[Solved] mpd stopped working properly

d_fajardo · 2018-04-27 22:51:04

I've been trying to solve my problem with mpd, jack and alsa as I've posted in this thread https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=236372.
When I try to run mpd with mpd -v --no-daemon, I get:

config_file: loading file /home/dipswitch/.config/mpd/mpd.conf
exception: Letter expected

Similarly when I try to kill it with mpd --kill, I also get:

exception: Letter expected

Any explanation why I'm getting this exception?

Last edited by d_fajardo (2018-04-30 09:14:39)

circleface · 2018-04-27 23:25:36

Please post the mpd.conf file. It seems there is some misconfiguration in the file.

d_fajardo · 2018-04-28 07:11:17

Here is my mpd.conf:

# An example configuration file for MPD.
# Read the user manual for documentation: http://www.musicpd.org/doc/user/


# Files and directories #######################################################
#
# This setting controls the top directory which MPD will search to discover the
# available audio files and add them to the daemon's online database. This 
# setting defaults to the XDG directory, otherwise the music directory will be
# be disabled and audio files will only be accepted over ipc socket (using
# file:// protocol) or streaming files over an accepted protocol.
#
music_directory		"/home/DataPool/Music"
#
# This setting sets the MPD internal playlist directory. The purpose of this
# directory is storage for playlists created by MPD. The server will use 
# playlist files not created by the server but only if they are in the MPD
# format. This setting defaults to playlist saving being disabled.
#
playlist_directory		"~/.config/mpd/playlists"
#
# This setting sets the location of the MPD database. This file is used to
# load the database at server start up and store the database while the 
# server is not up. This setting defaults to disabled which will allow
# MPD to accept files over ipc socket (using file:// protocol) or streaming
# files over an accepted protocol.
#
db_file			"~/.config/mpd/database"
# 
# These settings are the locations for the daemon log files for the daemon.
# These logs are great for troubleshooting, depending on your log_level
# settings.
#
# The special value "syslog" makes MPD use the local syslog daemon. This
# setting defaults to logging to syslog, otherwise logging is disabled.
#
log_file			"~/.config/mpd/log"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which stores the process ID
# for use of mpd --kill and some init scripts. This setting is disabled by
# default and the pid file will not be stored.
#
pid_file			"~/.config/mpd/pid"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which contains information about
# most variables to get MPD back into the same general shape it was in before
# it was brought down. This setting is disabled by default and the server 
# state will be reset on server start up.
#
state_file			"~/.config/mpd/state"
#
# The location of the sticker database.  This is a database which
# manages dynamic information attached to songs.
#
sticker_file			"~/.config/mpd/sticker.sql"
#
###############################################################################


# General music daemon options ################################################
#
# This setting specifies the user that MPD will run as. MPD should never run as
# root and you may use this setting to make MPD change its user ID after
# initialization. This setting is disabled by default and MPD is run as the
# current user.
#
#user				"nobody"
#
# This setting specifies the group that MPD will run as. If not specified
# primary group of user specified with "user" setting will be used (if set).
# This is useful if MPD needs to be a member of group such as "audio" to
# have permission to use sound card.
#
#group				"nogroup"
#
# This setting sets the address for the daemon to listen on. Careful attention
# should be paid if this is assigned to anything other then the default, any.
# This setting can deny access to control of the daemon. Not effective if
# systemd socket activiation is in use.
#
# For network
bind_to_address		"127.0.0.1"
#
# And for Unix Socket
#bind_to_address		"~/.mpd/socket"
#
# This setting is the TCP port that is desired for the daemon to get assigned
# to.
#
port				"6600"
#
# This setting controls the type of information which is logged. Available 
# setting arguments are "default", "secure" or "verbose". The "verbose" setting
# argument is recommended for troubleshooting, though can quickly stretch
# available resources on limited hardware storage.
#
#log_level			"default"
#
# If you have a problem with your MP3s ending abruptly it is recommended that 
# you set this argument to "no" to attempt to fix the problem. If this solves
# the problem, it is highly recommended to fix the MP3 files with vbrfix
# (available from <http://www.willwap.co.uk/Programs/vbrfix.php>), at which
# point gapless MP3 playback can be enabled.
#
#gapless_mp3_playback			"yes"
#
# Setting "restore_paused" to "yes" puts MPD into pause mode instead
# of starting playback after startup.
#
#restore_paused "no"
#
# This setting enables MPD to create playlists in a format usable by other
# music players.
#
#save_absolute_paths_in_playlists	"no"
#
# This setting defines a list of tag types that will be extracted during the
# audio file discovery process. The complete list of possible values can be
# found in the user manual.
#metadata_to_use	"artist,album,title,track,name,genre,date,composer,performer,disc"
#
# This setting enables automatic update of MPD's database when files in 
# music_directory are changed.
#
#auto_update	"yes"
#
# Limit the depth of the directories being watched, 0 means only watch
# the music directory itself.  There is no limit by default.
#
#auto_update_depth "3"
#
###############################################################################


# Symbolic link behavior ######################################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following 
# symbolic links outside of the configured music_directory.
#
follow_outside_symlinks	"yes"
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following
# symbolic links inside of the configured music_directory.
#
follow_inside_symlinks		"yes"
#
###############################################################################


