MetatOGGer is a freeware audio tag editor for Windows from Sylvain Rougeaux. It changes music metadata, identifies recordings, manages cover art and organizes files from their tags. Personal and commercial use are free.
The workspace and its targets
Metatogger brings files from different folders into one workspace. Users add files or folders, drag tracks from Explorer, or load an M3U playlist. Its audio formats include MP3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, Opus, M4A with AAC or ALAC, and WMA.
Columns display tags and technical properties. Search filters values across those columns, while a filter editor combines more specific conditions. Column sorting and grouping arrange tracks before an operation.
Selection and checkboxes serve different purposes:
| Operation | Files it affects |
|---|---|
| F2 editing | All rows that the user selects, regardless of checkbox state. |
| Processing tools | Files whose checkboxes the user ticks. By default, filters protect files outside the current view. |
Tag changes before the save
Metatogger can give several tracks a common artist or album while preserving their individual titles. The Add or modify tags tool enables specific fields for editing. An empty value deletes a field that the user enables.
Custom tags receive their own columns. Semicolons separate multiple values for one tag, such as several artists. For multiline text, the workspace shows the first line, while the Properties panel exposes the complete value.
The Automatic track-number option follows the workspace’s display order and restarts for each album it identifies. Overwrite Existing Tags controls whether processing replaces current values or fills missing information.
Edits remain pending until the user saves them. Metatogger highlights changes in bold and shows previous values when the pointer hovers over a cell. Save and Revert commands can target all files, a selection or the files with ticks.
Artist and release identification
Tag From Fingerprint analyzes audio through AcoustID and finds the artist and song title. It does not identify an album or track number. Users can stop recognition through the status bar’s Cancel link.
Metatogger also searches a local MusicBrainz database using artist, album or track information. Update Database downloads that catalog; subsequent tag searches can work offline. Search criteria combine, and the user chooses a release before matching its tracks to files.
Matching can compare durations, look for track titles within filenames, or pair tracks by their display order. Users can exclude individual tracks from the database result when their files cover only part of an album.
Covers inside or beside a track
Metatogger searches for cover art through its MusicBrainz catalog, then downloads the image through an internet connection. Users can also supply an image through Open covers or drag and drop.
The cover tool can place artwork inside an audio tag or save a separate image beside the music. Copy Covers copies artwork between these forms. External covers use folder.jpg by default, with a configurable filename. Cover is the only binary tag that Metatogger manages.
Names and folders from metadata
A naming pattern tells Metatogger how to extract tags from filenames or folders. Identifiers represent fields such as artist, title and track number. The pattern’s separators must match the existing names, and a row preview shows the extraction result.
Rename and sort works in the opposite direction. It builds filenames and folder paths from tags, then copies or moves files or creates symbolic links. Metatogger creates directories as necessary. Conditional pattern blocks omit sections when tags that the pattern requires lack values.
By default, file operations also rename, copy or move sidecars that share an audio file’s base name. This includes accompanying lyric files. Changing a tag alone does not rename its file.
C# processing for repeated edits
Metatogger’s scripting tool runs C# against the workspace files whose checkboxes the user ticks. Metatogger includes scripts that replace text, change capitalization, trim whitespace or pad track numbers. Users can modify those scripts or add a custom script to process tag values.
Duplicate review
Search Duplicates compares acoustic fingerprints and groups similar recordings, including files with different encoding or formats. Users inspect those groups before removing files. The physical deletion commands send audio files to the Windows Recycle Bin; removing a workspace row only removes that entry.
Keeping a work session
Metatogger saves workspace sessions with their file list, pending edits and display configuration. Loading a session restores that work, but session saving does not write tags into audio files. Separate export commands produce Excel or CSV tables; Excel output retains the workspace’s groups and filters.
