Kid3 icon

Kid3

Kid3 is a powerful and versatile cross-platform audio tag editor that supports multiple audio file formats. It is designed for both novice and experienced users to efficiently organize and manage their music collections through comprehensive metadata editing features. Developed by Urs Fleisch

License: Open Source
Available for:
Mac OS X Windows Linux

About Kid3

Kid3 is an open-source audio tag editor available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for cleaning up, organizing, and enriching the metadata of your music files. Whether you need to fix missing album art, correct artist names, or standardize track numbering, Kid3 simplifies the process with its intuitive interface and powerful features.

Key capabilities include:

  • Extensive Format Support: Kid3 supports a wide array of audio file formats including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPC, MP4/AAC, WAV, AIFF, and WMA. This ensures compatibility with most common audio files in your collection.
  • Batch Processing: Edit multiple tags at once, rename files based on tags, or apply changes to entire albums or directories, saving you significant time and effort.
  • Automatic Tagging and AcoustID: Leverage online databases and acoustic fingerprinting (AcoustID) to automatically fetch missing tag information and ensure accurate tagging.
  • Flexible File Renaming: Rename your audio files based on their metadata, using customizable formats to create a consistent and organized file structure.
  • Search and Replace: Easily find and replace text within tags across multiple files.
  • Scripting and Command Line Power: For advanced users, Kid3 offers scripting capabilities and a command-line interface for automating tasks and integrating with other workflows.
  • Album Art Management: Effortlessly embed, import, or export album art for your audio files, keeping your music library visually appealing.

Kid3's design prioritizes efficiency and functionality, making it an essential tool for anyone serious about maintaining a well-organized digital music collection.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Supports a wide range of audio formats
  • Powerful batch processing capabilities
  • Excellent automatic tagging features (AcoustID)
  • Available on multiple operating systems
  • Free and open source
  • Customizable file renaming options

Cons

  • User interface can be less modern than some alternatives
  • Initial learning curve for advanced features

What Makes Kid3 Stand Out

Cross-Platform Availability

Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, providing a consistent user experience across different devices.

Extensive Format Support

Supports a wide range of popular audio formats, making it versatile for various music collections.

Powerful Batch Processing

Efficiently manage large music libraries with robust batch editing, renaming, and processing features.

Open Source and Free

Provided free of charge and with open source code, allowing for transparency and community contributions.

What can Kid3 do?

Review

Kid3: A Comprehensive Review of the Audio Tag Editor

Kid3 is a well-regarded open-source audio tag editor designed to help users organize and manage their digital music collections. It is available across multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, offering a consistent experience regardless of the platform. This review examines Kid3's features, usability, and effectiveness as a tool for managing audio file metadata.

At its core, Kid3 excels at editing metadata. It provides a clear and intuitive interface for modifying various ID3 tag versions for MP3 files, as well as tags for other formats like Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MP4/AAC, and more. The user interface presents the file list on the left and the tag information for the selected file or files on the right. This layout is standard and easy to navigate.

One of Kid3's most significant strengths is its batch processing capabilities. Users can select multiple files and edit common tag fields simultaneously. This is incredibly efficient for tasks like adding album names to a batch of tracks or correcting artist spellings across an entire album. The batch renaming feature is equally powerful, allowing users to rename files based on customizable tag patterns. This helps maintain a consistent and organized file system.

The integration of online databases and AcoustID is a valuable addition. Kid3 can automatically fetch missing tag information and album art, drastically reducing the manual effort required to complete metadata. The AcoustID feature, which uses audio fingerprints to identify tracks, is particularly useful for files with missing or incorrect information. While not perfect for every single track, it is remarkably accurate in many cases.

For users requiring more advanced control, Kid3 offers support for regular expressions in its search and replace function, along with a command-line interface. These features enable more complex and automated tagging workflows, catering to users with larger or more specific organizational needs.

The built-in miniature player is a convenient addition, allowing users to quickly listen to a track to verify its identity or check the quality after editing tags. This reduces the need to open a separate media player repeatedly during the tagging process.

While Kid3 is feature-rich, some users might find the abundance of options slightly overwhelming at first glance. The interface, while functional, is not the most modern compared to some commercial alternatives. However, its focus is clearly on functionality and efficiency rather than aesthetics.

The documentation for Kid3 is comprehensive and accessible through the official website, which is helpful for users seeking to understand its more advanced features. Being open-source means it benefits from community contributions and bug fixes, contributing to its stability and ongoing development.

In conclusion, Kid3 is a highly capable and robust audio tag editor. Its extensive format support, powerful batch processing, automatic tagging features, and cross-platform availability make it an indispensable tool for anyone managing a digital music collection. While the interface could be more polished, its functional design and powerful feature set solidify its position as a leading free and open-source option in the audio tagging space. Its focus on efficiency and comprehensive control over metadata makes it a recommended choice for both casual users and serious music enthusiasts.

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