Linux - Namida

Namida is available for Linux as a beta release, providing a native desktop experience for Linux users.

Installation

Quick Install
Arch Linux (AUR)
Debian/Ubuntu
Fedora/RHEL
Manual (Tarball)

The fastest way to install Namida on Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/namidaco/namida/main/scripts/install_linux_tar.sh | sudo bash

This script will:

Download the latest beta release
Install to /opt/namida
Create a symlink in /usr/bin
Install desktop file and icons
Update system databases

Install from the Arch User Repository:

# Using yay
yay -S namida

# Or using pacman (binary package)
sudo pacman -S namida-bin

Download and install the .deb package:

# Download from beta releases
wget [URL_TO_DEB_FILE]

# Install the package
sudo dpkg -i namida.deb

# Install dependencies if needed
sudo apt-get install -f

Download and install the .rpm package:

# Download from beta releases
wget [URL_TO_RPM_FILE]

# Install the package
sudo rpm -i namida.rpm

# Or using dnf
sudo dnf install ./namida.rpm

Download and extract the tarball manually:

# Download the latest .tar.gz
wget [URL_TO_TARBALL]

# Extract
tar -xzf namida-linux.tar.gz

# Move to /opt (optional)
sudo mv namida /opt/

# Create symlink
sudo ln -s /opt/namida/namida /usr/bin/namida

Important: Make sure mpv is installed on your system. Namida requires MPV for video playback.

Install Dependencies

MPV (Required)

MPV is essential for video playback:

sudo apt install mpv

Additional Dependencies

These are usually installed by default, but verify if you have issues:

sudo apt install libgtk-3-0 libmpv1 ffmpeg

System Requirements

Kernel: Linux 4.15 or newer
Architecture: x86_64 (64-bit)
Desktop Environment: Any (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, etc.)
Display Server: X11 or Wayland
RAM: 2GB minimum, 4GB recommended
Storage: 150MB for the app + space for media cache
GTK: GTK 3.0 or newer
MPV: MPV media player installed

Namida uses GTK3 for its window system and integrates well with most Linux desktop environments.

Linux-Specific Features

Desktop Integration

MPRIS Support

Namida implements the Media Player Remote Interfacing Specification (MPRIS):

Control playback from desktop media controls
Integration with KDE Plasma media widget
GNOME Shell media controls
System tray media applets
Third-party MPRIS clients

Package: mpris_service from alexmercerind

D-Bus Integration

Native Linux IPC through D-Bus:

System notifications
Desktop integration
Session management
Media key handling

Package: dbus ^0.7.11

Native File Picker

Uses the system’s native file picker:

GTK file chooser dialog
Recent files integration
Bookmarks support
Network location support

Package: file_picker ^10.3.8

Window Controls

Modern title bar with native look:

Close, minimize, maximize buttons
Custom title bar styling
Respects GTK theme
Adapts to desktop environment

Package: modern_titlebar_buttons ^1.1.2

Application Files

After installation, these files are created:

/opt/namida/                      # Main installation directory
├── namida                        # Main executable
├── bin/                          # FFmpeg binaries
├── lib/                          # Shared libraries
└── data/                         # Flutter assets

/usr/bin/namida                   # Symlink to executable

/usr/share/applications/namida.desktop      # Desktop entry
/usr/share/metainfo/namida.metainfo.xml    # AppStream metadata
/usr/share/icons/hicolor/*/apps/namida.png # Application icons

Desktop Entry

The .desktop file is installed to integrate with your application menu:

Name: Namida
Application ID: com.msob7y.namida
Categories: AudioVideo, Audio, Video, Player
MIME Types: Supports all audio and video formats

Configuration

Settings Location

Namida stores its configuration in:

~/.local/share/namida/           # User data directory
├── settings.json                # App settings
├── library.db                   # Music library database
├── history.db                   # Playback history
├── playlists/                   # Playlist files
└── cache/                       # Downloaded content and cache

Library Setup

Launch Namida

Open Namida from your application menu or run:

namida

Add Music Folders

Go to Settings > Indexer
Click Add Folder
Browse to your music directory (e.g., ~/Music)
Click Select

Configure Indexing

Set your preferences:

Minimum file size
Minimum duration
Artist/Genre separators
Duplicate track prevention

Start Indexing

Click Start Indexing and wait for completion. Progress is shown in the status bar.

Media Playback

Audio Engine

Namida uses Media Kit for audio/video on Linux:

Media Kit Core: media_kit ^1.2.0
Video Support: media_kit_video ^2.0.1
Linux Libraries: media_kit_libs_linux ^1.2.1

Features:

Hardware-accelerated video decoding
Low-latency audio playback
Multiple audio backend support (PulseAudio, ALSA, PipeWire)
Gapless playback

Video Playback

Namida requires MPV for video:

# Verify MPV is installed
mpv --version

# If not installed, install it:
sudo apt install mpv      # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install mpv      # Fedora
sudo pacman -S mpv        # Arch

MPV provides excellent video format support and hardware acceleration on Linux.

Features & Capabilities

Supported Features

Full Library Support

Multi-folder indexing
Tag editing
Album artwork
Smart playlists

YouTube Integration

Stream content
Download videos/audio
Cache management
Offline playback

Video Playback

MPV-powered playback
Hardware acceleration
Subtitle support
Fullscreen mode

Audio Processing

Crossfade
Fade effects
Equalizer
Replay Gain

Format Support

Supported through MPV and FFmpeg: Audio: MP3, FLAC, AAC, OGG, Opus, WAV, M4A, WMA, ALAC, APE, and more Video: MP4, MKV, AVI, WebM, MOV, FLV, WMV, and more

Performance Tips

Hardware Acceleration

Enable VA-API or VDPAU in MPV for better video performance:

# Edit ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf
hwdec=auto

Audio Backend

PipeWire offers better performance than PulseAudio on modern systems.

File System

Use ext4 or Btrfs for best I/O performance with large libraries.

Compositor

Disable compositor effects on older hardware for smoother playback.

Troubleshooting

Application Won't Start

If Namida fails to launch:

# Check for errors
namida --verbose

# Verify dependencies
ldd /opt/namida/namida

# Check GTK is installed
gtk-launch --version

Common fixes:

Install missing GTK3 libraries
Update graphics drivers
Check system logs: journalctl -xe

No Video Playback

If videos won’t play:

# Verify MPV is installed
which mpv
mpv --version

# Test MPV directly
mpv /path/to/video.mp4

If MPV works but Namida doesn’t:

Reinstall Namida
Check MPV is in PATH
Verify permissions on MPV binary

MPRIS Not Working

If media controls don’t work:

# Check if Namida is registered
busctl list | grep namida

# Verify D-Bus is running
systemctl --user status dbus

Try:

Restart Namida
Restart your desktop session
Check D-Bus configuration

File Picker Crashes

If the file picker causes issues:

# Install GTK file chooser portal
sudo apt install xdg-desktop-portal-gtk  # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install xdg-desktop-portal-gtk  # Fedora
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-gtk    # Arch

High CPU Usage

If Namida uses too much CPU:

Disable visual effects in settings
Reduce animation settings
Check if hardware acceleration is enabled
Close other resource-intensive apps
Monitor with: top or htop

Command Line Usage

Run Namida from terminal:

# Launch normally
namida

# Open a specific file
namida /path/to/audio.mp3

# Open a playlist
namida /path/to/playlist.m3u

# Verbose output for debugging
namida --verbose

Desktop Environment Specific Notes

GNOME

Media controls appear in the top bar
Integrates with GNOME Shell media player
Use GNOME Tweaks to customize appearance

KDE Plasma

Appears in the media player widget
Integrates with Plasma media controls
System tray icon available

XFCE

Works with xfce4-panel plugins
Media controls through keyboard shortcuts
System tray integration

i3/Sway (Tiling WMs)

Launch via rofi/dmenu
Control via MPRIS command-line tools
Use playerctl for media key bindings

# Example i3 config
bindsym XF86AudioPlay exec playerctl play-pause
bindsym XF86AudioNext exec playerctl next
bindsym XF86AudioPrev exec playerctl previous

Updates

Check for updates through your package manager:

yay -Syu namida

The install script always fetches the latest beta release from GitHub.

Uninstallation

AUR
Debian/Ubuntu
Fedora/RHEL
Manual

yay -R namida
# or
sudo pacman -R namida-bin

sudo dpkg -r namida
# or
sudo apt remove namida

sudo rpm -e namida
# or
sudo dnf remove namida

# Remove installation
sudo rm -rf /opt/namida
sudo rm /usr/bin/namida

# Remove desktop files
sudo rm /usr/share/applications/namida.desktop
sudo rm /usr/share/metainfo/namida.metainfo.xml
sudo rm -rf /usr/share/icons/hicolor/*/apps/namida.png

# Remove user data (optional)
rm -rf ~/.local/share/namida

Developer Information

Application ID: com.msob7y.namida
Binary Name: namida
Build System: CMake with Flutter
C++ Standard: C++14
GTK Version: 3.0+
Installation Prefix: /opt/namida

Build Dependencies

From pubspec.yaml Linux-specific packages:

dbus: ^0.7.11                    # D-Bus integration
file_picker: ^10.3.8             # Native file picker
modern_titlebar_buttons: ^1.1.2  # Window controls
mpris_service:                   # MPRIS support
  git:
    url: https://github.com/alexmercerind/mpris_service

For development and contribution information, visit the GitHub repository.

Get Started

Core Features

Audio & Playback

Customization

Advanced

Platform Support

​Installation

​Install Dependencies

​MPV (Required)

​Additional Dependencies

​System Requirements

​Linux-Specific Features

​Desktop Integration

​Application Files

​Desktop Entry

​Configuration

​Settings Location

​Library Setup

​Media Playback

​Audio Engine

​Video Playback

​Features & Capabilities

​Supported Features

Full Library Support

YouTube Integration

Video Playback

Audio Processing

​Format Support

​Performance Tips

Hardware Acceleration

Audio Backend

File System

Compositor

​Troubleshooting

​Command Line Usage

​Desktop Environment Specific Notes

​GNOME

​KDE Plasma

​XFCE

​i3/Sway (Tiling WMs)

​Updates

​Uninstallation

​Developer Information

​Build Dependencies

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

Install Dependencies

MPV (Required)

Additional Dependencies

System Requirements

Linux-Specific Features

Desktop Integration

Application Files

Desktop Entry

Configuration

Settings Location

Library Setup

Media Playback

Audio Engine

Video Playback

Features & Capabilities

Supported Features

Format Support

Performance Tips

Troubleshooting

Command Line Usage

Desktop Environment Specific Notes

GNOME

KDE Plasma

XFCE

i3/Sway (Tiling WMs)

Updates

Uninstallation

Developer Information

Build Dependencies