change this for Discord RPC to work in Drift
[audio]
download = false # false: stream songs; true: download to the cache first
download_max_minutes = 15 # with download = true, longer songs are still streamed (0 = no limit)
cookies_from_browser = "" # e.g. "firefox" or "chrome"; passed to yt-dlp when YouTube blocks playback
```
By default Drift streams songs, so playback starts right away even for hour long tracks. Set `download = true` to cache songs on disk first (this also prefetches the next song). If YouTube asks you to sign in or playback fails, set `cookies_from_browser` to the browser where youre logged into YouTube. If you alr have a `config.toml`, add the `[audio]` section by hand, since Drift never rewrites it.
### Custom keys
The keys in the table above are the defaults. To change them add a `[keys]` section to `config.toml`. Each line sets an action to one key or a list of keys and replaces that action's default keys; everything you leave out keeps its default.
```toml
[keys]
quit = "Q"
move_down = ["j", "down", "ctrl+n"]
move_up = ["k", "up", "ctrl+p"]
go_top = ["gg", "home"]
shuffle = [] # an empty list unbinds the action
```
A key is a character (`"x"`, `"G"`, `"/"`), a name (`space`, `enter`, `esc`, `tab`, `backtab`, `backspace`, `delete`, `insert`, `home`, `end`, `pageup`, `pagedown`, `up`, `down`, `left`, `right`, `menu`, `f1` to `f12`), `ctrl+` plus a key, or a sequence like `"gg"` or `"ctrl+x g"`. Counts (`5j`) keep working on any binding. If you bind a key that is a default of another action, the other action loses it. A mistake in `[keys]` shows a message at startup and falls back to the default keys.
| Action | Default keys |
| --- | --- |
| `move_down` `move_up` | `j` `down` / `k` `up` |
| `half_page_down` `half_page_up` | `ctrl+d` / `ctrl+u` |
| `page_down` `page_up` | `ctrl+f` `pagedown` / `ctrl+b` `pageup` |
| `go_top` `go_bottom` | `gg` `home` / `ge` `end` |
| `next_view` `prev_view` | `tab` / `backtab` |
| `view_results` `view_queue` `view_playlists` | `gr` / `gq` / `gp` |
| `activate` | `enter` |
| `pause` | `space` |
| `next` `prev` | `n` `>` / `N` `<` |
| `seek_back` `seek_forward` | `h` `left` / `l` `right` |
| `volume_up` `volume_down` | `+` `=` / `-` `_` |
| `add` `add_all` `play_all` | `a` / `A` / `P` |
| `delete` | `x` `delete` `dd` |
| `move_item_down` `move_item_up` | `J` / `K` |
| `shuffle` `repeat` | `s` / `r` |
| `menu` | `G` `menu` |
| `go_artist` `go_similar` `go_album` `save_album` | `ga` / `gs` / `gb` / `gB` |
| `lyrics_panel` `lyrics` | `L` / `F` |
| `search` `command` | `/` / `:` |
| `help` | `?` |
| `quit` | `q` |
| `back` | `backspace` `esc` |
In the Playlists tab `seek_forward` opens the selected playlist, and `seek_back` or `back` leaves it. Only the main view is remappable; popups, the command line and fullscreen lyrics keep their own keys, and the in-app help (`?`) still lists the defaults.
Set `DRIFT_CONFIG_DIR` or `DRIFT_STATE_DIR` to change where Drift keeps its config, playlists and session.
## Contributing
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) before you start.
## Star History
[](https://star-history.com/#socatlolmeow/drift)
## License
[Drift](https://github.com/socatlolmeow/drift) is free software, released under the [GNU General Public License version 3 or later](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html).
