macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install beetslocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install beetsMacPorts ports tree · audio/beets/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install beets with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Music library manager and tagger. Version 2.12.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-12. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install beets.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add beetsAlpine Linux edge package indexes · beets · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install beetsDebian stable package indexes · beets · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install beetsFedora Rawhide package metadata · beets · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#beetsnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/be/beets/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S beetsArch Linux sync databases · beets · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install beetsopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · beets · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Music library manager and tagger
Project links
Commands and aliases
- beet
history
Project history and usage
beets is a Python command-line music library manager and MusicBrainz tagger for users who want a curated, queryable, correctly tagged local music collection.
Project history
beets was created by Adrian Sampson and the GitHub repository was opened in August 2010. The project describes itself as a media library management system for obsessive music users, with automatic metadata improvement as the core import workflow.
The changelog records the early beta series beginning with 1.0b1 on June 17, 2010, followed by many beta releases and two release candidates before 1.0.0 shipped on January 29, 2013.
The 1.0 release marked beets as stable while new development continued. The plugin system became central to the project's identity, with plugins for album art, lyrics, ReplayGain, acoustic fingerprints, transcoding, duplicates, web access, MPD, and several metadata sources.
The project reached 2.0.0 in May 2024 and continued active 2.x releases through 2026, including 2.12.0 in June 2026.
Adoption history
The supplied package metadata lists beets across Alpine, Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Ubuntu, and openSUSE package names. The README also notes PyPI installation and distribution repository packaging.
beets adoption grew around the MusicBrainz-centered local-music workflow: import files, correct tags, move or copy into a library layout, then query and manipulate the collection through the beet CLI and plugins.
How it is used
The standard workflow is beet import followed by interactive metadata matching, file organization, and database-backed querying. Users customize behavior with config.yaml, path templates, plugins, and metadata-source credentials where individual plugins require them.
beets is especially useful for large local music collections because it combines tagging, library layout, duplicate checks, album art, lyrics, ReplayGain, transcoding, and scripting-friendly command-line access.
Why package nerds care
beets is package-nerd significant because it is one of the enduring examples of a personal-data CLI that wraps a rich Python application, a SQLite-ish local library model, a plugin ecosystem, external metadata services, and distro packaging into one command called beet.
It sits at the intersection of package managers and hobbyist media preservation: PyPI, Linux distributions, Homebrew, and Nix all carry it because music-library users want the same tool available on servers, laptops, and long-lived archival machines.
For CLI collectors, beets also has the satisfying trait of turning messy filesystem culture into explicit configuration: tags, templates, metadata sources, plugins, and output paths are all package-managed and scriptable.
Timeline
- 2010: 1.0b1 released and GitHub repository created.
- 2013: 1.0.0 released after fifteen betas and two release candidates.
- 2024: 2.0.0 released.
- 2026: 2.12.0 released.
Related projects
- MusicBrainz is the central metadata source named throughout beets' documentation and README.
- Discogs, Beatport, ReplayGain, MPD, and acoustic-fingerprint tooling are related services or workflows exposed through plugins.
- Picard is a related MusicBrainz-oriented tagger, while beets occupies the scriptable command-line library-manager niche.
Sources
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for beets. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 7 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 4 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
~/.config/beets/config.yaml- Windows
%APPDATA%\beets\config.yamlC:\Users\You\AppData\Roaming\beets\config.yamlmacos?
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
beet | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-25
manager version2.12.0
manager updated2026-07-12
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://beets.io/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:beets |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.12.0 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/beets |
| Homepage | https://beets.io/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/beetbox/beets |
| Upstream docs | https://beets.readthedocs.io/ |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/1c/40/056537114e0c6df4374371341301c74b8519b571f3e67ec64f5547479a16/beets-2.12.0.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-07-12T13:05:05-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | certifi, libyaml, llvm, numpy, python@3.14, scipy, zstd |
| Build dependencies | cmake, cython, python-setuptools, rust |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | beets |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
beets 2.2.0-3
music tagger and library organizer
sudo apt install beets- Section: sound
- Architecture: all
- 14 dependencies
- 23 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
Debian apt95%
beets-doc 2.2.0-3
music tagger and library organizer - documentation
sudo apt install beets-doc- Section: doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: beets
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
Nix95%
beets
nix profile install nixpkgs#beets- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
Ubuntu apt95%
beets 1.6.0-8
music tagger and library organizer
sudo apt install beets- Section: universe/sound
- Architecture: all
- 12 dependencies
- 19 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
Ubuntu apt95%
beets-doc 1.6.0-8
music tagger and library organizer - documentation
sudo apt install beets-doc- Section: universe/doc
- Architecture: all
- Source Package: beets
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
apk95%
beets 2.11.0-r1
Music library manager and MusicBrainz tagger
sudo apk add beets- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: beets
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
apk95%
beets-doc 2.11.0-r1
Music library manager and MusicBrainz tagger (documentation)
sudo apk add beets-doc- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: beets
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
apk95%
beets-pyc 2.11.0-r1
Precompiled Python bytecode for beets
sudo apk add beets-pyc- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: beets
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
apk95%
beets-zsh-completion 2.11.0-r1
Zsh completions for beets
sudo apk add beets-zsh-completion- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: beets
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
dnf95%
beets 2.11.0-3.fc45
Music library manager and MusicBrainz tagger
http://pypi.org/project/beets/
sudo dnf install beets- License: MIT and ISC
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: beets
- 4 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
dnf95%
beets-doc 2.11.0-3.fc45
Documentation for beets
http://pypi.org/project/beets/
sudo dnf install beets-doc- License: MIT and ISC
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: beets
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
pacman95%
beets 2.11.0-1
Flexible music library manager and tagger
sudo pacman -S beets- License: MIT
- Architecture: any
- 14 dependencies
- 23 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
zypper95%
beets 2.11.0-1.1
Music tagger and library organizer
sudo zypper install beets- License: MIT
- Category: Productivity/Multimedia/Sound/Players
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: beets
- 14 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
MacPorts95%
beets
sudo port install beets- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Beets
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment