Let's Tag - A utility to assist with tagging VGM

[PhantomSnake]

Hi guys,

You might be interested in a handy utility I just released. It's called Let's Tag and it helps you tag VGM albums by using album data from VGMdb.net. I decided to make this utility because I have a whole mess of untagged or mistagged mp3s, and I'm too lazy to do all the tagging by hand.

The utility is a Windows application (though it runs under Mono, too) that downloads album data from VGMdb and exports it to a text file in a format that can be easily imported into Mp3tag. It's kind of a roundabout way of doing things, I know, but it's still better than doing it by hand.

You can find the application and other info on GitHub:
https://github.com/tomvoros/lets-tag

The current version is 0.2.2 which is compatible with vgmdb.net as of July 23, 2017. I'm no longer supporting Let's Tag, however you're welcome to fork it on GitHub. I'll consider all pull requests!

Hope you guys like it!



Also check out Zorbfish's cddb/freedb emulation which might be an even better way of getting your tag data into Mp3tag (and other tagging apps).

[Myrkul]

This is an amazing idea and this is the feature i have been waiting for.

I could not try it fully atm since i don't have .net 3.5 (seems like i get an error when i want to export with .net 3.0) but i'll probably get it just for that tool


* I was wondering about a tool like this to create .txt files or .nfo files with all the album data (title, catalog... ), just as your tool is doing now!
But if you could add the "notes field", that would be awesome.
And an option to export these infos as .txt or .nfo would be sweet.

(note that i do not want to get rid of .nfo files that contains credits but everyone got tons of albums without this kind of files)


* What about albums that got multiple tracklists?
Seems like you can't choose which one you want (it pick the default one for the moment -probably the best one to pick up- but hey that's just a suggestion!)

I probably could name some more feature but that could be "too much" for such a tinny tool, and if fits only the tagging job, i will be happy.

Of course it can't tag the tags correctly with composers breakdown, but which tool can do that..

Great Job.

[PhantomSnake]

Hi Myrkul. Glad you like it. Hope you get it working with .NET 3.5!

There are lots of new features I'd like to add over time. That's why this is version 0.1. It's just the basic functionality for now. Nothing fancy, but still useful, I hope! The features you mentioned would be great!

Some features I'm considering:

• Ability to select language -- both for album details and for the tracklist
• Export nicely formatted album summary to .nfo or .txt
• Export playlist to .m3u (though you can do that with Mp3tag already)
• Basic editing functionality to add/edit/delete album details
• Get the release year from the VGMdb "Release Date" field
• Automatically download album art
• Maybe even built-in tagging support so you don't need to use Mp3tag

Let me know if you have any other ideas.

[Secret Squirrel]

This is pretty neat. I've never used Mp3Tag, but I've been looking for another tagger so I'm going to have to try it out.

Someday we'll have track-by-track credits built into the site, so support for that might be something that could be added to your tagger in the future.

[PhantomSnake]

Cool. Looking forward to that track-by-track credits feature!

Is there, by any chance, any public API to get album details in a convenient data format? (JSON or XML, maybe?) My current method of getting the album details is very fragile... I use a bunch of regular expressions.

I do the same thing for search results (parse the results page with regexes), but I did find your nice AJAX data provider for that (ajax-autocomplete.php), so I'll switch over to that at some point.

Edit: Nevermind, it seems Gigablah is planning just such an API.

[LiquidAcid]

I'd need something like that for linux. Or at least some script to get the tracklist into foobar2000 (using this through wine for tagging work) or eyeD3. Already have some simple script that converts the copy&paste results of the tracklist into a format that is usuable by fb2k through the masstagging engine (input data line by line).

Of course that's also a lot of work:
Manually copy&paste the tracklist from VGMdb, then run the script on the data, after that copy the data over to fb2k (also manually).

Perhaps it's easier to let something like curl fetch the album page, then parse the HTML code itself and use eyeD3 to do the tagging (I have no idea if you can script fb2k to that extend that you can supply tagging info through the commandline). However eyeD3 has the nasty behaviour to write some timestamp data to the ID3v2, something I do not want.

[PhantomSnake]

Have you tried my app in Wine?

I could also try compiling it with Mono...

Edit: Just tried it in Linux. The Windows binary works as-is with Mono! Of course, you still need something like Mp3tag to apply the tags.

[LiquidAcid]

Originally Posted by PhantomSnake

Have you tried my app in Wine?

I could also try compiling it with Mono...

Edit: Just tried it in Linux. The Windows binary works as-is with Mono! Of course, you still need something like Mp3tag to apply the tags.

Yeah, the thing is that I'm not really into installing a huge toolkit because of one single application.
I also think .NET is a bit of an overkill

On second thought I don't think I want another GUI-based application to do the work. I figure that your tool isn't commandline-only based, right?
The reason for that is: the system where the tagging would be done is a headless one, only with ssh access. There are no X libs or whatever installed.
Currently I use sshfs to mount the music directory into my regular laptop filesystem (so I can use fb2k). Looking for some cleaner solution. And using more applications through wine isn't exactly a clean solution *g*

Well, I keep on searching.

