> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rocksky.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# mpd

> Serve your Rocksky library over the MPD protocol to control playback and browse music.

Start an [MPD](https://www.musicpd.org/)-protocol server backed by your Rocksky
library. Any MPD client — `ncmpcpp`, `mpc`, `Cantata`, mobile MPD apps — can
then browse your music and control playback, with Rocksky handling the streaming
and scrobbling behind the scenes.

## Usage

```bash theme={null}
rocksky mpd [options]
```

## Requirements

Playback needs an authenticated session. Log in once first:

```bash theme={null}
rocksky login <handle>
```

The server still starts if you are not logged in — it just prints a note and
serves an empty library until you authenticate. Unlike [`import`](/cli/import)
and [`scrobble-api`](/cli/scrobble-api), `mpd` uses your saved
[`login`](/cli/login) session, not `ROCKSKY_IDENTIFIER` / `ROCKSKY_PASSWORD`.

## Options

| Flag                   | Default     | Description       |
| ---------------------- | ----------- | ----------------- |
| `-p, --port <port>`    | `6600`      | Port to listen on |
| `-b, --bind <address>` | `127.0.0.1` | Address to bind   |

Port and bind default to the `[mpd]` section of
`~/.rocksky/settings.toml`; the flags override those values. If the chosen port
is busy, the server automatically falls back to the next free one.

## Examples

```bash theme={null}
# Start on the default MPD port (6600), localhost only
rocksky mpd

# Listen on all interfaces on a custom port
rocksky mpd --bind 0.0.0.0 --port 6601
```

Point a client at the server and browse your library:

```bash theme={null}
# Recent tracks with mpc
mpc -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6600 status

# Or launch a full TUI client
ncmpcpp -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6600
```

## Configuration

Persist your preferred port and bind address in `~/.rocksky/settings.toml`:

```toml theme={null}
[mpd]
port = 6600
bind = "127.0.0.1"
```

<Note>
  Prefer a built-in interface? Run `rocksky` with no arguments to launch the
  interactive terminal UI, which browses your scrobbles and streams your music
  without a separate MPD client.
</Note>