---
name: "kew"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "kew"
version: "4.4.2-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/kew"
---

# kew(1)

Music For The Shell.

## NAME

**kew** , **kew** - Music For The Shell.

## SYNOPSIS

**kew** \[OPTIONS\] \[*PARTIAL FILE OR DIRECTORY NAME*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**kew** plays audio from your music folder when given a partial (or whole) file or directory name. A playlist is created when finding more than one file. It supports gapless playback, 24-bit/192khz audio and MPRIS.

Typical use:

**kew** artist, album or song name

**kew** returns results from the location of the first match, it doesn't return every result possible.

## OPTIONS

- **-h,** **--help**

  Displays help.

- **-v,** **--version**

  Displays version info.

- **path \<path\>**

  Sets the path to the music library.

- **--nocover**

  Hides the cover.

- **--noui**

  Completely hides the UI.

- **-q,** **--quitonstop**

  Exits after playing the whole playlist.

- **-e,** **--exact**

  **Specifies you want an exact (but not case sensitive) match.**

- **shuffle**

  **Shuffles the playlist before starting to play it.**

- **dir**

  **Plays the directory not the song.**

- **song**

  **Plays the song not the directory.**

- **play \<path\>**

  **Plays a song or loads a directory one time without changing the default library.**

- **theme \<theme name\>**

  Sets a theme from ~/\<configfolder\>/kew/themes

- list

  Searches for a (.m3u) playlist. These are normally not included in searches.

## EXAMPLES

- kew

  Start **kew** in library view.

- kew all

  Start **kew** with all songs loaded into a playlist.

- kew albums

  Start **kew** with all albums randomly added one after the other in the playlist.

- kew moonlight son

  Play moonlight sonata.

- kew moon

  Play moonlight sonata.

- kew nirv

  Play all music under Nirvana folder shuffled.

- kew neverm

  Play Nevermind album in alphabetical order.

- kew shuffle neverm

  Play Nevermind album shuffled.

- kew list mix

  Play the mix.m3u playlist.

- kew theme midnight

  Sets the 'midnight.theme' theme.

- kew \<words A\>:\<words B\>:\<words C\>

  Play the first match (whole directory or file) found under A, B, and C, shuffled. Searches are separated by a colon ':' character.

- kew .

  Play the "kew favorites.m3u" playlist.

## KEY BINDINGS

- \+ (or =), -

  Adjusts volume.

- Left-right arrows/h,l

  Change song.

- Enter

  Open a selected folder; press again to enqueue or dequeue it.

- Space

  Play, Pause.

- Shift+s

  Stop.

- F2 or Shift+z

  Show playlist view.

- F3 or Shift+x

  Show library view.

- F4 or Shift+c

  Show track view.

- F5 or Shift+v

  Show search view.

- F6 or Shift+n

  Show help view.

- u

  Update the library.

- i

  Cycle color mode.

- t

  Cycle themes.

- c

  Cycle visualization (requires that Chroma or pmstream is installed).

- r

  Cycle repeat (repeat, repeat list or off).

- v

  Cycle spectrum visualizer mode and turn visualizer off.

- b

  Toggle ASCII Cover. Also disables visualizations.

- m

  Toggle lyrics page.

- n

  Toggle notifications.

- z

  Toggle crossfade (experimental).

- s

  Toggle shuffle.

- a

  Seek Backward.

- d

  Seek Forward.

- m

  Show lyrics page

- shift+d

  Crossfade (quick)

- shift+f

  Crossfade (medium)

- shift+g

  Crossfade (slow)

- x

  Save currently loaded playlist to a .m3u file in the music folder.

- "."

  Add currently playing song to "kew favorites.m3u" playlist. Play this list with "kew .".

- Tab

  Switch to next view.

- Shift+Tab

  Switch to previous view.

- Backspace

  Clear the playlist.

- Delete

  Remove a single playlist entry.

- f,g

  Move a song up or down the playlist.

- Esc or q

  Quit **kew**.

## FILES

- *~/\<configfolder\>/kew/kewrc*

  Config file.

- *~/\<statefolder\>/kew/kewstaterc*

  Dynamic Preferences file, ~/.local/state/kew/kewstaterc on Linux.

- *~/\<configfolder\>/kew/kewlibrary*

  Music library directory tree cache.

- */\<musicfolder\>/kew favorites.m3u*

  The **kew** playlist. Add to it by pressing '.' during playback of any song. This playlist is saved before q exits.

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2023 Ravachol. License GPLv2+: GNU GPL version 2 or later \<https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html\>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Artist names and homepage URLs sourced from Wikidata \<https://www.wikidata.org/\>. Wikidata is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted data is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

## SEE ALSO

- Website:

  *\<https://www.kewplayer.com\>*

- Development home pages:

  - *\<https://codeberg.org/ravachol/kew\>*

  - *\<https://github.com/ravachol/kew\>* (Mirror)

  - Donate here:

  - *\<https://ko-fi.com/ravachol\>*

  - *\<https://github.com/sponsors/ravachol\>*