> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://rockboxzig.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MPD protocol

> Drop-in MPD server on port 6600 — works with every MPD client.

`rockboxd` runs a Music Player Daemon-compatible server on **port 6600**.
Any MPD client works out of the box.

```sh theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"min-dark"}}
mpc -h localhost -p 6600 status
mpc -h localhost -p 6600 update
mpc -h localhost -p 6600 search title "Money"
mpc -h localhost -p 6600 play
```

For the full client list and known limitations, see
[Clients › MPD](/clients/mpd). For the wire protocol reference itself,
see the [official MPD documentation ↗](https://mpd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/protocol.html).

## When to choose MPD over the others

* You already have an MPD client you like.
* You want a stable wire protocol with decades of community libraries.
* You want to drive Rockbox from a TUI like `ncmpcpp`.

For everything else — programmatic control, real-time UIs, custom apps —
you'll have a better time with [GraphQL](/api-reference/graphql/overview)
or one of the [SDKs](/sdks/overview).