VPFL (Video Player in Flutter for Linux) is a free, open-source desktop video
player built with Flutter and powered by media_kit and mpv. It brings
together local video playback, subtitles, and a personal video library.
Features
- Playback controls: Play, pause, seek, adjust volume and speed, manage
subtitles, and enter fullscreen.
- Local video library: Browse indexed videos and saved folders, and return
to recently opened media.
- Resume playback: Pick up unfinished videos from their saved positions
when resume is enabled.
- Subtitle support: Select embedded subtitle tracks or load external SRT,
ASS, SSA, and WebVTT files.
- Linux desktop integration: Open local files from the desktop, launch a
video from the command line, and choose VPFL as the default player for its
registered video formats.
- GPU rendering where available: GPU-backed video presentation with a
software rendering fallback. Rendering mode is separate from video decoding.
- Open source: Use, inspect, modify, and redistribute VPFL under the
Apache License 2.0.
Download and installation
VPFL targets x86_64 Linux. The repository can build native packages for
Ubuntu 24.04 / Linux Mint 22.x, Fedora 44, and Arch Linux. See the
native package guide for supported
targets and installation checks.
Public installer releases are not yet available. Once published, verified
packages will be listed on the GitHub Releases page.
For now, developers can build and run VPFL from source.
Run from source
You will need a Linux desktop environment, the Flutter SDK with Linux desktop
support, a working C/C++ build toolchain, and GTK 3, mpv, and libepoxy
development dependencies. CI uses Flutter 3.47.5; use that version for the
closest match. On Ubuntu or Linux Mint, install the native dependencies with:
sudo apt install clang cmake ninja-build pkg-config \
libgtk-3-dev libmpv-dev libepoxy-dev
Clone and run the application:
git clone https://github.com/sudo-muneeb/vpfl.git
cd vpfl
flutter pub get
flutter run -d linux
Open a specific video while developing:
flutter run -d linux --dart-entrypoint-args=/path/to/video.mkv
An installed VPFL executable can be launched with vpfl or
vpfl /path/to/video.mkv. For local testing with a separate app profile, use
./scripts/debug-isolated.sh [video-file]; see the
script for its options.
Building Linux packages
The repository provides scripts for generating native Linux packages. They
have distribution-specific prerequisites; consult the
packaging guide before building or
installing generated artifacts.
Debian / Ubuntu
./packaging/scripts/package-linux.sh deb
Fedora
./packaging/scripts/package-linux.sh rpm
Arch Linux
./packaging/scripts/package-arch.sh
The Arch script generates the release archive used by the vpfl-bin package
build; it does not install the package itself.
Under the hood
VPFL uses Flutter for its desktop interface and media_kit for playback,
backed by mpv. Its Linux integration covers rendering, a local media library,
desktop file associations, and subtitle controls. The project also has
automated playback and packaging checks.
For implementation details, compatibility work, and planned improvements, see
the project documentation,
CI guide, and development goals.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome, including bug fixes, testing, documentation,
packaging, and Linux desktop improvements. Read CONTRIBUTING.md
to get started, or open an issue
to discuss a problem or suggestion.
License
VPFL is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Commercial use,
modification, and redistribution are permitted under its terms. See
NOTICE, third-party notices, and
commercial use information for details.
Created and maintained by Sheikh Muneeb Ahmed.
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