# Zeroconf / Avahi Service Discovery ##########################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", service information will be published with
# Zeroconf / Avahi.
#
zeroconf_enabled		"yes"
#
# The argument to this setting will be the Zeroconf / Avahi unique name for
# this MPD server on the network.
#
zeroconf_name			"Music Player"
#
###############################################################################


# Permissions #################################################################
#
# If this setting is set, MPD will require password authorization. The password
# setting can be specified multiple times for different password profiles.
#
#password                        "password@read,add,control,admin"
#
# This setting specifies the permissions a user has who has not yet logged in. 
#
#default_permissions             "read,add,control,admin"
#
###############################################################################


# Database #######################################################################
#

#database {
#       plugin "proxy"
#       host "other.mpd.host"
#       port "6600"
#}

# Input #######################################################################
#

input {
        plugin "curl"
#       proxy "proxy.isp.com:8080"
#       proxy_user "user"
#       proxy_password "password"
}

#
###############################################################################
# Audio Output ################################################################
#
# MPD supports various audio output types, as well as playing through multiple 
# audio outputs at the same time, through multiple audio_output settings 
# blocks. Setting this block is optional, though the server will only attempt
# autodetection for one sound card.
#
# An example of an ALSA output:
#
#audio_output {
#	type		     "alsa"
#	name		     "My Alsa Device"
#	device		     "hw:0,0"	# optional
#	mixer_type       "hardware"	# optional
#	mixer_device	 "default"	# optional
#	mixer_control	 "PCM"		# optional
#	mixer_index	      "0"		# optional
#}
audio_output {
	type		     "alsa"
	name		     "MPD Jack Output"
	device		     "jackplugmpd"	# optional
#	mixer_type       "software"	# optional
#	mixer_device	 "default"	# optional
#	mixer_control	 "PCM"		# optional
##	mixer_index	"0"		# optional
}
audio_output {
    type             "fifo"
    name             "my_fifo"
    path             "/tmp/mpd.fifo"
    format           "44100:16:2"
}

seth · 2018-04-28 13:00:46

Sure this is legal?

name		     "MPD Jack Output"

d_fajardo · 2018-04-28 17:48:24

seth wrote:

Sure this is legal?

I believe so. It was working before but I'll do some checking and see what i come up with.
Thanks

seth · 2018-04-28 18:35:19

The error indicates that there's some unexpected character in your config - i'd just comment sections and try "mpd --kill" until it disappears.

cirrus · 2018-04-28 22:36:28

try commenting out the input brackets thats all i got , failing that try this config file, edit to suit.

WorMzy · 2018-04-28 22:55:56

I'm suspicious of the input section too. I don't see any mention of it in the mpd.conf manpage.

seth · 2018-04-29 05:43:36

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/MPD#Basic_configuration
https://www.musicpd.org/doc/user/config … ugins.html

Also tried, it's legit.
I didn't spot anything either - maybe there's some stray non-printable character in the file?

d_fajardo · 2018-04-30 08:56:55

seth wrote:

try "mpd --kill" until it disappears

The program also gives me the same message when I try to kill it - exception: Letter expected

WorMzy wrote:

I'm suspicious of the input section too. I don't see any mention of it in the mpd.conf manpage.

It was working before but not working now.

Anyway, I tried a different track. I decided to start mpd with a global configuration and starting it with systemd and now it's working properly. I have a small caveat however and that's with pulseaudio. I followed the the instruction from here and I can get pulseaudio to work. However after a reboot, pulse doesn't load automatically. I have to kill and start pulse manually for it to work after every boot.

What's the best way to start pulseaudio automatically on boot with mpd? I have autospawn set to yes in my default.pa. Should that be turned off?

d_fajardo · 2018-04-30 09:14:09

I solved the pulseaudio issue by following a bit of intuition. I removed the pulseaudio.desktop entry from /etc/xdg/autostart and pulse now works automatically on startup.
I will consider this thread as solved though the mystery of exception: Letter expected has not been resolved, and still intrigues me. I don't mind having a global configuration anyway as I'm the sole user of the computer and I'm happy to use systemd to kickstart mpd.
Thanks all for your input.

seth · 2018-04-30 09:47:45

The idea was to remove bits from your config until the error stops showing up.
mpd throws this while parsing the config whenever it finds some unexpected token - using "--kill" was just meant as a testcase to have mpd parse the bogus config.

d_fajardo · 2018-04-30 10:07:11

I will take your advice and remove the bits slowly and see where the error happens. My mpd.conf for the global configuration is different so when I have time I'll have a look at the local configuration.
Thanks

Arch Linux

#1 2018-04-27 22:51:04

[Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#2 2018-04-27 23:25:36

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#3 2018-04-28 07:11:17

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#4 2018-04-28 13:00:46

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#5 2018-04-28 17:48:24

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#6 2018-04-28 18:35:19

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#7 2018-04-28 22:36:28

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#8 2018-04-28 22:55:56

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#9 2018-04-29 05:43:36

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#10 2018-04-30 08:56:55

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#11 2018-04-30 09:14:09

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#12 2018-04-30 09:47:45

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

#13 2018-04-30 10:07:11

Re: [Solved] mpd stopped working properly

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