Synchronize¶
The albums sync command will copy some or all of the configured music library
to another location. Only files that have been updated are copied. This enables
updating portable collections and digital audio players as long as they can be
accessed by the operating system like a regular storage device.
Only music files that
albumsknows about are copied. If there are other files in the library album directory, including images,syncignores them!
Use a collection¶
albums can associate specific albums with "collection" tags (see
Usage). A collection could define a subset of the library to copy
to a digital audio player, phone or memory card. The command
albums --collection top100 sync <destination> would copy all albums in the
"top100" collection to the destination.
Sync and delete¶
If albums are removed from the collection, or folders/files are renamed, running
another sync to the same destination could leave unwanted or duplicate files.
Alternatively, the --delete option and albums will delete every file in
the destination that is not being synced! This is good if the destination is,
for example, a folder on a memory card for a digital audio player, which doesn't
contain any other data, and albums sync will manage everything there.
Sync Destination¶
Rather than specify the path each time, you can configure one or more "sync
destinations" in the albums config menu. This also allows configuring
additional advanced options for the sync:
| Basic Option | Description |
|---|---|
collection |
The albums collection tag to sync |
path_root |
The destination path where files will be copied |
relpath_template_artist |
Template for album folder name (albums with artist) |
relpath_template_compilation |
Template for album folder name (compilations) |
If relpath_template_artist or relpath_template_compilation are blank
(default), artist albums and compilations will be organized just the same way
they are in the library.
Transcoder Options¶
Warning
If transcoder options are enabled, the transcoder cache created by
albums can consume a very large amount of disk space. See options below.
Note
ffmpeg must be installed and available on the PATH to use transcoder options.
By default, sync copies audio files from the library to the destination. But if
it is configured with a sync destination, albums can also convert audio files
to a format that is suitable for the destination as needed. Using these options
enables transcoding.
Transcoded files will be tagged with basic tags and pictures as supported by
albums. Not all tags from source files are copied to the transcoded files.
| Transcoder Option | Description |
|---|---|
allow_file_types |
List of allowed audio file types - if other, transcode album |
max_kbps |
Maximum bitrate (album average) - if higher, transcode album |
convert_profile |
Conversion profile including ffmpeg options and file type |
The convert profile is formatted as [FFMPEG_OUTPUT_OPTIONS] FILE_TYPE
Example convert profile for 320kbps MP3: -b:a 320k mp3
Transcoder Cache¶
When the transcoder is used, all converted files are stored in the "transcoder cache" before copying. By default this cache is in the user data directory. The transcoder cache size limit is set to 16 gigabytes by default, and this is a soft limit: size limits are only applied before and after sync, and while older caches are removed, the most recently used per-format cache is retained regardless of size.
The transcoder cache location and soft limit are set in albums config.