[PhantomSnake]

I was thinking of adding command line functionality anyway, but you're right about .NET... It's a beast.

I'll see what I can do about a proper port.

[MrMAGFest]

Another option here for the *n*x users is that there's an excellent tagging tool called ex-falso. If you can give a little help with how you poll vgmdb, ex-falso could be extended with a plugin to do the same thing.

[PhantomSnake]

I figure I might as well release the full source code for Let's Tag, right?

Here you go:
Let's Tag 0.1 Source
Edit: The latest source can be found here.

I tried to clean up the regexes a bit. I also slapped on a GPL license just for the heck of it.

For those who just want the regexes, here they are, straight from the code:

        readonly static Regex albumNameRegex = new Regex(
            @"<span\s+class\s*=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"]albumtitle[\\\'\\\"]" + @"\s+lang\s*=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"]en[\\\'\\\"]" + @".*?>(.*?)</span>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex detailRegex = new Regex(
            @"<tr>.*?<td.*?>.*?<span\s+class\s*=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"]label[\\\'\\\"]" + @".*?>\s*<b>(.*?)</b>\s*</span>.*?</td>" +
            @".*?<td.*?>(.*?)</td>.*?</tr>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex detailCatalogNumberRegex = new Regex(
            @"<span\s+id\s*\=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"]childbrowse[\\\'\\\"]" + @".*?" +
            @"<a\s+.*?>(.*?)</a>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex detailMultilingualValueRegex = new Regex(
            @"<span\s+.*?lang\s*\=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"](.*?)[\\\'\\\"]" + @".*?>(.*?)</span>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex detailValueCleanupRegex = new Regex(
            @"<.*?>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex discRegex = new Regex(
            @"<b>\s*Disc\s+(\d+)\s*</b>.*?<table.*?>(.*?)</table>",
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        readonly static Regex trackRegex = new Regex(
            @"<span\s+class\s*=\s*" + "[\\\'\\\"]label[\\\'\\\"]" + @"\s*>(.*?)</span>" + // Track number
            @".*?<td.*?>(.*?)</td>", // Track name
            RegexOptions.Singleline | RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

It's best to look at the code to figure out how these regexes are used. Also, I'm no regex wizard, so I apologize if any of it is confusing.

I'm focusing on a different project right now. I'll probably get back to this in a little while. I hope you guys can make some use of the source in the meantime!

[KeyLogic]

Thanks PhantomSnake! I will be using this application as I have a fair amount of VGM that needs some tagging and I'm just too lazy to do it all myself.

[Myrkul]

I am definitely using this program (in association) with MP3tag for over 2 weeks now. If you configure well MP3tag, it works like a charm. (ie: configure it well to change automatically these non-acceptable characters (:, /, ? ...) that you often find in vgmdb tracklists and everything is fine.
It tags well multiple cds (of the same album of course) from anywhere on your hard drive in a second.
I found a way to tag & rename all my files in a few clicks.
At start i was not having so much confidence in the tool (i did some back-ups..etc..) but i really tested it in all kind of situation, and til you have your tracks in the "right" order, there's no problem.

Only thing to do after that is a quick check (once again you must trust at 200% the tracklists on vgmdb and these are not 100% accurate (some spelling errors here and there).
And finaly you must re-tag it correctly if you want to add composition/artists breakdown (but that goes fast with MP3tag).


my advices if you are going to use this tool:
- you must be very vigilant to have your tracks in the right order, the most commun problem is coming from "data tracks", depending on how you renamed your files, to count it or not.

- check the result after you tagged them, you still can undo changes on MP3tag.

- you can configure "let's tag" to choose the only informations you want.
(ie: it dosn't took me too long to tag & rename all those beatmania albums, i already had the artists tagged correctly, but wanted the other information)

Really, a great tool.
The only downside is that you need .net 3.5

[Myrkul]

I am bumping this thread to say that "Let's Tag" is not working anymore..

Surely caused by some changes from the website.
If you still hang around PhantomSnake, maybe you could check what's going on?
And if you got the time, to release a fix to make it work again.

Thanks.

EDIT: the "search" is not working anymore but you still can use the fonction "album" (you need to copy/paste the exact url of the album).
Of course the search method is better, but at least it's still working.. (i wouldn't mind for a fix though)

[Carl]

Would there be any way to add "front cover art" functionality into this tool at all?

A user of Let's Tag mentioned on another vgm board that they like this tool for tagging their collection, but they have to manually grab the front cover pics from vgmdb for their iPod display screen.

Just thought I'd toss this out there just in case it'd be possible to implement such a feature into Let's Tag.

[PhantomSnake]

I'm adding cover art in version 0.2. You'll be able to copy the cover art to the clipboard (for pasting into Mp3tag) or save it to a file.

I'll be releasing the new version very soon.

[the_miker]

Originally Posted by PhantomSnake

I'm adding cover art in version 0.2. You'll be able to copy the cover art to the clipboard (for pasting into Mp3tag) or save it to a file.

I'll be releasing the new version very soon.

