zplay — play music from zpaq compressed files without decompressing the zpaq file

title: «zplay — play music from zpaq compressed files without decompressing the zpaq file» date: «2026-05-11 15:00»

zpaqlib — the command‑line jukebox for your ZPAQ music archives

If you keep your Matroska/WavPack (.mka) audio files inside ZPAQ containers to save space and simplify backups, zpaqlib gives you a fast, keyboard‑driven way to browse, search, and play those tracks—without ever unpacking the whole archive. It runs in Termux on Android (or any Linux terminal) and works just like the search box in Winamp or Rhythmbox.

What it does

· Incremental indexing The first time you point it at a .zpaq file, it extracts every track once, reads the artist and title tags (or uses the filename if none), and stores everything in a tiny SQLite database. After that, it only scans for new or removed files—unchanged tracks are left alone. · Instant fuzzy search Run zpaqlib search and you’ll see three columns: Filename, Artist, Title. Start typing and the list filters instantly. Press Enter to play the highlighted track. It works exactly like the “jump to file” feature in a desktop music player. · On‑demand playback When you choose a track, it’s temporarily extracted to a temp file, played, and then deleted. Memory and disk usage stay low (only one song at a time). All your custom mpv keybindings (volume, seek, pause, etc.) work as usual. · Whole‑album playback Use zpaqlib playarchive to listen to an entire archive in order or shuffled. Press q to quit the playlist, Enter/> to skip to the next track, and i to see detailed song info inside mpv. · Short archive names You don’t need to type the full path every time. Once an archive is indexed, you can just use its basename—like smashingpumpkins.zpaq—and the script finds the full path automatically. · Built‑in tag editor Press Ctrl-e in the search menu to edit the tags of any track. You can change artist, title, album, and genre; the file is automatically re‑added to the ZPAQ archive and the database is updated. · Neon‑colored, interactive menus Most commands work without arguments—just run zpaqlib index, zpaqlib playarchive, or zpaqlib edit and you’ll be guided through a list of choices.

Why it exists

ZPAQ gives you versioned, deduplicated archives that are perfect for backing up large music libraries. But ZPAQ wasn’t designed for quick playback. zpaqlib bridges that gap: you keep the archival strengths of ZPAQ while still enjoying the responsiveness of a media player.

Getting started (after installing dependencies)

zpaqlib init
zpaqlib index /path/to/your/music.zpaq
zpaqlib search          # start browsing
zpaqlib playarchive your_music.zpaq --shuffle

Everything is documented with zpaqlib help. Enjoy your portable, version‑controlled music library!