rekordbox-bulk-edit 0.3.0

Tools for managing and modifying a RekordBox library en-masse

rekordbox-bulk-edit

A command-line tool for bulk operations on your Rekordbox library. Convert audio formats, search tracks, and update your database while preserving all your cues, analysis, and metadata.

[!CAUTION] This tool can modify your Rekordbox database and audio files. Always back up your data first. No warranty is provided--you assume all risk and liability of data loss in using this. See Safety & Best Practices

Installation

pip install rekordbox-bulk-edit

Requirements:

• Python 3.11+
• FFmpeg (for audio conversion)

Quick Start

Search your library:

rekordbox-bulk-edit search --artist "Daft Punk" --format flac
rbe search --playlist "House Favorites"

Convert audio files:

# Preview what would be converted
rbe convert --artist "Daft Punk" --dry-run

# Convert all FLAC or WAV files to AIFF (default output format)
rbe convert --format flac --format wav --yes

# Convert all AIFF files in the playlist named 'ConvertMe' to MP3 without asking for confirmation
rbe convert --format AIFF --exact-playlist "ConvertMe" --match-all --out-format mp3 --yes

Commands

search

Find and display information on tracks in your Rekordbox database.

rbe search [OPTIONS]

Examples:

# Show all FLAC tracks by artist
rbe search --artist "Aphex Twin" --format flac

# Get all the track IDs in a playlist
rbe search --playlist "Techno" --print ids

# Find tracks matching ALL filters (AND logic)
rbe search --artist "Burial" --album "Untrue" --match-all

convert

Convert audio files between formats and update the Rekordbox database. Your cues, analysis, beatgrids, and all metadata are preserved.

rbe convert [OPTIONS]

Supported formats

• Input: FLAC, AIFF, WAV
• Output: AIFF, FLAC, WAV, ALAC or MP3 (320kbps CBR)

options

• --format-out [aiff|flac|wav|alac|mp3]: Output format (default: aiff)
• --dry-run: Preview changes without converting.
• --yes, -y: Skip confirmation prompt
• --interactive, -i: Confirm each file individually
• --delete: Delete original files after conversion (default for lossless output)
• --keep: Keep original files after conversion (default for MP3 output)
• --overwrite: Replace existing output files instead of skipping

By default the original files will be kept when performing a lossy conversion to mp3, and deleted when performing a lossless conversion (since you can always convert back). You can override this behavior with --delete or --keep.

Examples:

# Preview conversion
rbe convert --format-out aiff --format flac --dry-run

# Convert and skip confirmation
rbe convert --format-out wav --artist "Burial" --yes

# Convert to MP3 but delete originals
rbe convert --format-out mp3 --playlist "Export" --yes --delete

# Keep originals when converting to AIFF
rbe convert --format-out aiff --format flac --yes --keep

# Get just the IDs of files that would be converted
rbe convert --format-out aiff --format flac --print ids --dry-run

# Convert and get the IDs of converted tracks
rbe convert --format-out aiff --format flac --print ids --yes

Filters & Options

Both commands support all filters. Multiple values create an OR filter unless --match-all is used.

Track filters:

• --track-id ID: Filter by database track ID
• --title TEXT: Track title contains TEXT
• --exact-title TEXT: Track title exactly matches TEXT
• --artist TEXT: Artist name contains TEXT
• --exact-artist TEXT: Artist name exactly matches TEXT
• --album TEXT: Album name contains TEXT
• --exact-album TEXT: Album name exactly matches TEXT
• --playlist TEXT: Playlist name contains TEXT
• --exact-playlist TEXT: Playlist name exactly matches TEXT
• --format [mp3|flac|aiff|wav|m4a]: File format matches
• --match-all: Use AND logic (all filters must match)
• ids args: Specifying any other input to a command that is not a defined option is interpreted as one or more Track IDs. This is useful for scripting.

Examples:

# Get tracks by multiple artists
rbe search --artist "Daft Punk" --artist "Justice"

# Get tracks matching artist AND format
rbe search --artist "Aphex Twin" --format flac --match-all

# Get all the songs in this playlist
rbe search --exact-playlist "Main Room 2024"

# Get all the songs in all my "house" or "disco" playlists
rbe search --playlist "house" --playlist "disco"

# Find all the songs in all my "house" or "disco" playlists
rbe search --playlist "house" --playlist "disco"

# Find all the songs in my library that aren't in any playlist
rbe search --playlist ""

Output

All commands support all levels of output. These generally control how much information is printed out to the screen, and also offer some options useful for scripting.

Output levels are configured with the --print option:

• --print [ids|silent|info|debug]: Control output format

[!NOTE] When specifying --print silent or --print ids, you must also explicitly provide either the --yes or the --dry-run flag, since any prompts would contradict the spirit of those print options.

Scripting

The --print ids option is especially interesting when used in conjunction with the ids arguments. By specifying --print ids you can use the output of one rbe command as the input to a second, e.g.:

# Convert all of the items found by the initial search command
rbe search --artist "Lauren Hill" --print ids | rbe convert

This example is a bit contrived, but this method of piping can be used to combine OR and AND logic that couldn't otherwise be expressed in a single command:

AND-narrowing — pipe a broad OR result into a second command with --match-all to intersect:

# (Daft Punk OR Justice) AND flac
rbe search --artist "Daft Punk" --artist "Justice" --print ids \
  | rbe search --format flac --match-all

OR between AND-groups — merge results from two commands using a subshell:

# (Daft Punk AND flac) OR (Justice AND aiff)
{ rbe search --artist "Daft Punk" --format flac --match-all --print ids; \
  rbe search --artist "Justice" --format aiff --match-all --print ids; } \
  | rbe convert --format-out mp3 --dry-run

Safety & Best Practices

Before using this tool:

1. Back up your Rekordbox database

   Rekordbox already keeps multiple backups. But every time you close it, it creates a fresh one and deletes the oldest, so repetitive exits will quickly make those backups fairly useless.

   You should make manual copies of RB's database backups before using this. You can usually find them in ~/Library/Pioneer/rekordbox/ on macOS or %APPDATA%\Pioneer\rekordbox\ on Windows.

2. Back up your music library

   If you don't have a back up already it's a very worthwhile investment, even if you don't plan to use this tool! Find yourself a cheap external drive, you won't regret it.

Limit the potential impact of a mistake by using filters to target a few tracks at a time e.g. --artist "Crazy Frog" --limit 5 before targeting a larger set, and always run with --dry-run first.

AI Usage

Did I use AI to help me build this? Yes. Is this project "vibe coded"? No.

I have nearly 10 years of professional experience as a Software Engineer. I do not wish to be replaced, and don't believe that AI could (yet) replace me. That being said, Python is not my bread and butter, so AI has helped me fill those knowledge gaps and skip repetitive tasks. Also, time is scarce and I simply never would have had the time to build this out without leaning somewhat on AI. As is with all open-source code, you should inspect it for yourself and determine if it's up to snuff.

If it's any consolation, my main test subject has been my own 10,000+ track RekordBox library--a risk I do not take lightly!

Credits

This project exists thanks to @dylanjones, the creator of pyrekordbox, which provides the Python API for Rekordbox databases.

I built this tool to help correct my own bad habits and misteps in managing and organizing my rekordbox library. If it helps you too, great! If you find issues or have ideas, contributions are welcome.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, testing, and contribution guidelines.