Add README.md

Author: radioactiveman

README.md

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+# Audacious
+
+## Overview
+
+**Audacious** is a lightweight, open-source audio player focused on high audio
+quality and low resource usage. It supports a wide range of audio formats and
+provides a flexible plugin system for extending functionality.
+
+## Features
+
+* Fast and lightweight with low system resource usage
+* Runs on Linux, BSD derivatives, macOS and Windows
+* Wide support for audio formats
+* Plugin-based architecture
+* Multiple user interfaces:
+  * GTK interface
+  * Qt interface
+  * Winamp interface, including support for Winamp 2 skins
+* Advanced playlist management
+* Built-in equalizer, audio effects and visualizations
+* Support for ReplayGain and gapless playback
+* Controllable also via MPRIS and with `audtool`
+
+## Installation
+
+### Prebuilt Packages
+
+Most Linux distributions provide Audacious in their respective package
+repositories. For Windows we offer an installer. On macOS, Audacious can be
+installed using [Homebrew](https://brew.sh).
+
+There are also Flatpak and Snap packages of Audacious, however we do neither
+provide nor support them. So if you have an issue with these packages, make sure
+it also affects ordinary installation methods before reporting it to us.
+
+See also the [download instructions](https://audacious-media-player.org/download)
+on our website.
+
+### Building from Source
+
+#### Requirements
+
+* Meson
+* GCC or Clang
+* pkg-config
+* Required development libraries (GTK/Qt, GLib, audio backends, codecs, etc.)
+
+Reading our build pipeline [installation script](/.github/actions/install-dependencies/install-dependencies.sh)
+may help with the package names when using Ubuntu or macOS.
+
+#### Build Steps
+
+After downloading the source code, you need to create a build directory (e.g.
+`meson setup build`). To view a list of all supported build options, you can use
+the command `meson configure build`. Alternatively inspect the file `meson_options.txt`.
+Logs can be found in `meson-logs` within your build directory.
+
+Example:
+
+```bash
+meson setup build      # pass custom build options with -D option=value
+meson compile -C build # start building
+meson install -C build # install the built software
+```
+
+Consult the official Meson documentation for more details, e.g.
+[Running Meson](https://mesonbuild.com/Running-Meson.html) and
+[Configuring a build directory](https://mesonbuild.com/Configuring-a-build-directory.html).
+
+## Plugins
+
+Audacious uses a modular plugin system to provide most of its functionality.
+Many plugins are included in the [audacious-plugins](https://github.com/audacious-media-player/audacious-plugins)
+package, officially provided and supported by the Audacious developers.
+But there are also third-party plugins available, install and use them at your
+own risk though.
+
+Plugins can be enabled or disabled at runtime within the Audacious settings window.
+When using the GTK or Qt interface, several plugins (e.g. album cover, lyrics,
+file browser, visualizations) can be docked into the main window.
+
+### Plugin Types
+
+* **General plugins** – provide additional features (e.g. lyrics viewer, last.fm, playlist manager)
+* **Effect plugins** – apply audio processing (e.g. echo, equalizer, speed and pitch)
+* **Visualization plugins** – display visual effects (e.g. spectrum analyzer, VU meter)
+* **Input plugins** – decode audio formats (e.g. MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, Opus)
+* **Output plugins** – handle audio playback devices (e.g. ALSA, PipeWire, PulseAudio)
+* **Playlist plugins** – offer support for various playlist formats (e.g. M3U, ASX, Cuesheets)
+* **Transport plugins** – allow reading from streams or file shares (e.g. HTTPS, FTP, SMB)
+
+## Supported Formats
+
+Supported audio formats depend on enabled plugins but typically include:
+
+* MP3
+* FLAC
+* Ogg Vorbis
+* Opus
+* AAC / M4A
+* WAV
+* WavPack
+* Ad-lib chiptunes
+* Audio CD
+* MIDI
+* Nintendo DS (2SF)
+* PlayStation Audio (PSF)
+* Tracker formats (MOD, XM, etc.)
+* … and many more (through FFmpeg)
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+* Read [Common Problems](https://audacious-media-player.org/problems) on our website
+* Make sure to use the latest Audacious version
+* Enable verbose output (with `audacious -V` on the command line)
+* Check our issue tracker and forum for similar reports (also closed ones)
+
+## Contributing
+
+Contributions are welcome!
+
+### How to Contribute
+
+* Submit pull requests for fixes or feature requests
+* Support and help others in our forum
+* Report issues in our bug tracker
+* Translate Audacious into your native language
+* Recommend and advertise Audacious to your friends
+
+Before submitting large changes, consider opening a forum thread first to
+discuss your ideas. Also remember that the developers of Audacious are
+volunteers and can only spend a limited amount of their free time on the project.
+
+## License
+
+Audacious is licensed under the BSD-2-Clause license.
+Please note that many of the plugins distributed with Audacious are under
+different licenses. See the [COPYING](/COPYING) file and the respective
+plugin source code for more details.
+
+## Links
+
+* Homepage: https://audacious-media-player.org
+* Source Code Repository: https://github.com/audacious-media-player
+* Issue Tracker: https://github.com/audacious-media-player/audacious/issues
+* Forum: https://github.com/orgs/audacious-media-player/discussions
+* Translations: https://app.transifex.com/audacious