MusicBee File Paths: Installed vs Portable

[karbock]

MusicBee File Paths (Installed vs. Portable)

This summary is intended to help users wishing to:

• switch from the installed to the portable version;
• back up data;
• transfer their MB setup to another computer.

Table of Contents (1) Environment variables used (2) Folders and files (A) Main settings (B) Library & tags (C) Artist profiles (D) Icons (E) Playlists (F) Skins & layouts (G) Plugins & equaliser (H) Podcasts (I) Bookmarks (3) Adapting some settings after switching to the portable version (3a) In MusicBee3Settings.ini (3b) In Subscriptions.dat (4) Access and remarks

(1) Environment variables used

The table below uses several environment variables. Unless you have a particular Windows configuration or an older version, here are typical values:

Variable	Typical value (may differ)
%USERPROFILE%	C:\Users\(YourUserID)
%APPDATA%	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\AppData\Roaming
%LOCALAPPDATA%	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\AppData\Local
%ProgramFiles(x86)%	C:\Program Files (x86)

Their accurate values can be displayed from Windows' command-line prompt (cmd.exe). Examples of possible commands:

• echo %USERPROFILE%
  will display the content of that particular variable.
• echo %USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee
  will display the full path of that subfolder.
• env
  will display all defined environment variables (a few dozens).

(2) Folders and files

Nr.	Content	Files	Folder (installed version)	Folder (portable version)
A	Main settings
A.1	Application settings	MusicBee3Settings.ini	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\	.\AppData
A.2	Saved application settings	*.ini	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\Saved Settings\Application	.\AppData\Saved Settings\Application
B	Library & tags		Installed version	Portable version
B.1	Library	MusicBeeLibrary*.*	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee	.\Library
B.2	Library filters	*.xautopf	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\Filters	.\AppData\Filters
B.3	Custom tags	CustomTagConfig.xml	%APPDATA%\MusicBee	.\AppData
B.4	Genre grouping	GenreMapping.xml	%APPDATA%\MusicBee	.\AppData
B.5	Tag hierarchy templates	*.txt	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\TagHierarchyTemplates	.\AppData\TagHierarchyTemplates
C	Artist profiles		Installed version	Portable version
C.1	Artist thumbs: - Album Artist - Artist - Composer - Original Artist For Conductor /Lyricist: see D.1.	*.jpg	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Artist Pictures\Thumb	.\Library\Artist Pictures\Thumb
C.2	Artist thumbs, resized from C.1	*.png	%LOCALAPPDATA%\MusicBee\InternalCache\ArtistThumbs	.\AppData\InternalCache\ArtistThumbs
C.3	Large pictures (1)	<Artist>.dat, *.tmp	%LOCALAPPDATA%\MusicBee\InternalCache\ArtistBackdrops	.\AppData\InternalCache\ArtistBackdrops
C.4	Large pictures (2)	<Artist>.jpg/png, <Artist>_#.jpg/png	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Artist Pictures	.\Library\Artist Pictures
C.5	Biographies	*.bio.dat	%LOCALAPPDATA%\MusicBee\InternalCache\ArtistData	.\AppData\InternalCache\ArtistData
C.6	Similar artists	*.similar.dat	%LOCALAPPDATA%\MusicBee\InternalCache\ArtistData	.\AppData\InternalCache\ArtistData
C.7	Soundtrack pictures		%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Soundtrack Pictures	.\Soundtrack Pictures
D	Icons		Installed version	Portable version
D.1	Genre, Genre grouping, Lyricist, Conductor, Language, Mood, Occasion, Custom tags, Virtual tags	*.png	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Artwork\Grouping Icons	.\Library\Artwork\Grouping Icons
D.2	Highlighting icons	*.ico, *.png	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Icons %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Icons	.\Icons
D.3	Toolbar icons	*.ico, *.png	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Icons %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Icons	.\Icons
D.4	Tab icons	*.ico, *.png	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Icons %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Icons	.\Icons
E	Playlists		Installed version	Portable version
E.1	Playlists	*.mbp, *.xautopf	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Playlists	.\Library\Playlists
E.2	Current playlist	NowPlaying.mbp	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee	.\Library\
E.3	Current auto DJ playlist	AutoDj.xautopf	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\Recent Queries	.\AppData\Recent Queries
F	Skins & Layouts		Installed version	Portable version
F.1	Skins	*.xml, *.xmlc	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Skins %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Skins	.\Skins
F.2	Theater modes	*.xml	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.List %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.Embeded %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.List %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Plugins\TheaterMode.Embeded	.\Plugins\TheaterMode.List .\Plugins\TheaterMode.Embeded
F.3	Custom views	*.mbv	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\Saved Settings\Views	.\AppData\Saved Settings\Views
F.4	Custom layouts (panel arrangements)	*.layout, *.tab-layout	%APPDATA%\MusicBee\Saved Settings\Layouts	.\AppData\Saved Settings\Layouts
G	Plugins & Equaliser		Installed version	Portable version
G.1	Plugins	(various)	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Plugins %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Plugins	.\Plugins
G.2	Visualisers	(various)	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\BBplugin %APPDATA%\MusicBee\BBplugin	.\BBplugin
G.3	Equaliser presets	*.sde	%ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee\Equaliser %APPDATA%\MusicBee\Equaliser	.\Equaliser
H	Podcasts		Installed version	Portable version
H.1	Index	Subscriptions.dat	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Podcasts	.\Library\Podcasts\
H.2	Episodes	(audio files)	%USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Podcasts	.\Library\Podcasts\
H.3	Artwork	(picture files)	%LOCALAPPDATA%\MusicBee\InternalCache\Subscriptions	.\AppData\InternalCache\Subscriptions
I	Bookmarks		Installed version	Portable version
I.1	Index	bookmarks.dat	%APPDATA%\MusicBee	.\AppData

