Backup & Restore (2024)

Up-to-date with version 3.0.5961

Backup Library[]

MusicBee's Backup Library function (found in the File Menu), behaves exactly like Syncing, except that it will include your settings files. It automatically backs up your AppData folder ("MusicBee Settings Files"), which includes most of the customizations you may have made, and offers you up to three other folders for backup. The target folders MUST be on a different drive than the source folders (though you can fake it with a virtual drive if you need to). We suggest including your Library Folder (as configured in Library Preferences) and your MusicBee installation folder, in addition to the directory where your audio files are stored. See below for what each location contains.

Library Folder[]

The location of the library folder is set in Library Preferences. (If you have multiple libraries, you will have more than one library folder.) It typically includes these files and subfolders:

• Artist Photos: This is the folder where artist photos saved through the Compact Player or the Now Playing Panel are stored. (The location of this folder may be customized in Tags Preferences.)
  • Thumbs: This is a subfolder of Artist Photos which contains your artist thumbnails for Artists View.
• Playlists: Your playlists are saved here. (The location of this folder may be customized in Library Preferences.)
• Podcasts: Your podcasts and subscription information are save.)
  • You can also export your podcast subscriptions from within MusicBee as an .xml file, and import them again the same way.
• MusicBeeLibrary.mbl: This is the database where MusicBee manages your library.
• MusicBeeLibrarySettings.ini: Contains all settings from Library Preferences (except Filters) and any active Auto-Organize Templates.

AppData Folder[]

For a standard installation, the AppData folder will be in your local equivalent of C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee. (AppData is sometimes a hidden folder in Windows Explorer.) For a portable installation, there should be a folder called AppData within the MusicBee installation directory.^[1] Files and folders may include:

• Filters: Contains the settings for any library filters you've created.
• Now Playing: Some old Now Playing Lists. Non-essential.
• Saved Settings: Contains Custom Views.
• bookmarks.dat: Details of your bookmarks
• Banned Pictures.dat: URLs of any images you've banned in the Compact Player or Now Playing Panel.
• CustomTagConfig.xml: Tags you've defined in the top part of the Define New Tags dialog.
• ErrorLog.dat: MusicBee's error log, accessible through Help > Support. Non-essential unless you need to save an error report for some reason.
• GenreMapping.xml: Any custom genre > genre category relationships you've defined in the Group Genre dialog.
• LastFmScrobble.log: Your scrobble history.
• MusicBeeSettings.ini: Contains any settings not saved elsewhere, including most Preferences and layout settings. (Accessible through Help > Support.)
• StartupSettings.ini: A few settings that MusicBee loads at startup, including library path and skin.
• Equalizer presets if you saved any custom settings.
• Device Settings for any portable or external devices you've configured. The device name will be the file name.
• Possibly some files/folders related to plugins.

Installation Folder[]

For a standard installation, this will be the local equivalent of C:\Program Files\MusicBee. The things you may be interested in backing up here:

• Icons if you have custom toolbar icons.
• Plugins and Skins if you downloaded any that weren't included.
• lame.exe, bass_aac.dll, and neroAacEnc.exe, if you installed them.

Restore Files and Settings[]

This covers a full restoration, such as you might want to do if transferring your library to a new computer. If you're only interested in some settings or files, you can scale these instructions down accordingly.

• Install MusicBee, but don't import any files. Make sure it is closed while you do the next steps.
• Copy the files from the old AppData folder (what the Backup dialog calls the MusicBee Settings Folder) to the new AppData folder
• Copy any special files from the old installation folder to the new installation folder.
  • It's best not to copy any actual program files, to ensure that all program files are from the same version, but you may also want to install the Latest Update.
• Copy your Library files wherever you want them to be.
  • You can overwrite any library files MB created during installation.
  • If you don't want to use the same location that MB selected, just delete the new library files that MB created. You will be prompted for library selection the next time you start MB.
• If at all possible, copy your audio files to the exact location they were in before (you can always move them later, from within MB).
  • If this location is unavailable for some reason, you may need to use the Relink Music File Paths command to help MusicBee find them again.
• Run MusicBee. If everything is where it belongs, it should look and behave just as before. If anything is wrong, see if you can identify which files or folders above might be the source of the problem.