Picard is a cross-platform music tagger powered by the MusicBrainz database that identifies and tags audio files using metadata lookup and audio fingerprinting.
The tool solves the problem of accurately organizing music libraries by automating metadata retrieval from MusicBrainz, an open and community-maintained music database. It uses an album-oriented approach to tagging, which allows it to leverage MusicBrainz data effectively and ensure correct tag assignment across entire albums at once. Picard identifies files through multiple methods: direct database lookup, AcoustID audio fingerprints that recognize music by its sound even without existing metadata, and CD lookups with disc ID submission capabilities. The tool supports all popular audio formats including MP3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, and WAV, and includes a flexible scripting language for customizing how files are named and tags are formatted.
Picard suits anyone managing a music library who wants accurate, standardized metadata without manual entry. It is particularly valuable for users with large collections, files with missing or incorrect tags, or those who want to contribute to MusicBrainz through disc ID submissions. The project includes cover art discovery and download functionality, and its plugin system allows extending capabilities for specialized workflows. Users can write custom plugins or choose from available community plugins to add features beyond the core tagger.
The project maintains active development with continuous integration testing. Bug reports and feature requests are tracked in a centralized issue system rather than on GitHub itself. Documentation is comprehensive, with a quick start guide, full user documentation, and plugin development guides available. The tool is open source under the GNU General Public License and actively developed on GitHub.