(3) Adapting some settings
after switching to the portable version

When switching from the installed to the portable version, copying all your files to their new locations is the crucial part.
But not the last step: as MusicBee3Settings.ini and Subscriptions.dat still contain references to several folders, you need to perform some easy replacements in the files with your preferred text editor.

Caution:

• Make a backup copy of MusicBee3Settings.ini and Subscriptions.dat before editing them!
  
• When replacing an old path by the new matching one, ensure the new path exists in your portable version.

The variable parts depending on your particular configuration are in green below.
The drive letter (C: here) may also differ in your case.


(3a) In MusicBee3Settings.ini

Where in the file?	Replace:	By:
At the beginning: <ENV_OrigSetPath>... </ENV_OrigSetPath>	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee or the value of: %APPDATA%\MusicBee	(Portable MB path)\AppData
On the next line: <ENV_LibPath>... </ENV_LibPath>,	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\Music\MusicBee or the value of: %USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee	(Portable MB path)\Library
Below: <ENV_KnownLib>... </ENV_KnownLib>,	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\Music\MusicBee or the value of: %USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee	(Portable MB path)\Library
all occurrences	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\Music\MusicBee\Playlists or the value of: %USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Playlists	(Portable MB path)\Library\Playlists
all occurrences	C:\Program Files (x86)\MusicBee or the value of: %ProgramFiles(x86)%\MusicBee	(Portable MB path)

(3b) In Subscriptions.dat

Where in the file?	Replace:	By:
all occurrences	C:\Users\(YourUserID)\Music\MusicBee\Podcasts or the value of: %USERPROFILE%\Music\MusicBee\Podcasts	(Portable MB path)\Library\Podcasts

