ElevenLabs stream playback ValueError mpv not found: install mpv separately

TL;DR

Install mpv from mpv.io, and if you use a virtualenv, append mpv's install directory to os.environ PATH before calling play. ElevenLabs stream() playback requires the mpv executable installed on your system; the SDK does not bundle it.

Steps

1. ElevenLabs stream() playback requires the mpv executable installed on your system; the SDK does not bundle it. Install mpv from mpv.io, and if you use a virtualenv, append mpv's install directory to os.environ PATH before calling play. For headless servers, skip play() and write the streamed bytes to a file instead.

When to use

You are seeing this: The SDK's play() helper shells out to the mpv media player, which is not bundled with the SDK. Use this skill when you run into "ElevenLabs stream playback ValueError mpv not found: install mpv separately".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Source: ElevenLabs python SDK issue #49 (closed): streaming audio playback failed with ValueError: mpv not found. The SDK's play() helper shells out to the mpv media player, which is not bundled with the SDK. Maintainers flavioschneider and yunusdemir explained you must install mpv separately (mpv.io installation builds or unofficial executables), and if you run in a virtual environment you may need to add mpv's directory to PATH manually.

Verified resolution: ElevenLabs stream() playback requires the mpv executable installed on your system; the SDK does not bundle it. Install mpv from mpv.io, and if you use a virtualenv, append mpv's install directory to os.environ PATH before calling play. For headless servers, skip play() and write the streamed bytes to a file instead.

Source URL: https://github.com/elevenlabs/elevenlabs-python/issues/49