Offline python script to index music

[brentdcarlson]

For grins, I downloaded my entire 100G music library to a 512G SD card. I forced it to rebuild the media index file(?) under the settings tab which will take several hours to run. I'm not a python guy, but is it possible to run this offline on a PC to get through the process faster?

[Jstudner]

I actually did have that as an option originally, but got rid of it after messing with it a bunch and changing how it worked... gonna add that back now lmao, gimme a day or two and I will get you a python script + instructions. I am actually super excited to see what fun and interesting bugs having that much music will undoubtedly cause. gonna be great for testing if you don't mind relaying the details back to me.

[Jstudner]

Ok, for some reason I thought this would be way harder than it was, got it working in like 20min. I tested it a few times on my 256gb and it looks to be working fine so I think this should fix your issue. Hella fast. Here's how to use it, make a media.py file in the root of the sd card (top level of the file system next to the media directories). you can also make media.txt paste the code in and rename it to media.py. then make sure you have python installed (i am using 3.13.3 but any recent should work), open cmd and go to the SD card, usually just type the drive letter with a : so in my case F: and run python media.py It will readout all of the files as they go by and do each dir one by one. Should only take a few mins if that (my whole thing only took about 3 sec for 200 something gb's) Please do let me know if this does the trick!

import os
import sys

# ====== EXTENSIONS ======
MOVIE_EXTS = [".mp4", ".mkv", ".avi", ".mov", ".webm", ".m4v", ".wmv", ".flv", ".mpg", ".mpeg", ".ts", ".3gp"]
BOOK_EXTS  = [".pdf", ".epub", ".mobi", ".azw3", ".txt"]
MUSIC_EXTS = [".mp3", ".wav", ".flac"]
MEDIA_EXTS = [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".bmp", ".gif", ".webp", ".tiff",
              ".mp4", ".webm", ".mov", ".avi", ".mkv", ".flv"]

ROOT_PATH = os.getcwd()  
OUTPUT_FILE = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "media.json")


def is_valid_extension(fname, exts):
    return os.path.splitext(fname)[1].lower() in exts

def get_file_base_name(fname):
    return os.path.splitext(fname)[0]

def exists_case_insensitive(folder, filename):
    path_lower = filename.lower()
    try:
        for f in os.listdir(folder):
            if f.lower() == path_lower:
                return True
    except FileNotFoundError:
        pass
    return False


def write_movies(f):
    print("\n[Movies] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "movies": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Movies")
    first = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            if is_valid_extension(fname, MOVIE_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)):
                if not first: f.write(",\n")
                first = False
                base = get_file_base_name(fname)
                cover = f"movies/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg"
                ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1]
                f.write(f'    {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Movies/{base}{ext}" }}')
                print(f"  - {fname}")
    f.write("\n  ],\n")


def write_shows(f):
    print("\n[Shows] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "shows": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Shows")
    first_show = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for show in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            show_path = os.path.join(dir_path, show)
            if os.path.isdir(show_path):
                if not first_show: f.write(",\n")
                first_show = False
                cover = f"shows/{show}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{show}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg"
                f.write(f'    {{"name": "{show}", "cover": "{cover}", "episodes": [\n')
                print(f"Show: {show}")
                first_ep = True
                for ep in sorted(os.listdir(show_path)):
                    if is_valid_extension(ep, MOVIE_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(show_path, ep)):
                        if not first_ep: f.write(",\n")
                        first_ep = False
                        ep_base = get_file_base_name(ep)
                        ext = os.path.splitext(ep)[1]
                        f.write(f'      {{ "name": "{ep_base}", "file": "Shows/{show}/{ep_base}{ext}" }}')
                        print(f"  * {ep}")
                f.write("\n    ]}")
    f.write("\n  ],\n")


def write_books(f):
    print("\n[Books] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "books": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Books")
    first = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            if is_valid_extension(fname, BOOK_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)):
                if not first: f.write(",\n")
                first = False
                base = get_file_base_name(fname)
                cover = f"books/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg"
                ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1]
                f.write(f'    {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Books/{base}{ext}" }}')
                print(f"  - {fname}")
    f.write("\n  ],\n")


def write_music(f):
    print("\n[Music] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "music": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Music")
    first = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            if is_valid_extension(fname, MUSIC_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)):
                if not first: f.write(",\n")
                first = False
                base = get_file_base_name(fname)
                cover = f"music/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg"
                ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1]
                f.write(f'    {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Music/{base}{ext}" }}')
                print(f"  - {fname}")
    f.write("\n  ],\n")


