Installing and Configuring OpenLyrics (foo_openlyrics) in foobar2000
OpenLyrics (foo_openlyrics) is the most actively maintained lyrics display component for foobar2000. It provides an integrated lyrics panel, automatic lyrics downloading, local storage, and optional editing support. This guide walks through installation, panel setup, and recommended configuration options.
Verify OpenLyrics is enabled under Preferences → Components.
Confirm the panel is visible and active.
Check that playback is active (lyrics are not fetched for stopped tracks).
Try manual search from the panel context menu.
Review source availability in the OpenLyrics preferences.
Summary
OpenLyrics is currently the most complete and actively maintained lyrics solution for foobar2000. Once installed and configured, it provides automatic lyrics retrieval, reliable local storage, and flexible display options suitable for both minimal and advanced layouts.
For new foobar2000 installations or users modernizing older setups, OpenLyrics is the recommended lyrics display component.
foo_vis_spectrum_analyzer is a foobar2000 component that implements a spectrum analyzer panel. It is an attempt to recreate the foo_musical_spectrum component by fismineur for foobar2000 64-bit.
foo_whatsnew monitors your foobar2000 installation for any new additions or changes and records them. After installing foo_whatsnew, there will be a What's New? menu option on the Help menu which opens a panel displaying a list of recent changes. There’s now support for 64 bit installs and dark mode.
Before some foobar2000 components can be utilized, the component’s visual interface must also be added to the Default User Interface in order to be seen or interacted with. It just takes a few steps to add new panels and interfaces to foobar2000.
Step 1: Open the Layout Editor
Click on View in the foobar2000 menu bar
Select Layout → Enable Layout Editing Mode
A checkmark indicates that layout editing mode is enabled.
Step 2: Choose the location for the new panel
First Right-click on the area where you want to add a new panel.
Then select Replace UI Element from the context menu.
A submenu will allow you to choose the splitter orientation:
Splitter (left/right): Divides the area into two vertical sections, side by side.
Splitter (top/bottom): Divides the area into two horizontal sections, stacked one above the other.
Select the desired orientation and click OK.
The new splitter will now divide the selected area into two sections. Splitters can be moved by by dragging.
Step 3: Add a new panel
After adding the splitter, right-click on the new empty white section.
The selected panel will now appear in the designated section.
Select Add New UI Element from the context menu.
A dialog will appear with a list of available UI elements. Examples include:
Playlist View: Displays your playlists.
Album List: Provides a tree view of your library.
Vu Meter: Adds a VU meter.
Choose the panel you want to add and click OK.
Step 4: Customize the new panel
Right-click on the newly added panel to access its specific settings (e.g., appearance, behavior).
If additional configuration is required, check the panel’s settings in the Preferences menu:
Go to File → Preferences.
Navigate to the corresponding section under Display or Components.
Step 5: Save the layout
When you’re satisfied with the changes, click on the yellow bar at the top and choose Apply Layout.
To save the layout permanently:
Go to View → Layout → Save Layout.
Provide a name for the layout for easy restoration later.
Step 6: Install additional panels (Optional)
If the desired panel isn’t available, you may need to install third-party components:
Download components from the official foobar2000 components repository: foobar2000 Components.
Install the component:
Go to File → Preferences → Components.
Click Install and select the downloaded .fb2k-component file.
Restart foobar2000.
After installation, repeat Step 3 to add the new panel.
Working with panels or splitters:
Right mouse clicking on any UI Element brings up the context submenu.
Scatchbox Mode:
View > Layout > Create Scratchbox
Opens a window which acts like the user interface allowing for splitter, tabs and UI elements to be prearranged. Themes can also be loaded, edited and saved.
Key Concepts: Splitters divide areas to create new spaces called containers Containers are then populate by either a tabbed container or with UI Elements Tabbed containers are also then populated by UI Elements
This Foobar2000 component collects and maintains enhanced statistics for played songs; primarily it records the timestamp of every play of a song, and not just the first and last. It will also query last.fm and record play times of every scrobble for a song.
foo_enhanced_playcount provides some additional functionality that foo_playcount does not, but is missing some functionality that foo_playcount has. They work well together, and foo_playcount should NOT be uninstalled when foo_enhanced_playcount is installed.
This component should be installed with foo_playcount and the same time foobar2000 is installed so playback statistics are maintained from the beginning.
%played_times_raw% – raw foobar timestamps: [129885911170000000, 129996456470000000, 131594314930000000] – There’s probably no reason to ever use this.
%lastfm_played_times% – Date formatted list of scrobbles: ["2012-08-04 15:58:37", "2012-12-10 14:40:46", "2018-01-02 23:38:13"]
%lastfm_play_count% – Count of last.fm plays, a la %play_count%: 5
%lastfm_added% – Single date: “2012-08-04 15:58:37“
%lastfm_first_played% – Always exactly the same as %lastfm_added%. Use whichever one makes most sense logically
%lastfm_last_played% – Single date: “2018-04-04 15:58:37“
%added_enhanced% – Returns the earliest of %added% (from foo_playcount) or %lastfm_added%. Single date: “2023-02-04 15:16:17“
%first_played_enhanced% – Returns the earliest of %first_played% (from foo_playcount) or %lastfm_added%. Single date: “2023-02-04 15:16:17“
%last_played_enhanced% – Returns the earliest of %last_played% (from foo_playcount) or %lastfm_last_played%. Single date: “2023-02-04 15:16:17“
These fields can be exposed via Title Formatting or used in scripts. This component does generate extra data per song played and may not be suitable for installations with limited storage.
For most users the latest version of Foobar2000 32-bit is adequate. Users with very large music libraries may need to install the 64-bit version. The latest Foobar2000 installers are available on the official downloads page: www.foobar2000.org/download
After downloading, installing Foobar2000 and starting Foobar2000, you will see the main Default User Interface, commonly referred to as the DUI.
The first step is to populate Foobar2000’s Media Library.
Select Preferences > Media Library > Add...
and navigate to your Music folder. Once Foobar2000 has scanned all the subfolders and files, it will continue to monitor for any additions, deletions or revisions
Change Processing to ‘apply gain and prevent clipping according to peak‘
Adjust the ‘Without RG info‘ slider to -8.0 dB
The last initial step is to set your own individual freedb address.
At this point you should see your music and it should play without issue.
This covers the very basics. The next steps will be to add additional components, more configuration and how to use Foobar2000 to accomplish day to day tasks.
Georgia-ReBORN is feature rich foobar2000 theme developed and based on Mordred’s original Georgia. It’s purpose is to be used mainly as a desktop version, the layout has been modified to look clean and simple without any distractions. The cover artwork and playlist are the main focus. Besides the 11 existing themes Georgia-ReBORN has to offer ( Options > Theme ) there is one special theme “Reborn”. Based on Mordred’s awesome dynamic color change feature, this theme will completely change its appearance based on album art, this means there are unlimited possibilities how the player will look like. Every new album you play will be a new experience!
The Audio File 