# Install cmus with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Music player with an ncurses based interface. Version 2.12.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-08-02. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install cmus.
## Install
```sh
sudo av install brew:cmus
```
Additional install commands:
### macOS
- Homebrew (100%):
```sh
brew install cmus
```
Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata
- MacPorts (94%):
```sh
sudo port install cmus
```
Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: audio/cmus/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
### Linux
- apk (92%):
```sh
sudo apk add cmus
```
Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cmus from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
- Debian apt (92%):
```sh
sudo apt install cmus
```
Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: cmus from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
- Nix (92%):
```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#cmus
```
Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cm/cmus/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- pacman (92%):
```sh
sudo pacman -S cmus
```
Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: cmus from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
- zypper (92%):
```sh
sudo zypper install cmus
```
Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst
## Package facts
- **Package key:** brew:cmus
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.12.0
- **Source summary:** Music player with an ncurses based interface
- **Homepage:**
- **Repository:**
- **Last updated:** 2026-08-02T21:33:27+09:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00
## Executables
- cmus (alias)
- cmus-remote (alias)
## Install behavior
- Bottle: not available
## Freshness
- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.12.0
## Project history and usage
cmus is a small, fast console music player for Unix-like systems, built around an ncurses interface, plugin-based audio I/O, a keyboard-driven library, playlists, filters, and the cmus-remote control tool.
### Project history
The official repository credits Timo Hirvonen for 2004-2008 copyright and later work to various authors, reflecting a long-running community-maintained C project. The project now lives at github.com/cmus/cmus with an official website at cmus.github.io.
### Adoption history
cmus became a standard terminal-audio package across Unix package managers. The batch input lists packages in Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE, and the upstream README documents build dependency sets for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/RHEL, Arch, Alpine, Termux, and Homebrew.
### How it is used
Users run cmus in a terminal, add music to the library, switch among numbered views for library, sorted library, playlist, queue, browser, filters, and settings, and control playback through keybindings or cmus-remote.
### Why package nerds care
cmus is a classic package-manager favorite because it is small, ncurses-native, scriptable, and useful on headless machines or minimal desktops. It also exercises distro audio stacks through optional input and output plugins while remaining a compact C package.
### Timeline
- 2004: Earliest copyright year credited to Timo Hirvonen in the official README.
- 2008: Copyright attribution expands to various authors.
- 2015: 2.6.x and 2.7.x releases added features such as JACK, Opus, sndio, and optional mouse support.
- 2019: 2.8.0 added CoreAudio output, D-Bus MPRIS support, and multiple-playlist support.
- 2024: 2.11.0 and 2.12.0 releases continued UI, build, and plugin maintenance.
### Related projects
- cmusfm integrates with cmus as a Last.fm scrobbler via cmus status_display_program.
- mpd and MOC occupy nearby terminal/daemon music-player space, while cmus-remote is the official companion control command.
### Sources
-
-
-
-
## Security Notes
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
## Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
## Configuration files
- Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/rc
## Other Package-Manager Records
- Debian apt - cmus - 2.12.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: cmus from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | lightweight ncurses audio player | https://cmus.github.io/
- Debian apt - cmus-plugin-ffmpeg - 2.12.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: cmus-plugin-ffmpeg from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | lightweight ncurses audio player (FFmpeg plugin) | https://cmus.github.io/
- Nix - cmus: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cm/cmus/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - cmus - 2.10.0-4build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: cmus from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | lightweight ncurses audio player | https://cmus.github.io/
- Ubuntu apt - cmus-plugin-ffmpeg - 2.10.0-4build3: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: cmus-plugin-ffmpeg from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | lightweight ncurses audio player (FFmpeg plugin) | https://cmus.github.io/
- apk - cmus - 2.12.0-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cmus from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | feature-rich ncurses-based music player | https://cmus.github.io/
- apk - cmus-bash-completion - 2.12.0-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cmus-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Bash completions for cmus | https://cmus.github.io/
- apk - cmus-doc - 2.12.0-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cmus-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | feature-rich ncurses-based music player (documentation) | https://cmus.github.io/
- apk - cmus-zsh-completion - 2.12.0-r4: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: cmus-zsh-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Zsh completions for cmus | https://cmus.github.io/
- pacman - cmus - 2.12.0-5: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: cmus from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Feature-rich ncurses-based music player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Text-mode music player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus-plugin-cdio - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus-plugin-cdio from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CDIO plugin for the C* Music Player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus-plugin-cue - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus-plugin-cue from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | CUE input plugin for the C* Music Player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus-plugin-ffmpeg - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus-plugin-ffmpeg from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | FFmpeg input plugin for the C* Music Player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus-plugin-flac - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus-plugin-flac from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | FLAC input plugin for the C* Music Player | https://cmus.github.io/
- zypper - cmus-plugin-jack - 2.12.0-3.7: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: cmus-plugin-jack from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | JACK output plugin for the C* Music Player | https://cmus.github.io/
## Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cmus.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/cmus.yml)
## Sources
- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph