libid3tag - ID3 tag manipulation library

Copyright (C) 2000-2004 Underbit Technologies, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2021-2026 Tenacity Team and Contributors

Introduction

libid3tag is a library for reading and (eventually) writing ID3 tags, both ID3v1 and the various versions of ID3v2.

See the file `id3tag.h' for the current library interface.

Building and Installing

libid3tag depends on zlib. On Linux, install the appropriate development packages for zlib using your system's package manager (e.g., apt, dnf, pacman). On Windows you can use vcpkg, which will build it from source. Alternatively, you can use any MSYS2 environment of your choice or Cygwin.

libid3tag also requires GNU gperf to build.

libid3tag uses the CMake build system. To build it, no matter your platform, run:

$ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/where/you/want/to/install/to -S . -B build # Configure command
$ cmake --build build --parallel <number-of-cpu-cores> # Build command
$ cmake --install build # Install command

If using vcpkg, add -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=C:/Path/To/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake to the end of your build command.

To build libid3tag as a static library, simply add -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF at the end of your build command. If you want to build both shared and static libraries the easiest method is to just use two separate build directories:

$ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/where/you/want/to/install/to -S . -B build-shared
$ cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/where/you/want/to/install/to -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF -S . -B build-static
$ cmake --build build-shared --parallel <number-of-cpu-cores>
$ cmake --build build-static --parallel <number-of-cpu-cores>
$ cmake --install build-shared
$ cmake --install build-static

Packaging the Source Code

First, follow the instructions above, until you get to the "configure command". Do not run any commands after that command and do not follow the rest of the normal build instructions, only return to this section when done. Then, run the following command to package the source code:

$ cmake --build . --target package_source

Alternatively, you can use cpack instead in the following way:

$ cpack --config CPackSourceConfig.cmake

Either of the commands will perform the same task. After running either of the above commands, you will get a variety of tarballs you can use, including a .tar.gz tarball, a .tar.bz2 tarball, a .tar.xz tarball, and even a .tar.Z tarball. Whichever tarball you choose is solely your preference.

Copyright

Please read the COPYRIGHT file for copyright and warranty information. Also, the file COPYING contains the full text of the GNU GPL.

Send inquiries, comments, bug reports, suggestions, patches, etc. to https://codeberg.org/tenacityteam/libid3tag.

See also Tenacity's homepage on the web: http://tenacityaudio.org

Finally, check out libid3tag's original homepage on the web, on Underbit's website: https://www.underbit.com/products/mad/