mpv Controls for Subtitles, Audio Tracks, and Screenshots

mpv Controls for Subtitles, Audio Tracks, and Screenshots | Hotkey Cheatsheet

Section 01

Switch tracks quickly instead of reopening the file

These controls matter because many files now ship with multiple audio languages, commentary tracks, forced subtitles, full subtitles, or both text and image based subtitle streams. Staying on the keyboard lets you compare them quickly instead of stopping playback to hunt through a menu.

The select script is especially helpful when a file has several tracks and cycling becomes annoying. It turns track selection into a visible list, which is faster when you know what you want but the file is crowded.

Use j and J to cycle subtitle tracks forward or backward.
Use # to cycle audio tracks and F9 to show the track list on screen.
Use v to hide or show subtitles without unloading them.
Use g-s, g-a, or g-t when you want the select script to open a chooser for subtitle, audio, or any track.

Section 02

Repair sync problems while the file is playing

Timing problems are common with fan subtitles, broadcast captures, and files that were remuxed from different sources. mpv gives you both subtitle delay and audio delay on the keyboard, which means you can fix minor drift immediately instead of abandoning the file or remuxing it first.

The cue based subtitle seeks are useful for diagnosis as much as correction. They help you jump directly between spoken lines, which makes it much easier to decide whether the problem is global delay or a more specific mismatch in the subtitle stream.

Use z or x to move subtitles earlier or later by 100 milliseconds.
Use Ctrl plus + or Ctrl plus - to delay audio or move it earlier when audio and video drift apart.
Use Ctrl plus Left or Ctrl plus Right to seek to the previous or next subtitle cue.
Use Ctrl plus Shift plus Left or Right when you want mpv to retime around the previous or next displayed subtitle.

Section 03

Make subtitles easier to read on the current screen

Subtitle problems are not always about translation or timing. Sometimes they are simply too small, too low, or too aggressively styled for the display you are using at that moment, especially on laptops or when watching from a distance.

The useful part is that mpv lets you adjust these details live. You can rescue a difficult subtitle presentation for the current session without committing to a permanent configuration change.

Use G and F to change subtitle size while the video is open.
Use r or R to move subtitle position up or down.
Use u to toggle overriding ASS or SSA styles with normal subtitle styles.
Use V if you need to cycle ASS video data on files with rendering problems.

Section 04

Capture the right screenshot for the job

mpv treats screenshots as different outputs because the use cases are different. Sometimes you want a clean frame from the render pipeline, and sometimes you want the visible window exactly as you saw it with overlays and subtitles included.

That separation is practical for documentation, language study, bug reports, and visual comparison work. The every frame mode is particularly strong, but it should be used deliberately because it can create a very large number of files quickly.

Use s to save the video at original resolution with subtitles.
Use S to save the video at original resolution without subtitles.
Use Ctrl plus s to capture the current window with OSD and subtitles.
Use Alt plus s to start or stop taking a screenshot on every frame.

mpv Controls for Subtitles, Audio Tracks, and Screenshots

The patterns worth keeping

Related guides

Switch tracks quickly instead of reopening the file

Repair sync problems while the file is playing

Make subtitles easier to read on the current screen

Capture the right screenshot for the job

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