Creating a Playlist System for CMUS

CMUS is a powerful music player that offers advanced features for managing playlists. However, its current design may not be intuitive or user-friendly enough for some users. In this article, we will explore ways to improve the playlist system in CMUS, focusing on making it more accessible and efficient.

One of the key issues with the current playlist system is the lack of support for finding playlists immediately in the playlist directory. This can make it difficult for users to locate their desired playlists quickly. To address this issue, we propose supporting file-browser-like functionality, which would allow users to navigate through their playlists more easily. We also suggest storing the playlist directory in a variable, so that users can customize its location.

Another important feature is the ability to create new playlists, rename existing ones, and delete unnecessary ones. This would give users more control over their music library and make it easier to organize their playlists. We also propose creating a default playlist when adding songs to an empty playlist, which would help users get started with organizing their music.

In terms of editing support for playlists, we recommend limiting it to only allowing the addition or removal of songs from playlists. This would simplify the user experience and make it easier for users to manage their playlists.

When it comes to supporting multiple playlist formats, we suggest starting by supporting a standard format that other players can read and write. For example, we could use the .pl format, which is already supported by CMUS. However, we should also consider the potential difficulties of dealing with relative file paths and other formatting issues.

To make the playlist system more user-friendly, we propose adding dialogs to display the names of all playlists. This would allow users to easily navigate through their playlists and select the one they want to use. We could also add a keybinding to change the active playlist, which would make it easier for users to switch between different playlists.

In addition to these features, we suggest adding support for counting the time in each playlist. This would be particularly useful for DJs or anyone who needs to plan their music playback in advance.

Overall, improving the playlist system in CMUS requires a combination of features that are both functional and user-friendly. By supporting file-browser-like functionality, creating new playlists, renaming existing ones, deleting unnecessary ones, and adding dialogs to display playlist names, we can make it easier for users to manage their music libraries and enjoy their favorite songs.

Cmus playlist