Audio Metadata Viewer — Extract MP3 ID3 Tags Online Free
Extract MP3 ID3v2 tags — title, artist, album, year, genre, track, cover art, and raw frames. 100% private — your audio files never leave your device.
Drop an MP3 file here
Extract ID3 tags — title, artist, album, cover art. 100% private.
ID3 tags are the metadata standard for MP3 files — they carry the song title, the artist name, the album, the year of release, the genre, the track number, and often an embedded cover image. Every MP3 player, every streaming service import tool, and every music library manager reads ID3 tags. The Audio Metadata Viewer reads ID3v2 tags directly in your browser, without uploading the file. Drop an MP3, and the tool extracts every frame it finds: the standard fields formatted for readability, as well as a complete dump of every raw ID3v2 frame with its four-character identifier and decoded value. If the file has embedded cover art (the APIC frame), the tool displays it as an image directly in the page.
The ID3v2 format is well-designed but implementation-diverse. Version 2.2 uses three-character frame identifiers (TT2 for title, TP1 for artist); version 2.3 and 2.4 use four-character identifiers (TIT2, TPE1). The encoding of text frames can be ISO-8859-1, UTF-16 with BOM, or UTF-8 — and all three appear in real-world files. The parser handles all of these cases, reading the encoding byte at the start of each text frame and decoding accordingly. Cover art is extracted as a binary blob and converted to a base64 data URL for inline display.
The privacy model is exactly the same as every other tool on ToolConvoy: the FileReader API reads the file locally, the bytes are parsed in JavaScript, and the result is displayed in the page. Nothing is transmitted. No server ever sees your music file, your metadata, or your cover art. The tool works offline after the initial page load — useful for inspecting files on a laptop with no internet connection, which is exactly the scenario where you are most likely to be organizing a local music library.
How to use
Drop your MP3 file
Drag and drop an MP3 file onto the upload area. The tool reads the ID3v2 tags from the beginning of the file using the FileReader API — nothing is uploaded to any server.
View the metadata
The tool displays standard fields: title, artist, album, year, genre, track number, and estimated duration. If the file has embedded cover art (APIC frame), it displays the image. A raw tags section at the bottom shows every ID3v2 frame found in the file with its decoded value.
Copy or download
Copy the metadata as formatted text or download it as a `.txt` file. The cover art preview can be right-clicked and saved as an image file.
Frequently asked
What formats are supported?
ID3v2 tags in MP3 files. The parser handles ID3v2.2, v2.3, and v2.4 — the three versions in common use. It reads standard text frames (TIT2, TPE1, TALB, TDRC, TCON, TRCK, COMM) and the attached picture frame (APIC). WAV, FLAC, OGG, and M4A files use different metadata formats (RIFF INFO, Vorbis Comments, MP4 atoms) that this tool does not read.
Does it support ID3v1?
No. ID3v1 tags are stored in the last 128 bytes of the file and use a fixed-width field format that truncates text to 30 characters. ID3v2 is the standard for MP3 files from the last two decades and stores variable-length text at the beginning of the file. Most MP3 files have both v1 and v2 tags, but this tool reads only v2.
Is my audio file uploaded?
No. The FileReader API reads the file locally in your browser. No bytes are transmitted over the network. The page works offline after the initial load. Your music library metadata is never seen by any server.
How is duration estimated?
The tool estimates duration from file size assuming 128 kbps constant bitrate (CBR) MP3 encoding. The estimate is approximate — variable bitrate (VBR) files may be significantly shorter or longer. For exact duration, use a media player or an MPEG header parser that reads the actual frame headers.
Why does the cover art show as base64?
Embedded cover art is stored as binary data inside the APIC frame. The tool converts it to a data URL (`data:image/jpeg;base64,...`) so it can be displayed directly in the browser as an `<img>` element. Right-click the cover image to save it to your computer.
Limitations
- ID3v2 only — no ID3v1ID3v1 tags in the last 128 bytes are ignored. Most modern tagging software writes both v1 and v2, but very old files or files tagged by simple tools may only have ID3v1.
- No audio playbackThis tool extracts metadata, it does not decode or play audio. For playback, use any standard media player. For waveform visualization or spectral analysis, use a dedicated audio tool.
- No batch processingThe tool processes one file at a time. For bulk metadata extraction across an entire music library, use a dedicated tag editor like MusicBrainz Picard, Mp3tag, or beets.
Platform notes
- macOS
- Finder shows some ID3 metadata in the file info panel (Cmd+I), but not cover art or raw frames. The browser tool provides a complete dump of all ID3v2 frames.
- Windows
- Windows Explorer shows ID3 tags in the file properties dialog, but the display is often truncated and doesn't include cover art. Use the browser tool for a complete view.
- Linux
- `id3v2 -l file.mp3` and `eyeD3 file.mp3` are the CLI alternatives. `ffprobe file.mp3` shows metadata for many audio formats. The browser tool adds cover art display and doesn't require installing any tools.
- Web
- Runs entirely in the browser. Audio file data is never transmitted to any server. The FileReader API provides read-only access to the file; no bytes are uploaded.