def write_playlists(f):
    print("\n[Playlists] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "playlists": {\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Music")
    first_pl = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for pl in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            pl_path = os.path.join(dir_path, pl)
            if os.path.isdir(pl_path):
                if not first_pl: f.write(",\n")
                first_pl = False
                f.write(f'    "{pl}": [\n')
                print(f"Playlist: {pl}")
                tracks = []
                for root, _, files in os.walk(pl_path):
                    rel_root = os.path.relpath(root, dir_path).replace("\\", "/")
                    for t in files:
                        if is_valid_extension(t, MUSIC_EXTS):
                            tracks.append(f"{rel_root}/{t}")
                for i, track in enumerate(sorted(tracks)):
                    tname = os.path.basename(track)
                    base = get_file_base_name(tname)
                    cover = f"music/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg"
                    f.write(f'      {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Music/{track}" }}')
                    print(f"  * {tname}")
                    if i < len(tracks) - 1:
                        f.write(",\n")
                f.write("\n    ]")
    f.write("\n  },\n")


def write_gallery(f):
    print("\n[Gallery] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "gallery": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Gallery")
    first = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            if is_valid_extension(fname, MEDIA_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)):
                if not first: f.write(",\n")
                first = False
                base = get_file_base_name(fname)
                f.write(f'    {{ "name": "{base}", "file": "Gallery/{fname}" }}')
                print(f"  - {fname}")
    f.write("\n  ],\n")


def write_files(f):
    print("\n[Files] Scanning...")
    f.write('  "files": [\n')
    dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Files")
    first = True
    if os.path.exists(dir_path):
        for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)):
            if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)):
                if not first: f.write(",\n")
                first = False
                f.write(f'    {{ "name": "{fname}", "file": "Files/{fname}" }}')
                print(f"  - {fname}")
    f.write("\n  ]\n")


def main():
    print(f"[MediaGen] Running from root: {ROOT_PATH}")
    with open(OUTPUT_FILE, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
        f.write("{\n")
        write_movies(f)
        write_shows(f)
        write_books(f)
        write_music(f)
        write_playlists(f)
        write_gallery(f)
        write_files(f)
        f.write("}\n")
    print(f"\n[MediaGen] media.json created successfully at {OUTPUT_FILE}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

[brentdcarlson]

