musikcube

A fast, open-source terminal music player with its own audio engine and streaming server.

Open sourceSelf-hostableMusic streaming services

Verified facts: 3 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About musikcube

musikcube is a music player that runs in the terminal, written in C++ by Casey Langen. It is designed for keyboard-driven listening: you browse your library by artist, album and genre, manage playlists and control playback without leaving the command line, and it stays light enough for old machines and Raspberry Pi devices. Under the text interface is a full audio engine with gapless playback, crossfade, ReplayGain and plugin support for formats and outputs, plus a metadata indexer. It also includes a server, so you can stream your library to another machine or to the companion musikdroid Android app. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and is released under the BSD-3-Clause licence. It is a niche tool: anyone uncomfortable with terminals will prefer a graphical player, and development activity has slowed, with fewer updates than in its early years. It suits developers and terminal enthusiasts with local collections.

Best for: Terminal users who want a fast keyboard-driven player for local music.

What works

Fast and light, runs in any terminal
Built-in server for streaming your library
Permissive BSD-3-Clause licence

Why people leave

Terminal interface isn't for everyone
Slower development than in the past
Small community

Top musikcube alternatives

See all 4

1
foobar2000
Light graphical player with deep customisation.
66.5
2
Strawberry
Open-source graphical library manager for Linux, Windows and macOS.
62.6
3
Tauon
Open-source desktop player with a modern visual interface.
59.6
4
Feishin
Open-source player if you move your library to a self-hosted server.
57.2

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musikcube: common questions

Is musikcube free?

Yes. musikcube is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is musikcube open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at clangen/musikcube. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does musikcube run on?

musikcube is available for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.

What are the best alternatives to musikcube?

The highest-ranked musikcube alternatives right now are foobar2000, Strawberry and Tauon. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 musikcube alternatives

musikcube facts

3 of 3 verified

License: BSD-3-Clause; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: BSD-3-Clause (BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License).”
Interface: Terminal-based; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “Description: a cross-platform, terminal-based music player, audio engine, metadata indexer, and server in c++.”
Server: Included; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “Description: a cross-platform, terminal-based music player, audio engine, metadata indexer, and server in c++.”