Very nice. Since I'm the "user on another vgm board" I'm definitely looking forward to trying this out. Keep up the good work PhantomSnake!

-Mike

[PhantomSnake]

Originally Posted by Gigablah

PhantomSnake: Just a heads-up, you can now perform searches using the following URL format:

http://vgmdb.net/search?q=search+term

I'll be working on returning XML data soon.

Awesome! No more POSTing! I think I still owe you a PM response about the XML data format, though if you've already come up with something I'm sure it will be fine.

Originally Posted by Alcahest

Superb initiative, but requires .NET crap, why o why ;_;

You know, there was a period of time when I coded only in GNU C++, for portability... It's only very recently that I started playing with C# and .NET. I, too, used to be a .NET hater, and I still am to some degree, but I have to say... it's an excellent development platform. (Not so excellent for the end users though, I know.)

[PhantomSnake]

Let's Tag 0.2 is up!

What's new?

• Cover art is downloaded and displayed. It can be copied to the clipboard (for pasting into Mp3tag) or saved to a file.
• Added a command line app, letstagc.exe, for those who want to use Let's Tag in scripts or batch files. (Functionality is fairly limited at the moment.)
• Export presets can be saved. They are saved as XML files in Let's Tag's Presets folder.
• Editing the export preset XML files by hand allows you to make more advanced presets. For example, it is possible to put multiple album fields into a single MP3 tag field.
• Code was refactored quite a bit, though it still needs some work.

Instructions for the command line app:

Usage: letstagc [OPTION] [FILE]
Download album data from vgmdb.net and output formatted data to FILE.

Options:
  -a, --album=NUMBER            album NUMBER of album to download
  -p, --preset=NAME             use preset NAME to format output

When FILE is not specified, write to standard output.

The album option is required. The preset option is optional (if preset is not specified, the "Default" preset will be used). I probably should've put this info in the actual app!

[Gigablah]

PhantomSnake: Just a heads-up, you can now perform searches using the following URL format:

http://vgmdb.net/search?q=search+term

I'll be working on returning XML data soon.

[Alcahest]

Superb initiative, but requires .NET crap, why o why ;_;

[Secret Squirrel]

I pulled the barcodes off the page. We'll probably find another way to display those, along with other information.

[PhantomSnake]

If you change your mind, let me know. Getting it to work in Let's Tag would probably just require a couple of regex tweaks.

[PhantomSnake]

Hey MDA999,

I'm guessing the page layout of VGMdb has changed so much in the past years that Let's Tag can no longer find anything. I stopped supporting the tool ages ago so unless you're interested in fixing it yourself (the source is available here) you're out of luck.

I strongly recommend using VGMdb's official CDDB/freedb support for your tagging needs instead.

[Myrkul]

Like PhantomSnake said, most of the users are using CDDB/freedb nowadays.

But Let's tag is still working for me and i am still using it in conjunction with Mp3tag.
Last version of the program seems broken... i am using version 0.1.1.0 which i uploaded here if anyone is searching for it.
Thanks again for the wonderful tool

Here's how i personally do it, you can personalise the tag strings differently of course.



The format string i am using for the "Tag -> Filename" on Mp3tag is the following one:
$replace($num(%track%,2) - %title%,: ,- ,:, - ,",'''',/,~,?,？,<,[,>,],*,-,|,-)
Again, this is highly personalisable.

[PhantomSnake]

Hey Myrkul! It's been a while.. haha. It's nice to know someone's still using this thing!

It's interesting that the older version still works when the latest one doesn't. Btw, you can find all versions of Let's Tag here:
http://brinkoftime.net/software/Let%27s%20Tag/

Or, well, you can now. That folder was previously forbidden.

Also, just for fun, I've thrown the code up on GitHub. You can find that here:
https://github.com/tomvoros/lets-tag

[PhantomSnake]

After putting Let's Tag on GitHub I felt like I should fix it up a bit. So, after 8 years, I'm excited to release Let's Tag v0.2.2!

This version is purely a compatibility fix for the latest site changes on vgmdb.net. There are no new features. However, now that it's on GitHub if anyone wants to fork it and add some exciting new features I'd be happy to merge the changes in!

You can find the new release and other info at:
https://github.com/tomvoros/lets-tag

[Jormungand]

I just downloaded this today. Works great. Much appreciated PhantomSnake!

[Cellfish]

Originally Posted by PhantomSnake

After putting Let's Tag on GitHub I felt like I should fix it up a bit. So, after 8 years, I'm excited to release Let's Tag v0.2.2!

Just wanted to drop you a thanks for this tool. I'm using the command line version in conjunction with my own little utility I wrote to edit cue sheets.

I'm OCD about ripping my music with every last bit preserved properly, so I use EAC's rip to image + cue sheet function.

My app loads the cue sheet in a text box and then uses Let's Tag to download the English version into another text box, and swaps the English titles into the Japanese cue sheet. Then I can have just one flac file of the album, but multiple translations

[PhantomSnake]

Oh hey! I know my reply is extremely late but thanks for the kind words Jormungand and Cellfish.

It's really cool that you're using the command line tool, Cellfish. I wasn't sure anyone would actually use that!