Online sources

Online sources and keys

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Suggestions are optional. They fill the editor; they never save metadata automatically.

Online sources and keys

MusicBrainz (with Cover Art Archive), Deezer, Apple Music / iTunes (iTunes Search) and TheAudioDB work without a key. Apple covers appear directly among the cover suggestions. For the others, open Settings in the sidebar:

Source	What it adds	Key
Discogs	Styles and genres, original year, covers, artist images	Personal token: Discogs → Settings → Developers
Last.fm	Listener tags as genres, covers	API key: last.fm/api/account/create
fanart.tv	Artist images	Personal API key: fanart.tv/get-an-api-key

Keys are stored in ~/.tagcast/config.json (readable by you only), or supplied through DISCOGS_TOKEN, LASTFM_API_KEY and FANART_API_KEY. Saved keys stay server-side and are never returned to the page. The Last.fm key is for metadata lookups, not scrobbling.

By default, opening an album's editor looks it up in the available sources. Turn automatic lookup off in Settings if you prefer to press Search yourself. A lookup sends the artist and album name to each source. Requests are spaced per source and responses are cached for an hour.

Matching ignores case, accents, "The", and edition text such as "(2011 Remaster)" or "- Deluxe Edition"; each suggestion shows its title/artist match score. MusicBrainz and Discogs give the first release year. Deezer and Apple Music give the date of the edition they have, which may be a later remaster.

Choose online sources

In Settings → Online sources & keys, select the providers used for metadata and image suggestions. All are selected by default. For example, uncheck Deezer and Apple Music / iTunes, then choose Save. Check them again and save to restore them. Choices are remembered locally across restarts and browsers using the same Tagcast settings folder.

Disabled sources are skipped for automatic lookups, manual Search and image suggestions. Turning off automatic lookup alone still allows manual searches; turning off a source excludes it from both. Sources requiring keys still need a key even when selected. Disabling a source keeps its saved or environment key; Remove remains a separate action. Late answers from earlier searches are ignored after source preferences change; an open editor can use Search to refresh without changing its draft, playback or queue.

The separate Artist biographies and Album information switches control TheAudioDB background texts. Source switches apply to suggestions. No music metadata is changed.