Audio Commands¶
Manage audio files: read/write metadata, compress large recordings, and organize your music library using the max audio command group.
compress¶
Compress an audio file by re-encoding to a lower bitrate. Perfect for shrinking oversized recordings (e.g., a 4-minute WAV at 80MB → ~3MB MP3).
Options:
- --output, -o - Output audio file path (default: {stem}_compressed.mp3)
- --quality, -q - Quality preset: s (64k), m (96k), h (128k), x (192k) (default: h)
- --mono, -m - Convert to mono for maximum compression
Examples:
# Default compression (128k MP3)
max audio compress recording.wav
# Maximum compression (64k mono MP3)
max audio compress recording.wav -q s --mono
# Custom output file
max audio compress recording.wav -o recording_compressed.mp3 -q m
denoise¶
Remove background noise from audio files (hiss, hum, fan, ambient noise).
Options:
- --mode, -m - Denoise mode: auto (general), hiss (constant hiss), hum (low rumble), speech (RNNoise, best for voice) (default: auto)
- --strength, -s - Denoising strength: mild, medium, aggressive (auto mode only, default: medium)
- --output, -o - Output file (default: {stem}_denoised{ext})
Examples:
# Auto-denoise a podcast recording
max audio denoise podcast.mp3
# Remove background hiss from a recording
max audio denoise interview.wav --mode hiss
# BEST for speech/podcasts (RNNoise neural network)
max audio denoise interview.wav --mode speech
# Apply heavy denoising
max audio denoise noisy_recording.mp3 --strength aggressive
# Specify output file
max audio denoise lecture.mp3 -o cleaned_lecture.mp3
get¶
Display all metadata from an audio file.
Example:
set¶
Set metadata on an audio file. Use flags to set specific fields.
Options:
- --title, -t - Song title
- --artist, -a - Artist name
- --album, -b - Album name
- --album-artist - Album artist name
- --genre, -g - Genre
- --date, -d - Release date (YYYY-MM-DD)
- --track, -n - Track number
- --disc - Disc number
- --composer - Composer name
- --comment, -c - Comment/description
- --output, -o - Output file (default: overwrite)
Example:
clear¶
Remove all metadata from an audio file.
Options:
- --keep-duration/--no-duration - Preserve audio info (default: keep)
- --output, -o - Output file
Example:
batch¶
Set the same metadata on multiple audio files at once. Useful for organizing files into an album.
Options:
- --title, -t - Song title
- --artist, -a - Artist name
- --album, -b - Album name
- --album-artist - Album artist name
- --genre, -g - Genre
- --date, -d - Release date
- --track, -n - Track number
- --start - Starting track number for auto-increment
Example:
# Set album and artist on all files in a folder
max audio batch "folder/*.mp3" --album "My Album" --artist "John Doe"
# Auto-increment track numbers
max audio batch "folder/*.mp3" --album "My Album" --start 1
organize¶
Organize audio files into folders based on their metadata. This is the default behavior to help organize your music library.
Options:
- --output, -o - Target directory (default: same as source)
- --pattern, -p - Folder structure: artist, album, genre, artist-album (default: artist)
Patterns:
- artist - Music/Artist Name/Song.mp3
- album - Music/Album Name/Song.mp3
- genre - Music/Rock/Song.mp3
- artist-album - Music/Artist Name/Album Name/Song.mp3
Example:
# Organize all MP3s by artist (default)
max audio organize "downloads/*.mp3"
# Organize by album into a specific folder
max audio organize "downloads/*.mp3" --output "Music Library" --pattern album
# Organize by artist and album
max audio organize "downloads/*.mp3" --pattern artist-album
Supported Formats¶
- MP3
- FLAC
- M4A/AAC
- OGG
- WAV