FLAC to MP3 Encoding Script

[Tom Mann]

Hi Guys

I decided to start to learn the BASH shell today, and looked at my most common problem on my PC to start: Converting FLAC to MP3. I have used various interfaces but do not really like them much, plus I am planning to have this run as a cron job on my server.

This is the first draft of a script that will find all the .flac files in one folder and create .mp3 files in another folder - keeping the folder structure from the initial folder it searches on and also keeping the tags intact (apart from genre which I took out as I was having errors)

I intend to post another version of this at some point which will add the following:

1. Store a MD5 fingerprint of each .flac file that the script comes across, and re-encode only files that haven't yet been done, or .flac files that have been replaced (this is due to me having some damaged CDs that I plan on cleaning up/replacing and re-encoding)

2. Sort out the genre problem (if there is no genre I'll add a placeholder of some description)

3. Logging of files that may have gone wrong for some reason.

I have seen no bugs with this code at the time I've put it here, but if anyone needs a solution like this please try this code thanks :)

Enjoy! Indeed.

Tom


To use. Download the file and in a terminal, navigate to the folder containing the file and type


chmod +x ./flactomp3.sh

to make it executable. You will then need to edit two values in the script:


flacdir=/media/old_storage/Music/FLAC
mp3dir=/media/old_storage/Music/MP3

change these to the location of your .flac files, and where you would like the MP3s to go - the MP3 folder is created by the program if it doesn't already exist - as will all folders you may have down from $flacdir.

You may also want to alter the lame command to use a lower bitrate (I like 210-280) :)

Then just type:


./flactomp3

and walk away while it churns. It's created 5GB in 3 hours (approx 6-12 seconds a song) on my AMD X2 6400+ with Ubuntu 64 bit.

[Tom Mann]

Just to add, here's the code:


#!/bin/bash
#!/bin/sh

# flactomp3.sh v0.01
# converts all flac files recursively found at $flacdir
# and creates MP3s of them at mp3dir, following any
# existing directory structure.
#
# Requirements
# lame, flac.

flacdir=/media/old_storage/Music/FLAC
mp3dir=/media/old_storage/Music/MP3

# test to see if the mp3 directory exists: if not create it
if [ ! -d "$mp3dir" ]
then
mkdir -p "$mp3dir"
fi

# main loop - we go into directories, make sure the mp3
# equivalent directory exists, create it if not, then
# convert each file across.

export IFS=$'\n'
for flac in $(find $flacdir -type f)
do

# check we're dealing with a .flac
if [ "${flac##/*.}" == "flac" ]
then

# replace flac directory structure with mp3 directory structure
mp3="$mp3dir${flac#$flacdir}"
# replace .flac extension with .mp3 extension
mp3="${mp3%.flac}.mp3"

#echo $flac \>\> $mp3
# retrieve tags

metaflac --export-tags-to=- "$flac" | sed 's/=\(.*\)/="\1"/' > /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
. /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
rm /tmp/flacmeta.tmp

# check target directory exists, creating it if necessary
targetdir="${mp3%/*.mp3}"
if [ ! -d "$targetdir" ]
then
mkdir -p "$targetdir"
fi

# convert flac to mp3, preserving tags
flac -dc "$flac" | lame -V 1 -q 0 --vbr-new -h \
--tt "$TITLE"\
--tl "$ALBUM"\
--tn "$TRACKNUMBER"\
--ty "$DATE"\
--ta "$ARTIST"\
--ty "${DATE%%-*}"\
--id3v2-only\
--replaygain-accurate\
- "$mp3"
fi

done
export IFS=" "

[billgoldberg]

I appreciate your work on this, but is their any reason you can't use ffmpeg (with winff gui)?

[Tom Mann]

Hi Bill,

My plan for this (on top of being an exercise in learning some bash scripting) is to put it onto my file server and have it run at specific intervals, where I can do the basic ripping and copying, and pick my mp3s up when I'm wondering what to put onto my Zen. It's laziness for the sake of laziness :)

[billgoldberg]

Hi Bill,

My plan for this (on top of being an exercise in learning some bash scripting) is to put it onto my file server and have it run at specific intervals, where I can do the basic ripping and copying, and pick my mp3s up when I'm wondering what to put onto my Zen. It's laziness for the sake of laziness :)

Ok, I was just wondering, because it's easier for the desktop.

I really have start learning how to make a script soon.

I know the cli pretty good but besides that I'm only good at html and css.

I'll start learning this weekend.

[Tom Mann]

OK - this version has been cleaned up somewhat (I have implemented functions), and also implemented the flac md5 database which only fills up if a mp3 encoding exits successfully. This takes care of update 1.

The above also re-encodes a file if it finds it to be different (if you have a scratched cd that you've replaced, this should update any damaged flac files to mp3)

The genre problem seems to be associated with lame, so I have added a --ignore-tag-errors linx to lame for the time being - with a view on fixing this fully in the future.

Finally, logging isn't added yet for failed files, but with the md5 database skipping failed encodings this shouldn't be a problem.

Next todo:

Create an ogg-vorbis version: should be easy, just change the encoding function to use ogg vorbis instead - maybe change some variable names to reflect the use of .ogg instead.


#!/bin/bash
#!/bin/sh

# flactomp3.sh v0.01
# converts all flac files recursively found at $flacdir
# and creates MP3s of them at mp3dir, following any
# existing directory structure.
#
# Requirements
# lame, flac.

flacdir="/media/old_storage/Music/FLAC"
mp3dir="/media/old_storage/Music/MP3"
dbfilename="$HOME/.FlacMP3"

function createmp3 {
flac -dc "$1" | lame --preset fast extreme -h \
--tt "$TITLE"\
--tl "$ALBUM"\
--tn "$TRACKNUMBER"\
--ty "$DATE"\
--ta "$ARTIST"\
--ty "${DATE%%-*}"\
--id3v2-only\
--replaygain-accurate\
--ignore-tag-errors\
- "$2"
}

function getmd5 {
md5=`md5sum $1`
flacmd5=${md5%% $1}
flacmd5="${flacmd5/[/}"
flacmd5="${flacmd5/]/}"
}

function readmd5 {
md5=`cat "$dbfilename" | grep $1`
storedmd5="${md5%% $1}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/[/}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/]/}"
}

function storemd5 {
md5=`md5sum $1`

if [ ! "x$storedmd5" == "x" ] # x added as "" is not a valid input for a test
then
sed -i 's|'"$storedmd5*$flac"'||g' "$dbfilename"
cat "$dbfilename" | awk '$0!~/^$/ {print $0}' "$dbfilename" > "$dbfilename".tmp
mv "$dbfilename.tmp" "$dbfilename" # remove blank lines
# TODO: the sed statement above can break if there is more than one of the same entry!
fi
echo $md5 >> "$dbfilename"
}

function makedir {
if [ ! -d "$1" ]
then
mkdir -p "$1"
fi
}

# test to see if the flac md5 database exists: if not create it
if [ ! -f "$dbfilename" ]
then
touch "$dbfilename"
fi

# test to see if the mp3 directory exists: if not create it
makedir "$mp3dir"

# main loop - we go into directories, make sure the mp3
# equivalent directory exists, create it if not, then
# convert each file across.

export IFS=$'\n'
for flac in $(find "$flacdir" -type f)
do

# check we're dealing with a .flac
if [ "${flac##/*.}" == "flac" ]
then

# check that the file does not have a matching entry in our md5 database
getmd5 "$flac"
readmd5 "$flac"

if [ ! "$storedmd5" == "$flacmd5" ]
then

# replace flac directory structure with mp3 directory structure
mp3="$mp3dir${flac#$flacdir}"
# replace .flac extension with .mp3 extension
mp3="${mp3%.flac}.mp3"

# retrieve tags
metaflac --export-tags-to=- "$flac" | sed 's/=\(.*\)/="\1"/' > /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
. /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
rm /tmp/flacmeta.tmp

# check target directory exists, creating it if necessary
targetdir="${mp3%/*.mp3}"
makedir "$targetdir"

# convert flac to mp3, preserving tags
createmp3 "$flac" "$mp3"

# finally store the md5 in our database as we have
# created the mp3 successfully.
if [ $? == 0 ]
then
storemd5 "$flac"
fi
fi
fi
done
export IFS=" "

[roaldz]

Sorry, I have to ask.. Wouldn´t it be much cooler to convert things to ogg? Cuz mp3=lame. And yes, I know your mp3 player doesn´t play ogg:)

[Tom Mann]

Roaldz - the next phase of this script is to convert files to ogg instead, as I'm patiently waiting for Rockbox to find it's way onto the Zen... :KS

[roaldz]

Roaldz - the next phase of this script is to convert files to ogg instead, as I'm patiently waiting for Rockbox to find it's way onto the Zen... :KS

Yeah, that´s the spirit!

[Tom Mann]

And here is the FLAC to OGG script!


#!/bin/bash
#!/bin/sh

# flactoogg.sh v0.05
# converts all flac files recursively found at $flacdir
# and creates OGGs of them at oggdir, following any
# existing directory structure.
#
# Requirements
# lame, flac.

flacdir="/media/old_storage/Music/FLAC"
oggdir="/media/old_storage/Music/OGG"
dbfilename="$HOME/.FlacOGG"

function createogg {
oggenc -q7 \
--date "$DATE"\
--tracknum "$TRACKNUMBER"\
--title "$TITLE"\
--album "$ALBUM"\
--artist "$ARTIST"\
--genre "$GENRE"\
--output="$2" "$1"
}

function getmd5 {
md5=`md5sum $1`
flacmd5=${md5%% $1}
flacmd5="${flacmd5/[/}"
flacmd5="${flacmd5/]/}"
}

function readmd5 {
md5=`cat "$dbfilename" | grep $1`
storedmd5="${md5%% $1}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/[/}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/]/}"
}

function storemd5 {
md5=`md5sum $1`

if [ ! "x$storedmd5" == "x" ] # x added as "" is not a valid input for a test
then
sed -i 's|'"$storedmd5*$flac"'||g' "$dbfilename"
cat "$dbfilename" | awk '$0!~/^$/ {print $0}' "$dbfilename" > "$dbfilename".tmp
mv "$dbfilename.tmp" "$dbfilename" # remove blank lines
# TODO: the sed statement above can break if there is more than one of the same entry!
fi
echo $md5 >> "$dbfilename"
}

function makedir {
if [ ! -d "$1" ]
then
mkdir -p "$1"
fi
}

# test to see if the flac md5 database exists: if not create it
if [ ! -f "$dbfilename" ]
then
touch "$dbfilename"
fi

# test to see if the ogg directory exists: if not create it
makedir "$oggdir"

# main loop - we go into directories, make sure the ogg
# equivalent directory exists, create it if not, then
# convert each file across.

export IFS=$'\n'
for flac in $(find "$flacdir" -type f)
do

# check we're dealing with a .flac
if [ "${flac##/*.}" == "flac" ]
then

# check that the file does not have a matching entry in our md5 database
getmd5 "$flac"
readmd5 "$flac"

if [ ! "$storedmd5" == "$flacmd5" ]
then

# replace flac directory structure with ogg directory structure
ogg="$oggdir${flac#$flacdir}"
# replace .flac extension with .ogg extension
ogg="${ogg%.flac}.ogg"

# retrieve tags
metaflac --export-tags-to=- "$flac" | sed 's/=\(.*\)/="\1"/' > /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
. /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
rm /tmp/flacmeta.tmp

# check target directory exists, creating it if necessary
targetdir="${ogg%/*.ogg}"
makedir "$targetdir"

# convert flac to ogg, preserving tags
createogg "$flac" "$ogg"

# finally store the md5 in our database as we have
# created the ogg successfully.
if [ $? == 0 ]
then
storemd5 "$flac"
fi
fi
fi
done
export IFS=" "

[Sniffer]

Thanks

Great Work indeed.