(4) Access and remarks

Nr.	Content	Access
A	Main settings
A.1	Application settings	Preferences
A.2	Saved application settings	(MB menu) -> Edit -> Saved settings
B	Library & tags
B.1	Library	-
B.2	Library filters	Preferences -> Library -> Music library -> define filters
B.3	Custom tags	Preferences -> Tags (1) -> custom tags
B.4	Genre grouping	Preferences -> Tags (2) -> tag handling -> group genres
B.5	Tag hierarchy templates	(Tag Hierarchy Explorer menu) -> Edit Tag Hierarchy
C	Artist profiles
C.1	Artist thumbs: - Album Artist - Artist - Composer - Original Artist For Conductor /Lyricist: see D.1.	Music tab -> (Left panel) -> Album Artist / Artist / Composer / Original Artist Music Explorer -> Artist Information -> Profile
C.2	Artist thumbs, resized from C.1	-
C.3	Large pictures (1)	Music Explorer -> Artist Information -> Profile Now Playing tab
C.4	Large pictures (2)	Music Explorer -> Artist Information -> Profile Now Playing tab
C.5	Biographies	Music Explorer -> Artist Information -> Profile
C.6	Similar artists	Music Explorer -> Artist Information -> Similar Artists -> More Similar Artists
C.7	Soundtrack pictures	Preferences -> Tags (1) -> artwork -> soundtrack picture locations Learn the whereabouts on MusicBee Wiki
D	Icons
D.1	Genre, Genre grouping, Lyricist, Conductor, Language, Mood, Occasion, Custom tags, Virtual tags	Music tab -> Left panel -> Genre / Genre Category Preferences -> Tags (2) -> tag handling -> group genres
D.2	Highlighting icons	Preferences -> Tags (2) -> tag handling -> highlighting
D.3	Toolbar icons	Toolbar context menu -> Configure Toolbar…
D.4	Tab icons	Tab context menu -> Select Tab Icon...
E	Playlists
E.1	Playlists	Playlists explorer tab
E.2	Current playlist	Now Playing tab
E.3	Current auto DJ playlist	Auto DJ tab
F	Skins & Layouts
F.1	Skins	(MB menu) -> View -> Skins
F.2	Theater modes	(MB menu) -> View -> Theater Mode
F.3	Custom views	(Main panel menu) -> Custom views
F.4	Custom layouts (panel arrangements)	(MB menu) -> View -> Import/Export
G	Plugins & Equaliser
G.1	Plugins	Preferences -> Plugins
G.2	Visualisers	(MB menu) -> View -> Visualizer
G.3	Equaliser presets	Equaliser button (player controls)
H	Podcasts
H.1	Index
H.2	Episodes
H.3	Artwork
I	Bookmarks
I.1	Index

[frankz]

Excellent. 

[The Incredible Boom Boom]

This is outstanding

[psychoadept]

Awesome work

[Mr. Trev]

Fantastic bit of info
Considering the amout of questions regarding backup and new installs, I totally think this should be pinned somewhere…

[phred]

I totally think this should be pinned somewhere…

I plan on doing that but I've asked the OP to make a few changes for legibility.

[hiccup]

I'm not sure these are in the purview of your table, but in case that they are you may want to add them:

Custom tags - CustomTagConfig.xml - \AppData
Equalizer presets - .sde - \Equaliser
Library filters - .xautopf - \AppData\Filters
Genre grouping - GenreMapping.xml - \AppData
Program settings - MusicBee3Settings.ini - \AppData

Saved application settings - .ini - \AppData\Saved Settings\Application
Saved layouts - .tab-layout - \AppData\Saved Settings\Layouts
Saved views - .mbv - \AppData\Saved Settings\Views
Toolbar icons - .png - \Icons

Those are their locations in a portable install. I don't know where they are in the installed version.

[karbock]

I'm not sure these are in the purview of your table, but in case that they are you may want to add them:
...

Thanks! I've just updated the table.

[hiccup]

Great.
Two nitpicking nitpicks:
- Skins are named Themes in your table. That's not wrong, but Skins is the term that is used pretty much everywhere, both in MB and on the forum.
- The table has .xmlc as a possible extension for Theater modes. I am pretty sure TMs are always .xml

[karbock]

Great.
Two nitpicking nitpicks:
...

I agree with you.
As for .XMLC as possible extension for TMs: I don't find any occurrence either.

[karbock]

Added entries:

* Artist profiles -> large pictures
* Artist profiles -> biographies
* Artist profiles -> similar artists
* Visualizers

Improvements:

* numbering
* access & remarks

[karbock]

Minor changes:

* %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming -> %APPDATA%
* %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local -> %LOCALAPPDATA%

[karbock]

Added:

D.4 - Tab icons (feature available from v3.5.8334)

[karbock]

Added:

* More details in C.1 + D.1

[karbock]

Added:

* Adapting MusicBee3Settings.ini after switching to the portable version

* C.6 Soundtrack pictures