lmms - Man Page

software for easy music production

Examples (TL;DR)

Start the GUI: lmms
Start the GUI and load external config: lmms --config path/to/config.xml
Start the GUI and import MIDI or Hydrogen file: lmms --import path/to/midi/or/hydrogen/file
Start the GUI with a specified window size: lmms --geometry x_sizexy_size+x_offset+y_offset
Dump a .mmpz file: lmms dump path/to/mmpz/file.mmpz
Render a project file: lmms render path/to/mmpz_or_mmp/file
Render the individual tracks of a project file: lmms rendertracks path/to/mmpz_or_mmp/file path/to/dump/directory
Render with custom samplerate, format, and as a loop: lmms render --samplerate 88200 --format ogg --loop --output path/to/output/file.ogg

Synopsis

lmms [global options...] [action [action parameters...]]

LMMS is a free cross-platform alternative to commercial programs like FL Studio®, which allow you to produce music with your computer. This includes the creation of melodies and beats, the synthesis and mixing of sounds, and arranging of samples. You can have fun with your MIDI-keyboard and much more; all in a user-friendly and modern interface.

LMMS features components such as a Song Editor, a Beat+Bassline Editor, a Piano Roll, an FX Mixer as well as many powerful instruments and effects.

Actions

<no action> [options...] [project]: Start LMMS in normal GUI mode.
dump in: Dump XML of compressed (MMPZ) file in.
render project [options...]: Render given project file.
rendertracks project [options...]: Render each track to a different file.
upgrade in [out]: Upgrade file in and save as out. Standard out is used if no output file is specifed.

Global Options

--allowroot: Bypass root user startup check (use with caution).
-c, --config configfile: Get the configuration from configfile instead of ~/.lmmsrc.xml (default).
-h, --help: Show usage information and exit.
-v, --version: Show version information and exit.

Options if No Action is Given

--geometry geometry: Specify the prefered size and position of the main window.
geometry syntax is xsizexysize+xoffset+yoffset.
Default: full screen.
--import in -e: Import MIDI or Hydrogen file in.

Options for Render and Rendertracks

-a, --float

Use 32bit float bit depth.

-b, --bitrate bitrate

Specify output bitrate in KBit/s (for OGG encoding only), default is 160.

-f, --format format

Specify format of render-output where format is either 'wav', 'ogg' or 'mp3'.

-i, --interpolation method

Specify interpolation method - possible values are linear, sincfastest (default), sincmedium, sincbest.

If -e is specified lmms exits after importing the file.

-l, --loop

Render the given file as a loop, i.e. stop rendering at exactly the end of the song. Additional silence or reverb tails at the end of the song are not rendered.

-m, --mode stereomode

Set the stereo mode used for the MP3 export. stereomode can be either 's' (stereo mode), 'j' (joint stereo) or 'm' (mono). If no mode is given 'j' is used as the default.

-o, --output path