Awesome, I will give it a try tomorrow.  Current index is working, a little sluggish as expected based on the size.Pretty good for an ME. I shared with my son, a future ME.  I’m a EE with embedded and software background but impressed with your coding.  ThanksOn Aug 14, 2025, at 9:35 AM, Jstudner ***@***.***> wrote: Ok, for some reason I thought this would be way harder than it was, got it working in like 20min. I tested it a few times on my 256gb and it looks to be working fine so I think this should fix your issue. Hella fast. Here's how to use it, make a media.py file in the root of the sd card (top level of the file system next to the media directories). you can also make media.txt paste the code in and rename it to media.py. then make sure you have python installed (i am using 3.13.3 but any recent should work), open cmd and go to the SD card, usually just type the drive letter with a : so in my case F: and run python media.py It will readout all of the files as they go by and do each dir one by one. Should only take a few mins if that (my whole thing only took about 3 sec for 200 something gb's) Please do let me know if this does the trick! `import os import sys ====== EXTENSIONS ====== MOVIE_EXTS = [".mp4", ".mkv", ".avi", ".mov", ".webm", ".m4v", ".wmv", ".flv", ".mpg", ".mpeg", ".ts", ".3gp"] BOOK_EXTS = [".pdf", ".epub", ".mobi", ".azw3", ".txt"] MUSIC_EXTS = [".mp3", ".wav", ".flac"] MEDIA_EXTS = [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".bmp", ".gif", ".webp", ".tiff", ".mp4", ".webm", ".mov", ".avi", ".mkv", ".flv"] ROOT_PATH = os.getcwd() OUTPUT_FILE = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "media.json") def is_valid_extension(fname, exts): return os.path.splitext(fname)[1].lower() in exts def get_file_base_name(fname): return os.path.splitext(fname)[0] def exists_case_insensitive(folder, filename): path_lower = filename.lower() try: for f in os.listdir(folder): if f.lower() == path_lower: return True except FileNotFoundError: pass return False def write_movies(f): print("\n[Movies] Scanning...") f.write(' "movies": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Movies") first = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): if is_valid_extension(fname, MOVIE_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)): if not first: f.write(",\n") first = False base = get_file_base_name(fname) cover = f"movies/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg" ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1] f.write(f' {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Movies/{base}{ext}" }}') print(f" - {fname}") f.write("\n ],\n") def write_shows(f): print("\n[Shows] Scanning...") f.write(' "shows": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Shows") first_show = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for show in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): show_path = os.path.join(dir_path, show) if os.path.isdir(show_path): if not first_show: f.write(",\n") first_show = False cover = f"shows/{show}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{show}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg" f.write(f' {{"name": "{show}", "cover": "{cover}", "episodes": [\n') print(f"Show: {show}") first_ep = True for ep in sorted(os.listdir(show_path)): if is_valid_extension(ep, MOVIE_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(show_path, ep)): if not first_ep: f.write(",\n") first_ep = False ep_base = get_file_base_name(ep) ext = os.path.splitext(ep)[1] f.write(f' {{ "name": "{ep_base}", "file": "Shows/{show}/{ep_base}{ext}" }}') print(f" * {ep}") f.write("\n ]}") f.write("\n ],\n") def write_books(f): print("\n[Books] Scanning...") f.write(' "books": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Books") first = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): if is_valid_extension(fname, BOOK_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)): if not first: f.write(",\n") first = False base = get_file_base_name(fname) cover = f"books/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg" ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1] f.write(f' {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Books/{base}{ext}" }}') print(f" - {fname}") f.write("\n ],\n") def write_music(f): print("\n[Music] Scanning...") f.write(' "music": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Music") first = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): if is_valid_extension(fname, MUSIC_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)): if not first: f.write(",\n") first = False base = get_file_base_name(fname) cover = f"music/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg" ext = os.path.splitext(fname)[1] f.write(f' {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Music/{base}{ext}" }}') print(f" - {fname}") f.write("\n ],\n") def write_playlists(f): print("\n[Playlists] Scanning...") f.write(' "playlists": {\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Music") first_pl = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for pl in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): pl_path = os.path.join(dir_path, pl) if os.path.isdir(pl_path): if not first_pl: f.write(",\n") first_pl = False f.write(f' "{pl}": [\n') print(f"Playlist: {pl}") tracks = [] for root, _, files in os.walk(pl_path): rel_root = os.path.relpath(root, dir_path).replace("\", "/") for t in files: if is_valid_extension(t, MUSIC_EXTS): tracks.append(f"{rel_root}/{t}") for i, track in enumerate(sorted(tracks)): tname = os.path.basename(track) base = get_file_base_name(tname) cover = f"music/{base}.jpg" if exists_case_insensitive(dir_path, f"{base}.jpg") else "placeholder.jpg" f.write(f' {{ "name": "{base}", "cover": "{cover}", "file": "Music/{track}" }}') print(f" * {tname}") if i < len(tracks) - 1: f.write(",\n") f.write("\n ]") f.write("\n },\n") def write_gallery(f): print("\n[Gallery] Scanning...") f.write(' "gallery": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Gallery") first = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): if is_valid_extension(fname, MEDIA_EXTS) and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)): if not first: f.write(",\n") first = False base = get_file_base_name(fname) f.write(f' {{ "name": "{base}", "file": "Gallery/{fname}" }}') print(f" - {fname}") f.write("\n ],\n") def write_files(f): print("\n[Files] Scanning...") f.write(' "files": [\n') dir_path = os.path.join(ROOT_PATH, "Files") first = True if os.path.exists(dir_path): for fname in sorted(os.listdir(dir_path)): if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(dir_path, fname)): if not first: f.write(",\n") first = False f.write(f' {{ "name": "{fname}", "file": "Files/{fname}" }}') print(f" - {fname}") f.write("\n ]\n") def main(): print(f"[MediaGen] Running from root: {ROOT_PATH}") with open(OUTPUT_FILE, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f: f.write("{\n") write_movies(f) write_shows(f) write_books(f) write_music(f) write_playlists(f) write_gallery(f) write_files(f) f.write("}\n") print(f"\n[MediaGen] media.json created successfully at {OUTPUT_FILE}") if name == "main": main() ` —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Jstudner]

Thank you! Glad it's holding up, would love to know how that many songs actually handles in use. It might be worth me adding multiple pages or some system to prevent loading all of them at once. Happy to make some improvements based on your feedback!

Definitely glad you like my code, it can be a bit messy but gets the job done 😅

[mhschmall]

Ive hacked up a version that splits the media into it's own .json file. Setting the html files to just load its own json file has resulted in slightly faster load times.

[mhschmall]

This new version fixes the errors in playlists.json.

split_media.py