Command line

Launch OpenTag with a folder or file to open it in the desktop file list. Use /add when a launch should append to the existing list. These switches open the interactive application; they do not provide unattended tag editing, action execution or export commands.

Supported arguments

Argument	What it requests
/fp:<folder>	Load a folder and use it as the working directory when replacing the list
/fn:<file>	Load a file and use its parent folder as the working directory when replacing the list
/add	Append the requested files/folders instead of replacing the list; preserve the existing working directory

Switch names ignore case. A - prefix is also accepted, for example -fn:/home/you/Music/track.flac. If the value after fp: or fn: is empty, the next argument supplies it. Prefer the complete colon form above, with the whole argument quoted when it contains spaces.

Bare paths are accepted too: existing folders become folder requests and other paths become file requests. Relative paths are resolved against the launching process's working directory, not the shell's script location or the folder currently displayed in an already-open OpenTag window. Use absolute paths for shortcuts and scripts that can start from different directories.

Multiple file/folder arguments are allowed. The first requested directory, or the first file's parent when there are no directories, supplies the working directory for a replacement request. /add alone has nothing to load. Unrecognized switches can be ignored; they are not an alternate batch API.

Windows: PowerShell

Replace the executable path below with the location of your installed opentag.exe. PowerShell's & invokes a quoted executable path. Each quoted argument is passed as one item, including its spaces.

Open a practice album folder:

& 'C:\Path\To\opentag.exe' '/fp:C:\Music\Juniper Vale\Harbour Lights'

Open one file instead:

& 'C:\Path\To\opentag.exe' '/fn:C:\Music\Juniper Vale\Harbour Lights\01 - Paper Boats.flac'

Append another file without replacing the current list:

& 'C:\Path\To\opentag.exe' '/add' '/fn:C:\Music\Juniper Vale\Harbour Lights\02 - Lanterns on the Water.flac'

The single quotes here belong to PowerShell; they are not part of the path OpenTag receives. In Command Prompt, use double quotes around arguments with spaces instead. A Windows shortcut can put the switches after its quoted executable path in Target.

macOS

For an app installed in /Applications, invoke the bundle's executable when passing explicit switches:

'/Applications/OpenTag.app/Contents/MacOS/opentag' '/fp:/Users/you/Music/Juniper Vale/Harbour Lights'

To append a file:

'/Applications/OpenTag.app/Contents/MacOS/opentag' '/add' '/fn:/Users/you/Music/Juniper Vale/Harbour Lights/02 - Lanterns on the Water.flac'

Finder Open With, dropping files on the Dock icon, and the ordinary open -a OpenTag <paths> document-opening route use macOS open-document events. They request a replacement list, rather than /add. Do not assume that open --args sends new arguments to an already-running application; use the direct executable route when you need the switches.

Linux

Use the executable you installed or extracted. For example:

/path/to/opentag '/fp:/home/you/Music/Juniper Vale/Harbour Lights'

/path/to/opentag '/add' '/fn:/home/you/Music/Juniper Vale/Harbour Lights/02 - Lanterns on the Water.flac'

The shell quotes preserve spaces as one argument. A bare absolute Unix path also remains a path; the leading / is not automatically treated as an unknown Windows-style switch.

Existing windows, ordering and troubleshooting

Desktop launch handling forwards recognized opening requests to an existing instance and brings its main window forward. Requests wait while another operation is busy. Replacing the list can require a pending-edit decision; launching the program does not silently save those edits.

Appended files join the loaded list. An active sort can change their visible placement. Choose View → Unsorted (load and playlist order) when you need to inspect load order; /add is not a command to sort or renumber the files.

If nothing appears, check the executable path, the audio path and shell quoting. Check OpenTag's file errors for unreadable or unsupported files. The folder-recursion preference still governs scans of supplied directories. Opening a second process is not evidence that the requested file loaded: inspect the resulting file list before continuing.

See File menu for interactive opening commands and keyboard shortcuts for working with the loaded list.