Build a tool to batch-rename music files

To build a tool that batch-renames music files, you’ll want to ensure the tool handles file renaming efficiently and is capable of managing multiple files at once. This can be done using a programming language like Python, which is great for file manipulation tasks. Here’s a basic Python script to batch-rename music files:

Python Script to Batch Rename Music Files

This script will allow users to select music files in a folder and rename them based on a set pattern or specific attributes (like track number, artist, etc.).

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.x installed on your computer.

• os module (Python’s standard library for interacting with the file system).

• tkinter module (for the graphical user interface to select the folder, which is also part of Python’s standard library).

Step-by-Step Code:

python
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import os
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog

def batch_rename_music_files():
    # Create a simple GUI to select the directory containing the music files
    root = tk.Tk()
    root.withdraw()  # Hide the main tkinter window
    folder_path = filedialog.askdirectory(title="Select Folder Containing Music Files")
    
    if not folder_path:
        print("No folder selected. Exiting.")
        return
    
    # File types to be considered (MP3, FLAC, WAV, etc.)
    valid_extensions = ('.mp3', '.flac', '.wav', '.aac', '.m4a')
    
    # Loop through files in the selected directory
    for filename in os.listdir(folder_path):
        # Check if the file is a valid music file by extension
        if filename.endswith(valid_extensions):
            print(f"Renaming: {filename}")
            
            # Define the new name (this example just adds a prefix "New_")
            # You can modify this pattern as per your needs (e.g., include artist, album, track number, etc.)
            new_name = f"New_{filename}"
            
            # Create the full file path for both original and new names
            old_file = os.path.join(folder_path, filename)
            new_file = os.path.join(folder_path, new_name)
            
            try:
                # Rename the file
                os.rename(old_file, new_file)
                print(f"Successfully renamed to: {new_name}")
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Error renaming {filename}: {e}")

    print("Batch renaming process complete.")

# Run the batch rename function
if __name__ == "__main__":
    batch_rename_music_files()

How It Works:

1. Folder Selection:
   The script uses tkinter to open a file dialog that allows you to select the folder containing your music files.

2. Filter Music Files:
   It then filters files based on their extension (e.g., .mp3, .flac, etc.).

3. Rename Logic:
   The script loops through each file, creates a new name for it (in this case, adding a “New_” prefix), and renames it.

4. Error Handling:
   Any errors during renaming (such as permission issues or files being in use) will be caught and printed.

How to Customize:

• Rename Pattern:

  • You can customize the new_name logic to fit your needs. For example, you can extract metadata from the music file (artist, album, etc.) using libraries like eyed3 for MP3s.

• Advanced Rename Logic:

  • If you want to add more advanced patterns like numbering or metadata-based naming, you can use Python libraries such as eyed3 (for MP3 metadata) or mutagen (for FLAC, MP3, and others).

Example of Advanced Renaming with MP3 Metadata:

To extract metadata from an MP3 file and use it in the renaming pattern, you can use the eyed3 library:

1. Install eyed3:

   bash
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   pip install eyed3
   

2. Modify the script to use metadata:

python
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import eyed3

def get_metadata(mp3_file):
    audio_file = eyed3.load(mp3_file)
    artist = audio_file.tag.artist if audio_file.tag.artist else "Unknown Artist"
    title = audio_file.tag.title if audio_file.tag.title else "Unknown Title"
    return artist, title

# Inside the batch renaming loop:
if filename.endswith('.mp3'):
    artist, title = get_metadata(os.path.join(folder_path, filename))
    new_name = f"{artist} - {title}.mp3"
    ...

This way, your files can be renamed based on their metadata instead of a static prefix.

Final Thoughts:

This tool provides a simple and customizable way to batch-rename music files on your system. You can enhance this by adding more features, like previewing changes before renaming, batch renaming based on regular expressions, or integrating additional metadata from audio files.