Batch Import

Process newly acquired music (downloaded albums, loose tracks, zips) into an organized structure ready for Rekordbox import.

Goal: After this SOP, any processed track can be imported into Rekordbox with Artist, Title, Album, Year, Track Number, and Label displaying correctly. Genre is handled separately via the genre classification SOP.

Agent prompt

Paste into your agent to start:

Process the new music in [/path/to/folder] for Rekordbox import.

Constraints

Tags are source of truth. Write tags before renaming — filenames are derived from tags.
Never set genre. Leave genre tags empty; handled via genre classification SOP.
Stop on ambiguity. Never guess artist names, album years, or label names — ask the user.
Process album by album. Complete one fully before starting the next.
WAV dual-tag rule. WAV files need both ID3v2 and RIFF INFO in sync. write_file_tags handles this automatically.
Verify before moving. Confirm tags and filenames before moving to final location.

Prerequisites

Tool	Purpose
`reklawdbox` MCP	Tag reading/writing, Discogs/Beatport lookups, cover art embedding

lookup_discogs, lookup_beatport, lookup_bandcamp, lookup_musicbrainz, read_file_tags, write_file_tags, embed_cover_art, and extract_cover_art are MCP tool calls.

Phase 1: Assessment

Step 1: Discover library structure

Before importing, understand how the destination library is organized. Use read_library to find the content root, then scan 2 levels deep:

find "/path/to/content-root" -maxdepth 2 -type d | head -80

Identify:

Album directory — which top-level directory contains Artist/Album (Year)/ subdirectories?
Loose track directory — which top-level directory contains batch folders with flat audio files?

Present your findings to the user and confirm before proceeding:

Your library structure appears to be:
- Albums: {albums-dir}/{Artist}/{Album (Year)}/
- Loose tracks: {loose-dir}/{batch-name}/

Is this correct? What should this batch's loose tracks folder be named?

Use the confirmed paths for all move operations in Phase 2 Step 9 and Phase 3 Step 4. If the library is empty or the structure is unclear, ask the user to define their preferred convention.

Step 2: List the batch directory

ls -la "/path/to/batch/"

Categorize: directories (albums/EPs), audio files at root (loose tracks), zip files (need extraction).

Step 3: Handle zip files

Extract all root-level zips. Already-extracted zips (matching directory exists with files) are archived without re-extraction. Failed extractions go to _failed_zips/.

cd "/path/to/batch"
mkdir -p "_processed_zips" "_failed_zips"
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.zip" -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' zip; do
    zip="${zip#./}"
    dir="${zip%.zip}"

    if [ -d "$dir" ] && find "$dir" -type f -print -quit | grep -q .; then
        mv "$zip" "_processed_zips/$zip"
        echo "Archived already-extracted: $zip"
        continue
    fi

    tmp_dir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/batch-import-unzip.XXXXXX")"
    if unzip -o "$zip" -d "$tmp_dir"; then
        mkdir -p "$dir"
        find "$tmp_dir" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec mv -n {} "$dir"/ \;
        if find "$dir" -type f -print -quit | grep -q .; then
            mv "$zip" "_processed_zips/$zip"
            echo "Extracted: $zip"
        else
            mv "$zip" "_failed_zips/$zip"
            echo "No files extracted: $zip"
        fi
    else
        mv "$zip" "_failed_zips/$zip"
        echo "Extraction failed: $zip"
    fi
    rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
done

Step 4: Report to user

Summarize what was found: album directories, loose tracks, zip results.

Phase 2: Process Albums

For each album subdirectory, follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Survey current state

ls -la "/path/to/batch/Album Directory/"

Read tags for all files:

read_file_tags(directory="/path/to/batch/Album Directory/")

Note: current filename pattern, which tags are present, whether cover art exists.

Step 2: Parse directory name

Common incoming patterns:

Artist Name - Album Name
Artist Name - Album Name (Year)
Artist Name - Album Name [FLAC 24-96]

Extract: artist, album name, year (if present).

Step 3: Determine album type

Same artist on all tracks → Single Artist
Different artists per track → VA Compilation
“Various Artists” in dir name → VA Compilation

For VA: label name is required. Check Publisher tag, directory name, or look up.

