can you restore your library from an xml file?

Question

my computer crashed but i managed to save the itunes library.xml. i know my music is gone but i would at least like to have the names of all of the songs i am missing. this happened to my friend who managed to import the xml file. she did not have the music on her computer but all of the music did show up on itunes, unplayable of course with an exclamation mark beside them, but the song titles and information were all there. is it possible for me to do this with just an xml file?

Kappy · Answer

Yes. You will need iTunes Music Library.xml for the most recent track list. The file should be placed in the /Home/Music/iTunes/ folder.

leastcommonmultiple · Answer

I tried to do this on another computer by importing the xml as a playlist. However, it said that the songs could not be found and so none of the music information showed up in itunes. How exactly would I do this?

turingtest2 · Answer

iTunes generally doesn&#x27;t care about the .xml file. It is provided for third party support and is rewitten every time anything changes in the library. You can import it into an empty library, but it wll only add the tracks that are where they are listed in the .xml. The crucial file is the .itl file. If you have this you can review your library as it used to be. Alternatevely the .xml file can be viewed in a text editor/spreadsheet and with some effort you could drag useful information out of it.tt2

leastcommonmultiple · Answer

okay, thanks for the information! unfortunately my .itl file is corrupted. would you happen to know if the .xml file contains information on all of the songs on itunes or would it be missing some songs?

turingtest2 · Answer

The .xml should list all the songs, playlists and other sundry data, however deciphering it is a bit tricky. Every time iTunes runs it rebuilds the .xml so you&#x27;ll need to check that you have a copy that still reflects your former library.This is an example of the record for one track in the .xml file.&lt;key&gt;76&lt;/key&gt;&lt;dict&gt;&lt;key&gt;Track ID&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;76&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Name&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;Dunya Salam [Feat. Baaba Maal]&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Artist&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;1 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Album Artist&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;1 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Composer&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;Baaba Maal/Duncan Bridgeman/Jamie Catto&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Album&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;1 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Genre&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;Rock&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Kind&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;MPEG audio file&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Size&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;4227148&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Total Time&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;175333&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Track Number&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;1&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Track Count&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;12&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Year&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;2002&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Date Modified&lt;/key&gt;&lt;date&gt;2013-03-31T19:54:28Z&lt;/date&gt;&lt;key&gt;Date Added&lt;/key&gt;&lt;date&gt;2013-03-31T16:44:42Z&lt;/date&gt;&lt;key&gt;Bit Rate&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;192&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Sample Rate&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;44100&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Play Count&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;2&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Play Date&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;3450044275&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Play Date UTC&lt;/key&gt;&lt;date&gt;2013-04-29T00:37:55Z&lt;/date&gt;&lt;key&gt;Artwork Count&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;1&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Sort Album&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;000001 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Sort Album Artist&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;0001 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Sort Artist&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;0001 Giant Leap&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Persistent ID&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;C670879EAD7AE1C4&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Track Type&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;File&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;Location&lt;/key&gt;&lt;string&gt;file://localhost/E:/iTunes%20Test/iTunes%20Media/Musi c/1%20Giant%20Leap/1%20Giant%20Leap/01%20Dunya%20Salam%20%5BFeat.%20Baaba%20Maal%5D.mp3&lt;/string&gt;&lt;key&gt;File Folder Count&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;6&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;key&gt;Library Folder Count&lt;/key&gt;&lt;integer&gt;1&lt;/integer&gt;&lt;/dict&gt;Extracting the location strings and converting the various character substitutions would give most of the relevant information and looks like the easiest approach. The track above is stored at:E:/iTunes Test/iTunes Media/Music/1 Giant Leap/1 Giant Leap/01 Dunya Salam [Feat. Baaba Maal].mp3from which one can infer artist/album artist, album, track number and track name. Would a list of such file paths be useful? I can probably knock up a script for that. Alternatively one could attempt to pull together more of the track information from the other keys. but that would be harder.I suggest using Notepad++ if you want to explore the contents of the .xml yourself.tt2

Kappy · Answer

By doing what I described. You aren&#x27;t importing a playlist. You are replacing an existing .xml file with another.

leastcommonmultiple · Answer

I deleted the old XML file and put the new XML file in its place. When I open iTunes, nothing has changed.

leastcommonmultiple · Answer

iTunes changed the XML file. Before putting it into the iTunes folder, it had my music. However once I open itunes, it changes to 3 random songs it found on the computer.

<key>76</key>
<dict>
<key>Track ID</key><integer>76</integer>
<key>Name</key><string>Dunya Salam [Feat. Baaba Maal]</string>
<key>Artist</key><string>1 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Album Artist</key><string>1 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Composer</key><string>Baaba Maal/Duncan Bridgeman/Jamie Catto</string>
<key>Album</key><string>1 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Genre</key><string>Rock</string>
<key>Kind</key><string>MPEG audio file</string>
<key>Size</key><integer>4227148</integer>
<key>Total Time</key><integer>175333</integer>
<key>Track Number</key><integer>1</integer>
<key>Track Count</key><integer>12</integer>
<key>Year</key><integer>2002</integer>
<key>Date Modified</key><date>2013-03-31T19:54:28Z</date>
<key>Date Added</key><date>2013-03-31T16:44:42Z</date>
<key>Bit Rate</key><integer>192</integer>
<key>Sample Rate</key><integer>44100</integer>
<key>Play Count</key><integer>2</integer>
<key>Play Date</key><integer>3450044275</integer>
<key>Play Date UTC</key><date>2013-04-29T00:37:55Z</date>
<key>Artwork Count</key><integer>1</integer>
<key>Sort Album</key><string>000001 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Sort Album Artist</key><string>0001 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Sort Artist</key><string>0001 Giant Leap</string>
<key>Persistent ID</key><string>C670879EAD7AE1C4</string>
<key>Track Type</key><string>File</string>
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/E:/iTunes%20Test/iTunes%20Media/Musi c/ 1%20Giant%20Leap/1%20Giant%20Leap/01%20Dunya%20Salam%20%5BFeat.%20 Baaba%20Maal%5D.mp3</string>
<key>File Folder Count</key><integer>6</integer>
<key>Library Folder Count</key><integer>1</integer>
</dict>