From Music Player Daemon Community Wiki

[edit] Getting started on Linux, using MPC as a client

This describes how to run mpd as user process. To have it running as system process edit /etc/mpd.conf and only use full paths. (relative paths like ~/ will cause problems.)

• Install MPD and MPC.
• Fill in the required MPD configuration options in the ~/.mpdconf file - see Configuration
• Enter the following into a Terminal window:
  • mpd --create-db
  • mpc add /
  • mpc play
• After installing from source, chances are MPD's volume is set to zero. mpc volume +80 helps out then.
• Enjoy! If you are having trouble, check the FAQ. Still having trouble? Get Technical Support.