Executable Commands

Picard can accept commands for processing by specifying them on the command line using the -e option or loading them from a text file. Commands are case-insensitive, and are processed sequentially in the order that they are received. The executable commands that Picard recognizes are:

CLEAR_LOGS

Usage: CLEAR_LOGS
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Clear the Picard logs.

CLUSTER

Usage: CLUSTER
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Cluster all files in the cluster pane.

FINGERPRINT

Usage: FINGERPRINT
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Calculate acoustic fingerprints for all (matched) files in the album pane.

FROM_FILE

Usage: FROM_FILE <file path>
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Load commands from a file. The file path can be either an absolute or relative path to a text file containing the commands to be executed. Each command to be processed must be on a separate line along with its arguments (if applicable). Blank lines and lines beginning with an octothorpe (#) are ignored. Command files can include other command files by specifying them with another FROM_FILE command. Circular references (by including a command file that is currently being processed) are ignored and will be logged as a warning.

LOAD

Usage: LOAD <supported MBID/URL or path to a file/directory>
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Load one or more files/directories/MBIDs/URLs to Picard. This is similar to including the file, directory path, URL or MBID on the command line.

Files and directories are specified including the path (either absolute or relative) to the file or directory, and may include drive specifiers. They can also be specified using the file:// prefix. URLs are specified by using either the http:// or https:// prefix. MBIDs are specified in the format mbid://<entity_type>/<mbid> where <entity_type> is one of « release », « artist » or « track » and <mbid> is the MusicBrainz Identifier of the entity.

If a specified item contains a space, it must be enclosed in quotes such as "/home/user/music/my song.mp3".

LOOKUP

Usage: LOOKUP [clustered|unclustered|all]
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Lookup files in the clustering pane. Options are clustered files, unclustered files or all files. If not specified, the command defaults to all files.

LOOKUP_CD

Usage: LOOKUP_CD [device/log file]
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Read CD from the selected drive or ripper log file, and looks it up on MusicBrainz. If no argument is specified, it defaults to the first (alphabetically) available disc drive.

PAUSE

Usage: PAUSE <number of seconds to pause>
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Pause executable command processing for the specified number of seconds.

QUIT

Usage: QUIT
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Exits the running instance of Picard. Once a QUIT command has been queued, Picard will not queue any further executable commands.

REMOVE

Usage: REMOVE <path to one or more files>
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Removes the specified file(s) from Picard. Does nothing if no arguments provided.

REMOVE_ALL

Usage: REMOVE_ALL
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Removes all files from Picard.

REMOVE_EMPTY

Usage: REMOVE_EMPTY
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Removes all empty clusters and albums.

REMOVE_SAVED

Usage: REMOVE_SAVED
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Removes all saved files from the album pane.

REMOVE_UNCLUSTERED

Usage: REMOVE_UNCLUSTERED
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Removes all unclustered files from the cluster pane.

SAVE_MATCHED

Usage: SAVE_MATCHED
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Saves all matched files from the album pane.

SAVE_MODIFIED

Usage: SAVE_MATCHED
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Saves all modified files from the album pane.

SCAN

Usage: SCAN
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Scans all files in the cluster pane.

SHOW

Usage: SHOW
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Make the running instance the currently active window.

SUBMIT_FINGERPRINTS

Usage: SUBMIT_FINGERPRINTS
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Submits outstanding acoustic fingerprints for all (matched) files in the album pane.

WRITE_LOGS

Usage: WRITE_LOGS <path to output file>
Implemented: Picard 2.9

Writes the Picard logs to the specified output file.