Importing

A folder supplies the audio and other files for an import. You choose whether its editable metadata begins with an online release, the folder’s own metadata, or a blank form.

Importing happens on desktop (macOS, Windows). Your files are read, never changed: bae does not move, rename, retag, or re-encode anything. See Storage and offline for where files live after import.

Watched folders

Switch to the Import section and add a folder: pick it, drag it onto the window, or press ⌘I. bae watches the folder from then on. New music dropped into it shows up as new candidates on its own; you don’t re-scan by hand. Folders that are still downloading are ignored until they finish.

A scan recognizes releases in the shapes rips actually take:

Layout	What it looks like
File per track	01 - Song.flac, 02 - Song.flac, …
CUE + image	album.cue + album.flac, one file for the whole disc
Multi-disc	CD1/, CD2/ subfolders, either shape inside
Collections	a folder of folders, each its own release

bae imports the formats it plays: FLAC, MP3, APE, ALAC and AAC in .m4a, WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, Opus, WavPack, and DSD (.dsf/.dff). Artwork and documents (CUE sheets, rip logs, text files) in the folder are recognized and kept with the release.

Fill the metadata draft

Every candidate owns one editable metadata draft. It can begin blank, be filled from an online release, or be filled from what the folder’s own files say. Typing into the blank draft is direct entry, not a separate metadata source.

The card’s Identify controls offer two ways into the Identify page, differing in what they start. Automatic opens it and asks for a fresh identification run every time, whatever the candidate already holds — a run already going is dropped for the new one. Search opens the same page on its typed search and starts nothing. Neither changes the draft; applying a result replaces the draft and returns to the editable card. The card’s menu holds the two commands that rewrite the draft where it stands: Reset to file metadata, which replaces it with what the candidate’s own files, sheets and folder name say, and Clear metadata, which empties it. Each asks first, and neither touches the candidate’s files or track layout.

Identify

The Identify page finds the release a folder is. It reads evidence from the folder and looks each piece up:

• Disc ID. A fingerprint of the CD’s exact track layout, computed from the rip log or the CUE sheet. When it matches, it identifies the precise CD edition.
• Barcode. Read off cover scans in the folder using text recognition, or from the CUE sheet.
• Catalog numbers and text. Catalog numbers found on artwork and in file and folder names, used to narrow results.

The signals are looked up against MusicBrainz and Discogs at the same time, and the results are cross-checked. Each signal appears as a badge above the results: you can see what was found, where it came from (hover for the origin: disc TOC, CUE sheet, cover scan, folder name), and turn individual signals off if one is misleading.

Three outcomes:

• Found. The evidence agrees on one release group. You pick the exact pressing from its list.
• Conflict. Two signals point at different releases, say the disc ID and the barcode disagree. bae shows both sides and you choose which to trust, or ignore a signal.
• Nothing found. Search by hand: artist and album, catalog number, or barcode, against either database. Text recognized from the artwork is offered as autocomplete.

The source browser shows the search form, identification progress, signals, and results together. Selecting a result keeps that row open with progress while bae fetches the full release, then applies it to the draft. The resulting card shows a MusicBrainz or Discogs source chip. Automatic on the card runs it again from scratch; Search goes back to the typed search with what was already found still there.

Automatic identification uses this same path. When a candidate is added, its draft is created from its files, sheets and folder name. The setting Identify automatically in Settings, Import runs identification for every candidate that has no result for the files it has right now; with it off, you start each run yourself. A pre-filled draft is a starting point, not an answer, so it does not stop a run.

File metadata

File metadata is read when the pre-fill reads it as a candidate is added, and again whenever Reset to file metadata is chosen. Either way the draft is replaced by that exact reading — embedded audio tags, CUE metadata, and the folder’s own name — and the card redraws on it. Import fails before writing to the library if the candidate or its audio files changed after the reading.

The editable card shows a quiet File metadata chip while that reading is what the draft holds. A draft filled only by typing has no source chip.

Confirm and import

The confirmation pane shows everything the import will write:

• Cover. Chosen from the databases’ art, images in your folder, or art embedded in the files. Drag an image from the candidate gallery onto the cover square, or change it later.
• Metadata. Album, artist, year, label, catalog number, country, barcode, and every track: all editable right here before anything is saved.
• Storage. If a cloud home is connected, choose Cloud to upload the release to it, and Pinned to also keep its files on this device. Otherwise the release is local: its details sync to your other devices, and its audio stays on this one. See Storage and offline.

Import runs in the background: bae verifies every track decodes cleanly, measures loudness for the album and each track, saves the release, and, for cloud imports, starts the upload. The candidate list moves on to the next folder, and the release is playable immediately.

Data sources

MusicBrainz needs no account and no key. Discogs requires your own free API token; paste it in Settings, Import, and bae tells you if it stops working. Without a token, Discogs search and Discogs-sourced metadata are unavailable, and everything else works. Both services are rate-limited; bae paces its requests to stay inside the limits.