Step 4: Look up metadata

lookup_discogs(artist="Artist Name", title="First Track Title", album="Album Name")

If no Discogs result, try Beatport:

lookup_beatport(artist="Artist Name", title="First Track Title")

If still missing data (common with self-released and digital-only music), try Bandcamp:

lookup_bandcamp(artist="Artist Name", title="First Track Title")

Bandcamp is the authoritative source for Bandcamp-sourced downloads and is often the only source for self-released music. The tool handles search and metadata extraction with caching automatically.

If still missing year or label, try MusicBrainz as a final fallback:

lookup_musicbrainz(artist="Artist Name", title="First Track Title")

Use results for: release year, label name, artist/album spelling verification.

Stop and ask on: multiple matches with different years, no results and year/label unknown, ambiguous artist.

Never use lookup results for genre.

Step 5: Write tags

Use write_file_tags for all tag writes. It handles WAV dual-tagging automatically.

Album-wide + per-track tags:

write_file_tags(writes=[
  {path: "/path/to/album/01 original.flac", tags: {
    artist: "Track Artist", title: "Track Title", track: "1",
    album: "Album Name", year: "YEAR", publisher: "Label Name",
    album_artist: "Artist Name"
  }},
  ...
])

Per-track tags — parse from filenames. Common incoming patterns:

Pattern	Parse as
`Artist - Album - NN Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`NN Artist - Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`NN Title.wav`	Track N: [AlbumArtist] - Title
`NN. Title.wav`	Track N: [AlbumArtist] - Title

Step 6: Verify tags

read_file_tags(directory="/path/to/album/")

Confirm every file has: Artist, Title, Track, Album, Year.

Step 7: Rename files from tags

Construct target filenames from tags: NN Artist - Title.ext

Use mv -n (no-clobber) for each file. Validate the target filename is non-empty before renaming.

mv -n "/path/to/album/old filename.flac" "/path/to/album/01 Artist Name - Track Title.flac"

If rename produces unexpected results, stop and check tags — rename depends entirely on tag correctness.

Step 8: Embed cover art

Check for existing cover art in the directory:

find "/path/to/album/" -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -iname "*.jpg" -o -iname "*.jpeg" -o -iname "*.png" \) -print

Single obvious cover (cover.jpg, front.jpg, folder.jpg):

embed_cover_art(image_path="/path/to/album/cover.jpg", targets=["/path/to/album/01 Artist - Track.flac", ...])

Multiple images: Ask user which is the cover.

No images: Try lookup_bandcamp(artist="...", title="...") first — if the result includes a cover_image URL, download it:

curl -sL -o "/path/to/album/cover.jpg" "BANDCAMP_COVER_URL"

If no Bandcamp result, try lookup_discogs(...) — if result includes cover_image, download and embed:

curl -sL -o "/path/to/album/cover.jpg" "DISCOGS_COVER_IMAGE_URL"

embed_cover_art(image_path="/path/to/album/cover.jpg", targets=["/path/to/album/01 Artist - Track.flac", ...])

If no cover from lookup_bandcamp or lookup_discogs, note for user to source manually.

Step 9: Create target directory and move files

Use the album directory convention established in Phase 1 Step 1. Determine clean directory name (strip tech specs, add year, clean special chars).

# Single Artist — use the confirmed album directory
mkdir -p "/path/to/albums-dir/Artist Name/Album Name (Year)"

# Or VA
mkdir -p "/path/to/albums-dir/Various Artists/Label Name/Album Name (Year)"

# Move audio + cover art
find "/path/to/batch/Old Dir" -maxdepth 1 -type f \
     \( -iname "*.wav" -o -iname "*.flac" -o -iname "*.mp3" \) \
     -exec mv -n {} "/path/to/dest/Artist Name/Album Name (Year)/" \;
find "/path/to/batch/Old Dir" -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname "cover.*" \
     -exec mv -n {} "/path/to/dest/Artist Name/Album Name (Year)/" \;

# Remove old empty directory
rmdir "/path/to/batch/Old Dir"

Step 10: Verify final state

ls -la "/path/to/dest/Artist Name/Album Name (Year)/"

read_file_tags(directory="/path/to/dest/Artist Name/Album Name (Year)/")

Confirm: files in correct location, NN Artist - Title.ext format, all tags present, VA has label subdirectory, cover art embedded.

