Elisa

Elisa is a music player developed by the KDE community. The program plays local audio files and from online services. The interface displays music libraries, playlists, and playback controls.

★★★★★

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• Automatic music indexing. Elisa scans file system directories to locate audio files. The process identifies formats such as MP3, OGG, FLAC, and WAV. Metadata information is extracted and stored in an internal database. The library is updated when new files are added to monitored folders.
• Library view navigation. The interface organizes music using predefined views. Views include "Artists", "Albums", "Tracks", and "Genres". Each view presents items with cover art images and text. Selecting an item displays its detailed contents.
• Playlist management. The user can create custom playlists. Playlists are edited by adding or removing tracks using menu actions. Playlists are saved in an internal program format. The order of tracks within a playlist can be modified.
• Online service playback. Elisa connects to music streaming services that use open protocols. This feature requires configuring accounts for compatible services. The service's libraries and playlists appear integrated into the main interface. Playback uses network connections to stream the audio.
• Fullscreen mode for video. When a track contains a video source, a viewer is activated. A button in the interface expands the player to full screen. In this mode, navigation panels are temporarily hidden. The mode exits with the Escape key or the designated button.
• Keyboard shortcut configuration. The program assigns actions to specific key combinations. Key settings are modified from a preferences dialog. Each action can have a custom combination assigned by the user. Changes are applied immediately during execution.
• Plasma desktop integration. Elisa uses graphical components and services from the KDE platform. Notifications and playback controls appear in the system panel. Visual themes follow the general desktop configuration. Integration enables operations such as control from the global media player.
• Extended metadata support. The analysis engine reads ID3 and Vorbis Comment tags. Metadata includes title, artist, album, track number, and year. The information is displayed in library views and on the playback interface. Album covers are obtained from embedded files or folders.
• Library search dialog. A text field allows filtering the content of the current view. The search compares the text against track metadata. Results are updated dynamically as you type. The search is limited to the selected category (artists, albums, etc.).
• Plugin system. The program's architecture allows extension through plugins. Plugins can add new music sources or export functions. Plugins are managed from a configuration section. The program loads enabled plugins during startup.
• Command-line playback control. Elisa accepts arguments to perform actions without a graphical interface. Arguments can specify files to add to the playback queue. It is possible to start playing a specific playlist. This function allows integration with scripts and other programs.
• Playlist export and import. Playlists can be saved to files in standard formats. Supported formats include M3U and PLS. Importing reads these files and rebuilds the list within the program. This function facilitates sharing playlists with other players.

Elisa's development began in 2016 as part of the KDE environment. The main developers are contributors from the KDE community. The program is written in the C++ programming language and uses the Qt framework. Elisa was designed as a native application for the Plasma desktop.

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