ossplay(1)

📦
version 4.2-build2020 · 3 versions
, in ubuntu noble

💖 ossplay — the OSS playback bestie 💖

okay so real talk, this is the ossplay page from the OSS User Commands manual, and it's basically the "press play, diva" of the Open Sound System. grab a snack, we're going through everything 🍓

✨ NAME ✨

ossplay — the Open Sound System playback program, aka the icon that makes your speakers go brrr 💅

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

ossplay [-RWhlvq] [-S secs ] [ -c channels ] [ -d devname ]
      [ -f fmtname | ? ] [ -g gain ] [ -o playtarget | ? ]
      [ -s rate ] filename | - ...

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

okay so ossplay plays raw PCM, Microsoft RIFF (.wav), Sun ULaw (.au), Mac AIFF (.aif) and honestly a whole bunch of other audio file types too, not just those. no cap 🫶

and the default vibe? she's smart, bestie. by default the application will try to figure out the audio file's format all by itself and then play the audio based on the stored information about sample format, number of channels and sampling rate. she's giving main character energy and reading the file's mind, periodt ✨

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -v — verbose output, like she's telling you everything that's happening. multiple invocations stack up and increase the level of verbosity, so the more -vs you throw at her, the more she spills 💬
  • -q — quiet mode, no information printed. she's not texting back, she's just playing. 🤫
  • -l — loop playback indefinitely. it's giving "this song is on repeat and it will be forever." 🔁
  • -d<devname> — select <devname> as the device (eg -d/dev/dsp2). pick your fave audio device, she'll show up there. 🎧
  • -s<rate> — select the playback rate for raw PCM audio (eg -s48000). yes, raw PCM only, she said what she said. ⏱️
  • -c<channels — select the number of channels: 1=mono, 2=stereo, and also 4, 6, 8, etc. surround girlies rise 🙌
  • -f<fmtname> — select the input format (eg -fU8 or -fS16_BE). tell her exactly what you're feeding her. 🍽️
  • -f? — prints the list of supported format names. so if you don't know your U8 from your S16_BE, just ask, she'll tell you 💖
  • -o<playtarget> — selects the play target name if the device supports multiple play targets (such as front, rear, side). like choosing which speaker corner gets the aux 🎚️
  • -o? — prints the list of available play targets. window shopping, but for audio outputs 🛍️
  • -g<gain> — amplify all played samples by the percentage given as the argument. 100 (default) means normal signal level, 200 means double level. so -g200 is her screaming. dramatic but valid 📢
  • -W — treat all input as raw PCM data. no detective work, just raw vibes. 🧃
  • -R — disable redirection to virtual mixer engines and sample rate/format conversions.
bestie listen. this one should not be used unless absolutely necessary. like, genuinely. she's not being cute about it, she means it. 🚨
  • -S<secs> — start playing at <secs> seconds from start of file. and the argument can contain a fractional part (e.g. -S1.2). skip to the good part, literally ✂️
  • -h — display usage information. the "help me help you" option. 🆘

🦋 INTERRUPT 🦋

sending a SIGQUIT (Ctrl-\ in most terminals) will make ossplay stop playing the currently played file and skip to the next file.

so yeah, it's the "next track" button, but make it feral. 🔥

🧚 NOTES 🧚

the ossplay executable is the same as the ossrecord executable. behaviour is decided by the name used to invoke the program. yes bestie, one binary, two personalities, iykyk 💀✨

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

go read those too, they're all in the same friend group 🫶

💜 FILES 💜

  • /usr/bin/ossplay

⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

4Front Technologies 👑

okay and that's the whole page, no skips, no summaries, we ate and left no crumbs 🍽️💅

this was ossplay(1) from the OSS User Commands manual, dated 11 February 2015, brought to you by the lovely people at 4Front Technologies. mwah, go play something iconic 💖🎀🦋

📦 where this page comes from