[Lostincyberspace]

Is there any way you could set it up so i can select the song in nautilus and have it convert it right there. I know it is possible but I don't know enough about bash scripting to be able to make it work.

[Fynn]

I must be doing something wrong with the flac to mp3 (new version) as it's giving me the error '19: Syntax error: "}" unexpected' after Lame does it's thing.

UPDATE:

Came downstairs this morning and it appears to have worked!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=499045
explains what I was seeing...

Many thanks.

UPDATE 2:

... but Nitin Sawhney appears to have inherited Anthrax's summary data.

[eti.que]

Hello all,

Reviving this thread a bit. I updated the script from Tom Mann to include a kind of "MP3 folder cleanup".

Basically anything that is recorded in the database and not present anymore in the flacdir will be removed.


#!/bin/bash
#!/bin/sh

# flactomp3.sh v0.01
# converts all flac files recursively found at $flacdir
# and creates MP3s of them at mp3dir, following any
# existing directory structure.
#
# Requirements
# lame, flac.

flacdir="/media/Musique/Librairie/"
mp3dir="/media/Musique/Baladeur/"
dbfilename="$mp3dir.convert_db"
logfile="$mp3dir.log"

function createmp3 {
flac -dc "$1" | lame -V 5 -h \
--tt "$TITLE"\
--tl "$ALBUM"\
--tn "$TRACKNUMBER"\
--ty "$DATE"\
--ta "$ARTIST"\
--ty "${DATE%%-*}"\
--id3v2-only\
--replaygain-accurate\
--ignore-tag-errors\
- "$2"
chmod 775 "$2"
chgrp users "$2"
}

function getmd5 {
md5=`md5sum $1`
flacmd5="${md5%% $1}"
flacmd5="${flacmd5/[/}"
flacmd5="${flacmd5/]/}"
}

function readmd5 {
md5=`cat "$dbfilename" | grep $1`
storedmd5="${md5%% $1}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/[/}"
storedmd5="${storedmd5/]/}"
}

function storemd5 {
if [ ! "x$storedmd5" == "x" ] # x added as "" is not a valid input for a test
then
sed -i 's|'"$storedmd5 $barefile"'||g' "$dbfilename"
cat "$dbfilename" | awk '$0!~/^$/ {print $0}' "$dbfilename" > "$dbfilename".tmp
mv "$dbfilename.tmp" "$dbfilename" # remove blank lines
# TODO: the sed statement above can break if there is more than one of the same entry!
fi
echo "$flacmd5 $1" >> "$dbfilename"
}

function makedir {
if [ ! -d "$1" ]
then
mkdir -p "$1"
echo "Folder $1 created." >> "$logfile"
fi
}

# test to see if the flac md5 database exists: if not create it
if [ ! -f "$dbfilename" ]
then
touch "$dbfilename"
fi

if [ ! -f "$logfile" ]
then
touch "$dbfilename"
else
rm "$logfile"
touch "$logfile"
fi

# test to see if the mp3 directory exists: if not create it
makedir "$mp3dir"

# main loop - we go into directories, make sure the mp3
# equivalent directory exists, create it if not, then
# convert each file across.

export IFS=$'\n'

#MP3 Database cleanup
for dir in $(find "$mp3dir" -type d)
do
if [ ! "$dir" == "$mp3dir" ]
then

#Remove any empty folder
rmdir --ignore-fail-on-non-empty "$dir"

#Get the artist & artist/album pattern
dir="${dir#$mp3dir}"


#Select only the tracks matching the above pattern
for track in $(cat "$dbfilename" | grep "$dir/")
do
#Retrieve track from the database
track="${track#* }"

