Compare mpv playback with and without default configuration

The useful distinctions

• no-config skips default configuration and user files.
• Explicitly requested include files can still load.
• log-file writes a diagnostic file and truncates an existing destination.

Choose one observable difference

A configuration comparison is useful when the behavior can be described precisely: a key acts differently, an overlay appears or playback starts in an unexpected state. Write down the ordinary launch and the exact action first. Without that baseline, a clean launch may simply feel different in several ways and fail to identify which observation matters to the original problem.

Keep the sample fixed

The example uses the same fictional local clip and a fresh diagnostic destination. Reuse your own known sample for both launches, and avoid adding extra options while performing the comparison. An environment with saved settings can contain useful intentional choices, so preserve it rather than deleting it to create a temporary experiment. The clean launch is an observation method, not a recommendation to abandon all customization.

Draw a limited inference

If the behavior changes, configuration influence becomes a useful lead; it does not identify the exact setting or script by itself. Reintroduce your own known choices in small reviewable groups to locate the responsible difference. If both launches fail in the same way, keep that result too. Give support the concise comparison, player version and relevant reviewed log so the next investigation starts from evidence rather than an assumption about the media file.

A focused way to proceed

1. Record the ordinary launch result.
2. Repeat the same local sample with no-config and a new log filename.
3. Compare the same action, preserving both observations.

Worked example · synthetic

mpv --no-config --log-file=workshop-clean.log workshop-demo.mkv

Read the comparison

A changed result points toward configuration influence; it does not identify a specific setting.

When to stop or ask for help

Escalate the minimal two-launch comparison with version and reviewed logs.