Tauri Plugin Media

A Tauri v2 plugin for integrating system media controls (Now Playing / MPRIS / SMTC) across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

Cross-platform media controls - Windows (SMTC), macOS (MPNowPlayingInfoCenter), Linux (MPRIS via DBus)
Full playback control - Play, pause, stop, next, previous
Rich metadata support - Title, artist, album, artwork
Playback state sync - Position, shuffle, repeat modes
System integration - Responds to media keys and system controls
Get system media info - Read current media state from other apps (Spotify, YouTube, VLC, etc.)
Real-time monitoring - Query system-wide media playback status

Installation

Add the plugin to your Tauri project:

# src-tauri/Cargo.toml
[dependencies]
tauri-plugin-media = { path = "../path-to-plugin" }

// package.json
{
  "dependencies": {
    "tauri-plugin-media-api": "file:../path-to-plugin"
  }
}

Usage

Rust Backend

Initialize the plugin in your Tauri app:

// src-tauri/src/lib.rs
pub fn run() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .plugin(tauri_plugin_media::init())
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

JavaScript/TypeScript Frontend

import { mediaControls, PlaybackStatus, RepeatMode } from 'tauri-plugin-media-api';

// Initialize media session
await mediaControls.initialize('app-id', 'App Name');

// Update now playing metadata
await mediaControls.updateNowPlaying(
  {
    title: 'Song Title',
    artist: 'Artist Name',
    album: 'Album Name',
    duration: 180, // seconds
    artworkUrl: '/path/to/artwork.jpg'
  },
  {
    status: PlaybackStatus.Playing,
    position: 0,
    shuffle: false,
    repeatMode: RepeatMode.None,
    playbackRate: 1.0
  }
);

// Control playback
await mediaControls.play();
await mediaControls.pause();
await mediaControls.stop();

// Update position
await mediaControls.updatePosition(30); // seconds

// Get system media info (NEW)
const metadata = await mediaControls.getMetadata();
const playbackInfo = await mediaControls.getPlaybackInfo();
const status = await mediaControls.getPlaybackStatus();
const position = await mediaControls.getPosition();
const isEnabled = await mediaControls.isEnabled();

// metadata returns:
// {
//   title: string,
//   artist?: string,
//   album?: string,
//   albumArtist?: string,
//   artworkUrl?: string,
//   duration?: number
// }

// playbackInfo returns:
// {
//   status: PlaybackStatus,
//   position: number,
//   shuffle: boolean,
//   repeatMode: RepeatMode,
//   playbackRate: number
// }

Platform-Specific Implementation Details

Windows

Uses Windows System Media Transport Controls (SMTC)
Full integration with Windows 10/11 media overlay
Supports timeline scrubbing and playback rate control
NEW: Uses GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionManager to read system-wide media state
Can detect and retrieve media info from any playing app (Spotify, Chrome, Edge, VLC, etc.)

macOS

Uses MPNowPlayingInfoCenter and MPRemoteCommandCenter
Full integration with macOS media controls and Touch Bar
Supports Now Playing widget in Control Center

Linux

Uses MPRIS (Media Player Remote Interfacing Specification) via DBus
Compatible with GNOME, KDE, and other desktop environments
Works with media control applets and extensions

Example App

A comprehensive example Tauri app is included in the examples/tauri-app directory with a modern multi-page interface demonstrating all plugin features.

Example App Pages:

Overview - Plugin introduction and quick start guide
Media Player - Full-featured media player with playlist support
Set Methods - Interactive testing of all set methods
Get Methods - Real-time display of system media state
System Monitor - Monitor media from all system applications
Events - Media control event handling and simulation

To run the example:

cd examples/tauri-app
npm install
npm run tauri dev

API Reference

Set Methods

initialize(appId: string, appName: string) - Initialize the media controller
updateNowPlaying(metadata: MediaMetadata, playbackInfo: PlaybackInfo) - Update current media info
play() - Start playback
pause() - Pause playback
stop() - Stop playback
togglePlayPause() - Toggle between play and pause
next() - Skip to next track
previous() - Skip to previous track
setPosition(position: number) - Set playback position in seconds
updatePosition(position: number) - Update current position
updatePlaybackStatus(status: PlaybackStatus) - Update playback state
clearNowPlaying() - Clear all media info

Get Methods (NEW)

getMetadata() - Get current media metadata from system
getPlaybackInfo() - Get playback state (status, position, shuffle, repeat)
getPlaybackStatus() - Get current playback status
getPosition() - Get current playback position
isEnabled() - Check if media controls are available

Development Status

✅ Core platform abstractions implemented
✅ Windows SMTC integration with system-wide media reading
✅ macOS MPNowPlayingInfoCenter integration
✅ Linux MPRIS integration
✅ TypeScript/JavaScript API
✅ Example application
✅ Get methods for reading system media state
⚠️ Event callbacks from OS to app (partial implementation)
⏳ Advanced features (playlists, queue management)

Requirements

Tauri v2.0+
Rust 1.77.2+
Platform-specific requirements:
- Windows: Windows 10 version 1703+
- macOS: macOS 10.13+
- Linux: DBus-compatible desktop environment

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0

tauri-plugin-media 0.1.0