Phase 3: Process Loose Tracks

For audio files at the root of the batch directory.

Step 1: Clean filenames

Strip store-generated (Original), (Original Mix), and (Original Version) suffixes. Keep other parenthetical info ((Remix), (Edit), (Original Club Mix), etc.):

cd "/path/to/batch"
find . -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -name "* (Original Mix).*" -o -name "* (Original Version).*" -o -name "* (Original).*" \) -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' f; do
    new_name="$(echo "$f" | sed -E 's/ \(Original( (Mix|Version))?\)//')"
    mv -n "$f" "$new_name"
done

Expected format: Artist Name - Track Title.ext. If unparseable, ask user.

Step 2: Read/write tags

For each loose track, read existing tags:

read_file_tags(paths=["/path/to/batch/Artist - Title.wav"])

If tags are missing, look up with lookup_discogs(...) / lookup_beatport(...) / lookup_bandcamp(...) / lookup_musicbrainz(...). Bandcamp is often the only source for self-released and digital-only music.

Write tags (include album — almost always available from the source release):

write_file_tags(writes=[{
  path: "/path/to/batch/Artist - Title.wav",
  tags: {artist: "Artist Name", title: "Track Title", album: "Release Name", publisher: "Label Name", year: "YEAR"}
}])

Step 3: Embed cover art

Check for cover_Artist Name - Track Title.jpg files. If found:

embed_cover_art(image_path="/path/to/cover.jpg", targets=["/path/to/track.flac"])

If no local cover file exists, try lookup_bandcamp(artist="...", title="...") — if the result includes a cover_image URL, download it:

curl -sL -o "/path/to/cover_Artist - Title.jpg" "BANDCAMP_COVER_URL"

embed_cover_art(image_path="/path/to/cover_Artist - Title.jpg", targets=["/path/to/Artist - Title.wav"])

WAV files: Keep the cover image file alongside the audio — Rekordbox cannot import cover art from WAV tags, so the user needs the image colocated for manual import. For other formats (FLAC, MP3, AIFF), clean up the downloaded image after embedding.

If no Bandcamp result, try lookup_discogs(...) for cover_image. Note any tracks without cover art in the report.

Step 4: Move loose tracks

Use the loose track destination established in Phase 1 Step 1.

mkdir -p "/path/to/loose-dir/batch-name"
mv -n "/path/to/batch/Artist - Title.wav" "/path/to/loose-dir/batch-name/"

Phase 4: Multi-Disc Albums

If an album has disc subdirectories (CD1/, CD2/, Disc 1/, etc.):

Track numbers restart at 01 per disc
Cover art at album root (not in disc folders)
Set Disc Number tag on each track via write_file_tags
Album-wide tags (album, year, publisher) go on all tracks across all discs

Phase 5: Final Verification

Summarize: albums processed (single artist vs VA), loose tracks processed, any unresolved items, WAV tracks needing manual cover art in Rekordbox, and next steps (import, collection audit SOP, genre classification SOP).

Decision Reference

Proceed automatically when

Artist clearly identified in tags, filename, or directory name
Year present in tags, directory name, or single clear Discogs match
Label present in tags or Discogs (for VA)
Single artist with consistent tags across album

Stop and ask when

Multiple matches with different years
No results and year/label unknown
VA album but label unknown
Ambiguous: collaboration vs VA vs single artist
Multiple images — which is album cover?
Conflicting metadata between tags and filenames
Unparseable filenames

Common Incoming Filename Patterns

Album tracks

Pattern	Parse as
`Artist - Album - NN Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`Artist - Album - NN. Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`NN Artist - Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`NN. Artist - Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title
`NN Title.wav`	Track N: [AlbumArtist] - Title
`NN. Title.wav`	Track N: [AlbumArtist] - Title
`Artist - Album - NN AX. Title.wav`	Track N: Artist - Title (vinyl)

Loose tracks

Pattern	Status
`Artist - Title.wav`	Correct
`Artist - Title (Remix Info).wav`	Correct
`Artist, Artist B - Title.wav`	Correct
`Artist - Title (Original Mix).wav`	Remove `(Original)` / `(Original Mix)` / `(Original Version)` suffix
`Title.wav`	Missing artist — ask user