Inspired by the Controlling iTunes from the Terminal article explaining a bash shell command line script to (as the title says) control iTunes from the terminal. I liked this, but I felt I needed a bit more flexibility (meaning I want it coded in something i know better), and I really like Python (especially when i decide to classify this script), so I decided to port it over to Python.

I found this useful to have installed on the Mac Mini sitting on a desk while i was across the room on my Powerbook. Very handy since I didn’t want to have to get up every time I wanted to change the song, or pause it when the phone rang, etc.

So far its a pretty clean traslation over with a few modified functions, and a few functions I’ve thrown in from other posts I had seen, or functions I feel would be cool to be added.

I’ve only tested this on OSX 10.4.11 - iTunes 7.6, so even though I believe it should work on other versions of iTunes/OSX, don’t take my word for it, but please let me know if you do run into any problems with it.

Right now i’ll upload the file along with this blog, but i’ll be sure to use a versioning tool as i make updates.

Download myPyTunes here - Right click the link and choose “Save As..”

Here is the basic help menu when you type in “itunes -h”:

———————————————————-
iTunes Command Line Interface
———————————————————-
Usage: /usr/bin/itunes <option>
Options:
status = Shows iTunes’ status, current artist, and track.
play = Start playing iTunes.
stop = Stop iTunes
pause = Pause iTunes.
playpause = Play/Pause iTunes.
next = Go to the next track.
prev = Go to the previous track.
mute = Mute iTunes’ volume.
unmute = Unmute iTunes’ volume.
vol up = Increase iTunes’ volume by 10%
vol down = Increase iTunes’ volume by 10%
vol # = Set iTunes’ volume to # [0-100]
quit = Quit iTunes
launch = Launch iTunes
playlist @ = Play iTunes’ playlist named @”
list = list playlists.
shuf = turn on shuffle playlist
noshuf = turn off shuffle playlist
ostream = open stream
help = what’s showing now
———————————————————-

first open up .bash_profile from your favorite editor. fastest way to do it from the terminal command line is:

$ vi ~/.bash_profile

copy and paste the code below if you like. it includes an explanation of each line
.bash_profile

#enables color in the terminal bash shell export
CLICOLOR=1
#sets up the color scheme for list export
LSCOLORS=gxfxcxdxbxegedabagacad
#sets up the prompt color (currently a green similar to linux terminal)
export PS1=’\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;36m\]\w\[\033[00m\]\$ ‘
#enables color for iTerm
export TERM=xterm-color
#sets up proper alias commands when called
alias ls=’ls -G’
alias ll=’ls -hl’

C/P’d from MacOsXHints.com:

The colors can be set with the LSCOLORS variable. The color designators are as follows:

a black
b red
c green
d brown
e blue
f magenta
g cyan
h light grey
A bold black, usually shows up as dark grey
B bold red
C bold green
D bold brown, usually shows up as yellow
E bold blue
F bold magenta
G bold cyan
H bold light grey; looks like bright white
x default foreground or background

Note that the above are standard ANSI colors. The actual display may differ depending on the color capabilities of the terminal in use. The order of the attributes in the LSCOLORS variable is as follows:

1. directory
2. symbolic link
3. socket
4. pipe
5. executable
6. block special
7. character special
8. executable with setuid bit set
9. executable with setgid bit set
10. directory writable to others, with sticky bit
11. directory writable to others, without sticky bit

They are set in pairs, foreground (f) then background (b), i.e. fbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfb for all 11 settings. The default is exfxcxdxbxegedabagacad, i.e. blue foreground and default background for regular directories, black foreground and red background for setuid executables, etc.