ovos-media-plugin-mpv
July 31, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
ovos-media-plugin-mpv is an audio and video playback plugin for OpenVoiceOS (OVOS). It drives the mpv media player through python-mpv-jsonipc and exposes it as a playback backend for ovos-media and the legacy ovos-audio service.
Install
Install the plugin with pip:
pip install ovos-media-plugin-mpv
The plugin needs the mpv media player installed and available on the system.
Usage
OVOS discovers the plugin through entry points, so no code changes are needed. Enable and configure it in your OVOS configuration file:
{
"backends": {
"mpv": {
"type": "ovos_mpv",
"active": true,
"initial_volume": 100,
"low_volume": 50
}
}
}
initial_volume sets the starting volume. low_volume sets the volume used while the assistant lowers playback, for example to speak over a track.
The plugin registers under two entry-point groups, so it works with both stacks:
opm.media.audio/opm.media.video, used by the currentovos-mediaservice.mycroft.plugin.audioservice, used by the legacyovos-audioservice.
Once active, the backend exposes the standard OVOS media-backend API: play, stop, pause, resume, seek forward, seek backward, track position, and track length.
Troubleshooting
- Confirm mpv is installed and runs directly from the command line.
- Confirm the plugin package is installed in the same environment as the OVOS service (in containers, install it inside the
ovos-audiocontainer). - Confirm the backend is active in the configuration file.
- Check the service logs. If a stream does not play, confirm the stream plays directly in mpv.
Related projects
- OpenVoiceOS/ovos-media, the media service that loads this backend.
- OpenVoiceOS/ovos-media-plugin-vlc, a sibling backend that uses VLC.
- OpenVoiceOS/ovos-media-plugin-ffplay, a sibling backend that uses ffplay.
- OpenVoiceOS/ovos-media-plugin-mplayer, a sibling backend that uses mplayer.
License
Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.