#Check if the folder still exists in $flacdir
if [ ! -d "$flacdir$dir" ]
then

#Remove the entry if not
sed -i 's|'".*$track"'||g' "$dbfilename"
cat "$dbfilename" | awk '$0!~/^$/ {print $0}' "$dbfilename" > "$dbfilename".tmp
mv "$dbfilename.tmp" "$dbfilename" # remove blank lines

#Remove the folder if not removed before
if [ -d "$mp3dir$dir" ]
then
echo "$dir has been removed from \$mp3dir" >> "$logfile"
rm -r "$mp3dir$dir"
fi

#Folder still exists
else
#Check if file still exists
if [ ! -f "$flacdir$track.flac" ]
then
#Remove the entry if not
sed -i 's|'".*$track"'||g' "$dbfilename"
cat "$dbfilename" | awk '$0!~/^$/ {print $0}' "$dbfilename" > "$dbfilename".tmp
mv "$dbfilename.tmp" "$dbfilename" # remove blank lines

#Remove the file if it still exists
if [ -f "$mp3dir$track.mp3" ]
then
echo "$track has been removed from \$mp3dir" >> "$logfile"
rm "$mp3dir$track.mp3"
fi
fi
fi
done
fi
done

for flac in $(find "$flacdir" -type f)
do
# check we're dealing with a .flac
if [ "${flac##/*.}" == "flac" ]
then
track="${flac#$flacdir}"
track="${track%.flac}"

# check that the file does not have a matching entry in our md5 database
getmd5 "$flac"
readmd5 "$track"
if [ ! "$storedmd5" == "$flacmd5" ]
then

# replace flac directory structure with mp3 directory structure
mp3="$mp3dir$track.mp3"

# retrieve tags
metaflac --export-tags-to=- "$flac" | sed 's/=\(.*\)/="\1"/' > /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
. /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
rm /tmp/flacmeta.tmp
echo "Tag values: $ARTIST/($DATE) $ALBUM/$TRACKNUMBER. $TITLE" >> "$logfile"
# check target directory exists, creating it if necessary
targetdir="${mp3%/*.mp3}"
makedir "$targetdir"

# convert flac to mp3, preserving tags
createmp3 "$flac" "$mp3"


# finally store the md5 in our database as we have
# created the mp3 successfully.
if [ $? == 0 ]
then
echo "$flac correctly encoded to $mp3" >> "$logfile"
storemd5 "$track"
fi
fi
fi
done
export IFS=" "

So far it works well. If it can be of any use to somebody... ;)

Ah, one thing, if anyone knows how to benefit from a multicore/hyperthreaded CPU, it would be nice ! (I have an Atom 330, 2 cores with HT)

I was thinking of creating a separate script for the encoding and launching 2 or 3 cronjobs in the same time, but that's a bit, errhhh, wild, and I wonder how to handle possible conflicts.

Well, we'll see !
Cheers

[monsterstack]

Useful stuff. I'll see if I can be bothered to add in some getopts so people can set the "in" and "out" directories from the commandline, a bit like "mp3Demflacs -i /home/user/flacs/ -o /home/user/mp3s".

[DarkWan]

Useful stuff. I'll see if I can be bothered to add in some getopts so people can set the "in" and "out" directories from the commandline, a bit like "mp3Demflacs -i /home/user/flacs/ -o /home/user/mp3s".

try something like this



#!/bin/bash
#!/bin/sh

# flactomp3.sh v0.01
# converts all flac files recursively found at $flacdir
# and creates MP3s of them at mp3dir, following any
# existing directory structure.
#
# Requirements
# lame, flac.

flacdir="/media/Musique/Librairie/"
mp3dir="/media/Musique/Baladeur/"

while [ ! -z "$1" ]; do
case $1 in
-i | --input_file )
shift
flacdir=$1
;;
-o | --output_file )
shift
mp3dir=$1
;;
esac
shift
done

dbfilename="$mp3dir.convert_db"
logfile="$mp3dir.log"

[...]