# Calling mp3tag from CMD or WSL
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [May 22, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748 "2024-05-22T00:15:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@oti](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/oti)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/1 "2024-05-22T00:15:37Z")
Hi. Thanks for providing the most useful metadata editor.
I am however very fond of scripting jobs that can handle mass changes and I would very much appreciate it if mp3tag could get a command line api.
The reason for this is that although I can load thousand of files into the editor and export the view to a csv file for import in Excel where I can manipulate things with functions and what not, I still have to make the changes manually. It would be so much easier if I could just use a column in excelt that would be command line commands to do updates. This column could be copied to a files and run as a script.
I use excel in this fashion for a lot of things and it makes large jobs so much easier.
Regards,
Ole-Tom
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 5:53am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/2 "2024-05-22T05:53:33Z")
There is a command line interface:
> **[Command Line Interface – Mp3tag Documentation](https://docs.mp3tag.de/command-line/)**
>
> Overview on command-line parameters to be used with Mp3tag. Mp3tag is the universal Tag Editor.
I doubt though, that Excel is much better to
> [@oti](#):
>
> manipulate things with functions and what not
What exactly are you doing in Excel that MP3tag cannot do?
See also here:
> [@Command-line parameters?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/command-line-parameters/2326/5):
>
> Sorry, but Mp3tag is supposed to be an interactive program, not a command line utility. Best regards, ~ Florian
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### Author:  [@oti](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/oti)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 8:53am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/3 "2024-05-22T08:53:08Z")
I have music files in several formats and the different formats may lack some tag information. In excel I can have functions that evaluates all formats of one song and fills out missing fields in one format from the data in the same field in a different format. For example, old ripped wav files have little to no tag data and I can use excel to fetch the missing data from flac or mp3 format file of the same song.
Also, I want to normalize text field casing (e.g. 'From me to you' -\> 'From Me To You'). This is easily done in excel.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 10:51am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/4 "2024-05-22T10:51:06Z")
> [@oti](#):
>
> Also, I want to normalize text field casing (e.g. 'From me to you' -\> 'From Me To You'). This is easily done in excel.
Even more easily done with an action of the type "Case conversion" in MP3tag. Saves you the need export/import tag data.
> [@oti](#):
>
> missing fields in one format from the data in the same field in a different format.
You can copy&paste all of the tag data from one file to another irrespective of the file format.
You can even copy the data for all the source files to the same amount and order of target files in just one go.
That is why I am so curious which functions in Excel may be superior and justify the extra effort of export and import of tag data.
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### Author:  [@oti](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/oti)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 11:49am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/5 "2024-05-22T11:49:15Z")
Thanks. It's obvious I need to learn more about what mp3tag can do.
About copying tag data from files of one format to files of another format - how can I make a qualified selection of files in mp3tag based on a set of rules and then copy tag data from this selection only to corresponding files with different music file format. This is a job I'm doing right now and I am now just manually updating one file at a time. This is very time consuming when there are thousands of files that need to be updated.
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### Author:  [@oti](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/oti)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/6 "2024-05-22T12:03:14Z")
Is it possible to set up filtering to choose wav files with a given empty field and then list corresponding file of flac or mp3 together with the wav files? For the most part, this is what I want right now.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/7 "2024-05-22T12:05:13Z")
> [@oti](#):
>
> how can I make a qualified selection of files in mp3tag based on a set of rules and then copy tag data from this selection only to corresponding files with different music file format.
The rules you wish to apply would best be used to filter your file selection. The filter is at the bottom of the mp3tag window. Multiple filter criteria can be applied to reduce the active list of files to just those that need to be addressed.
Select all of the files displayed at this point and apply the required Action. This can be any combination of tools, sounds like in your example
You would likely be using the Format Value tool where you can easily assign the content of one field, or even just parts of, and save that to another.
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### Author:  [@oti](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/oti)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:08pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/8 "2024-05-22T12:08:10Z")
Thanks. I'm going afk now but I will do some testing of this later tonight. I haven't used filtering at all before so this will be a new experience with mp3tag.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/9 "2024-05-22T12:22:04Z")
It is a powerful tool. The details for how to use it are here.
> **[Filter and Search – Mp3tag Documentation](https://docs.mp3tag.de/filter/)**
>
> Documentation on Filter and Search and keywords to form complex filter expressions. Mp3tag is the universal Tag Editor.
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/10 "2024-05-22T12:25:02Z")
> [@oti](#):
>
> how can I make a qualified selection of files in mp3tag based on a set of rules and then copy tag data from this selection only to corresponding files with different music file format
WIthout deeper knowledge of what you have in the files this is hard to tell.
In general, if you want to unify a set of target files with the data from source files, you usually look for the source files first, get them into an order that the target files could also represent, select the source files, copy the tag data as a whole and then paste it to the target files.
You could use filters like
(%special\_tag% PRESENT AND %\_extension% IS FLAC) OR (%special\_tag% MISSING AND %\_extension% IS wav)
and perhaps even something about the ALBUM or so to get just those files that need treatment.
Or you drag&drop the folders with the source and target files into MP3tag and treat only this lot.
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [June 21, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/calling-mp3tag-from-cmd-or-wsl/64748/13 "2024-06-21T12:25:14Z")
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