Library Maintenance Workbench

Separate displayed metadata, the library index, and physical audio files. Editing one layer does not necessarily write to another. Duplicate cleanup can move actual files. Start with one album or a few tracks; see Library Management for the basics.

Tags and artwork

Open a track’s tag editor and compare title, artist, album, album artist, track/disc number, and year. Use album detail when the whole album needs a consistent edit. For wrong artwork, inspect embedded images, folder artwork, and user or online candidates before clearing any cache. If an external tool changed file tags, rescan the affected folder. Back up important audio before bulk file writes.

Identify an album

Current source offers an Identify Album workbench in album detail. Search MusicBrainz release candidates by album, artist, or barcode. Check date, country, media, and track mapping rather than only the confidence score. Leave unmatched tracks unassigned, then pin the correct release. Pinning does not rewrite audio tags. The displayed value follows user override > pinned online data > file tags. You can edit user overrides or clear a wrong pin.

If this workbench or network access is unavailable, use local tags instead.

Duplicates: hide versus clean

Duplicate detection and hiding change the library view. The Danger Zone cleanup first scans and previews groups, candidate tracks, and estimated space; applying it can move physical files to the system recycle bin and remove index entries.

1. Compare paths, duration, codec, and quality. Same title can be a different recording or mastering.
2. Hide candidates first and observe whether the groups are sensible.
3. If cleanup is intended, open the preview, inspect its pages and timestamp, and back up important files and playlists.
4. Re-scan when the library changed or the preview expired. Apply only after checking the new result.
5. Read the receipt for recycled, removed, missing, and failed counts; inspect the recycle bin if needed.

Recovery from the recycle bin depends on the OS and storage. Avoid cleanup while drives disconnect or a broad rescan runs.

For CUE album splitting, review the plan, choose a new output folder, then spot-check track joins before changing the source; see Audio CDs and CUE Albums. Database deletion is a last resort. For playback silence, check Audio Output first. For migration, see Backup and Migration.