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Search a local freedb snapshot

A local freedb database is an extracted collection of historical album entries. Use it when you already have a snapshot and want lookup without a remote CDDB server. It reflects the snapshot's date; building a text index does not add newer albums.

Choose the database folder

  1. Extract the snapshot into a folder the app can read.
  2. Open File → Options… → Tag Sources → Local freedb.
  3. Use Choose folder…, or type the full path, to select the root containing category folders such as rock, classical and blues.
  4. Choose OK to save that folder for later searches.

OpenTag reads one-xmcd-file-per-disc snapshots and Windows xxtoyy range files. Select their database root, not a category or individual entry. If an entry is below D:\Databases\freedb\rock, choose D:\Databases\freedb. A compressed download is not itself the database folder.

Choose a lookup method

Select files from one disc and open Tag Sources → freedb (local)….

SEARCH BY Input Text index needed?
Disc ID of the selected files ID derived from file-list order and durations No
freedb disc ID An existing freedb disc ID entered in DISC ID No
Artist and album words Words in indexed artist/album titles Yes

For selected-file lookup, select one complete disc in track order, with known durations and at most 99 files. This is layout matching, not acoustic fingerprinting. OpenTag supports deriving this local ID; the historical Mp3tag restriction on local audio-based lookup does not describe its reader.

A freedb disc ID is different from gnudb's listed Entry ID, a barcode or a MusicBrainz release identifier. If you do not know the ID, try the selected files or build the text index.

Build and use the text index

Open Options → Tag Sources → Local freedb, check LOCAL FREEDB FOLDER, and choose Build index. Wait for the status to show a disc count for that folder. Large snapshots take time; Cancel requests cancellation. An unfinished build does not replace the previously completed index.

Building starts immediately with the entered folder, before Options OK. Cancelling the outer Options dialog does not undo a completed build. Save Options if later searches should use this same folder.

Now choose Artist and album words in freedb (local)…. For an indexed entry Juniper Vale / Harbour Lights, try juniper harbour. All query words must match artist/title text. Case and accents are normalized; a partial word can match a longer word. This searches database entries, not your audio.

Rebuild after changing the root or replacing snapshot contents. An index records its root, so one built for another folder is rejected. Changes to database files are not indexed automatically. If the current environment does not provide indexing, the page reports it and disables the control.

Review and troubleshoot

Choose a result and Next. Compare source tracks with your files, correct the pairing and select fields to write. The import review lets you edit values before choosing Save tags to … files.

  • No text results: check that the completed index belongs to this folder, then try fewer artist/title words.
  • No disc-ID result: check order, durations and whether this snapshot contains the release. Rebuilding an unchanged snapshot cannot add a missing disc.
  • Wrong folder: select the database root, with category subfolders inside it.

These lookups read the local database. They do not upload corrections or update it from gnudb, and the database is separate from OpenTag's music cache.