About the Audio Metadata Viewer
See everything about an audio file: its format, length, bitrate, codec, sample rate, channels and bit depth, whether it has cover art, and its tags such as title, artist, album, year, track and genre. Check that a song is really 320 kbps, that a recording is 48 kHz for video, or what an unknown file actually is.
The file is read in your browser with ffprobe, the same tool audio engineers use, so it is never uploaded. MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, Opus, WMA, AIFF and videos all work, up to 100 MB.
How it works
Every audio file has a container (such as MP3, MP4 or WAV) holding one or more streams, each encoded with a codec (such as MP3, AAC or FLAC). The viewer reads the container's header and each stream's details, without decoding the whole sound.
Lossless codecs such as WAV, FLAC and ALAC store an exact copy of the sound and have a bit depth, usually 16 or 24 bits. Lossy codecs such as MP3, AAC and Vorbis discard detail you are unlikely to hear and are described by their bitrate instead, so no fixed bit depth is shown for them.
Tags are the text stored inside the file. The common ones are listed first in plain words; anything else the file holds is listed after them. You can copy all the details or download ffprobe's full report as JSON.
Assumptions and limits
- Bitrates are shown as the file states them; for variable-bitrate files they are averages.
- Lengths are read from the file's header, which can differ by a few hundredths of a second from the decoded sound.
- The viewer only reads; it doesn't change the file or its tags.
Worked examples
Is it really 320 kbps?
The audio bitrate line shows what the MP3 stream was encoded at. A file sold as high quality that shows 128 kbps isn't.
A recording for video
Video projects usually expect 48 kHz audio; the sample rate line shows whether a file needs converting.
An unknown download
A file called song.mp3 might really be an M4A or a video; the container and codec lines tell you.
How to use the Audio Metadata Viewer
- Drop in the file. Audio or video up to 100 MB.
- Read the details. Format, quality and tags in plain words.
- Copy or save the report. As text or as ffprobe's JSON.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check the bitrate of an MP3?
Choose the MP3 and press Show the details. The audio bitrate line shows the bitrate the stream was encoded at, such as 320 kbps, and the overall bitrate includes tags and cover art as well.
How do I see an audio file's sample rate and bit depth?
They are listed in the details as soon as the file is read: the sample rate in kHz, such as 44.1 or 48 kHz, and the bit depth for lossless files, such as 16-bit or 24-bit. Lossy files show no fixed bit depth.
Can I see the title, artist and album tags?
Yes. Every tag stored in the file is shown under Tags, with the usual ones such as title, artist, album, year, track and genre listed first in plain words. Files without tags say so.
Can this tool edit the tags?
No, it only reads. It shows what is stored in the file exactly, which is useful before uploading music, sending a recording to a studio, or checking a download.
Does it work for video files?
Yes. A video's container, length and sound track details are shown, and its picture streams are listed with their codec and size. Cover art inside music files is reported separately from real video.
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you enter or upload stays on your device and is never sent to our servers.