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Start using OpenTag

OpenTag changes the information stored inside audio files: titles, artists, albums, track numbers and embedded artwork. It can also rename files from those values, import information from names, and repeat a sequence of changes. A renamed file and a changed song title are different results; choose the operation that matches the problem you want to solve.

This starting path is for a first desktop session. Use a copied album with a few ordinary audio files. Keep the originals elsewhere until you have checked the saved result in OpenTag and in the player you use.

1. Install a package for your computer

Follow Download and install. Pick the operating system and processor architecture on the release page. The source-code archive is for building OpenTag; it is not an installer. Mobile previews have different access and save-back limits, so do not use a desktop walkthrough as a promise of the same result on a phone.

After opening the application, check Help → About OpenTag when reporting a problem. Keep its version and your operating system with your notes.

2. Open only your practice folder

Choose File → Change directory… and select the copied album. This replaces the loaded list; Add directory… and Add files… add to it instead. Read Opening files before mixing several folders or turning on startup restoration.

Loading reads metadata and file properties. It does not, by itself, rewrite the files. The list is a working view, not a separate music-library copy. Check the loaded count and remove an active filter if fewer rows appear than expected. The main window explains where these counts and controls live.

3. Make one recognizable pending edit

  1. Select one practice file. Check the selected count beside the filter.
  2. In the tag panel, change Album to Harbour Lights — practice.
  3. Look for its pending marker and the unsaved files count. The changed text is visible, but an ordinary tag-panel edit still needs saving.
  4. Choose File → Save tags (Cmd+S / Ctrl+S).
  5. Read the status and any file errors. Choose File → Reload tags to read the saved result again. If the album returns to the old value, investigate the error rather than repeating a larger batch.

For this exercise, check Options → Tags → Save tags when using arrow keys or a single mouse click. It is off by default. When enabled, a selection change can write pending edits, so moving to another row is no longer a reliable way to leave the file untouched.

A displayed < keep > means preserve each selected file's current value. Clearing an editable field requests removal. It does not mean “leave it alone.” Read Editing, saving and undo before editing several files together.

4. Choose a task and its write timing

Your goal Use When the result is written
Give several tracks the same album Tag panel Review pending edits, then Save tags
Inspect fields outside the panel Extended tags Keep changes stages edits; save afterward
Fill fields from folder and file names Filename → Tag Applying the converter writes its result
Give filenames consistent track/title text Tag → Filename Applying the rename changes paths
Calculate a field from other fields Tag → Tag Applying the converter writes its result
Repeat cleanup in a defined order Action groups Running the group writes its changes
Create a report for a spreadsheet CSV export Write an external report; it is not a tag backup

The same panel can edit files from different containers, but native storage and supported writes differ. Check tag formats when a player disagrees with the editor. Extended tags also allows custom field names; another player need not display or understand those fields. For online lookup commands, start with the Tag Sources menu and review the retrieved release and track matches before applying anything.

An ordinary tag-panel text box does not calculate scripting functions. Typing $upper(%artist%) there stores that text. The format-string lesson shows where expressions are evaluated and why quoted text and optional sections matter.

5. Recover deliberately

Before saving, use Edit → Discard pending changes on the intended selection to abandon its unsaved edits. After a recorded write, inspect the operation named by Edit → Undo …. History belongs to the current session; it is not a permanent backup and does not reverse every external output. A batch can partly succeed, so check individual failures before closing.

Replacing the list or closing can discard pending work. Prompts are configurable under Options → Messages; turning one off does not save the edits. Save or discard deliberately before changing folders or loading a configuration. If another program changed a file, reload it before deciding which values to keep.

Next steps