Linux control a running vlc process through command line

Question

is there any way to control an already running VLC player on ubuntu. For example, i am trying to start a vlc video full screen with a default audio.

and then control the volume and other features through netcat or some other command remotely. is it possible?

Answer 1

If you enable the HTTP remote interface on VLC, you can control VLC remotely with a web browser, or even an app on your phone.

With the HTTP interface enabled, you can also use wget or curl commands to send commands.

For example, enable VLC's HTTP interface (default port: 8080) with "password" for a password. Then you can issue curl commands, either remotely or locally:

Curl Prefix

For brevity I will show the first part of the curl command here (the IP will most likely be your localhost, but the 8080 port is the default:

 curl -s -o /dev/null -u :password http://192.168.1.11:8080

then combine with the actions:

To pause:

.../requests/status.xml?command=pl_pause

To play:

.../requests/status.xml?command=pl_play

To play a specific playlist entry number:

.../requests/status.xml?command=pl_play&id=22

To change volume:

.../requests/status.xml?command=volume&val=133

Other command info: https://wiki.videolan.org/VLC_HTTP_requests/