Quod Libet
Open-source music player and library manager with regex search and strong tag editing.
Updated · AppBreakup editorial · Linux, Windows, macOS
Is Quod Libet free?
Yes, free and open source
- License:
- GPL-2.0
Checked on Quod Libet's site Oct 30, 2026
Switch from Quod Libet to
All 6
foobar2000Free
StrawberryOpen source
TauonOpen source
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 6
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Quod Libet
Quod Libet is a free, open-source music player and library manager written in Python with GTK. It is built for people with large, carefully tagged local collections: it handles libraries of tens of thousands of songs, lets you show and edit any tag in a file, and supports searches that range from plain text to regular expressions and boolean queries. A paned browser lets you drill down by any tags you choose, such as genre, year and album. Playback covers ReplayGain, gapless output through GStreamer, internet radio, podcasts and a play queue, and more than 80 plugins add things like MusicBrainz tagging, Last.fm scrobbling, lyrics and duplicate finding. A companion app, Ex Falso, offers the same tag editor without the player. Quod Libet is GPL-licensed and has no paid tier. It is most at home on Linux; Windows installers are maintained, while the latest macOS builds are marked unofficial.
Best for: Linux users with big local music libraries who care about tags and powerful searching.
Pros and cons
What works
- Regular-expression and boolean searches across any tag
- Strong bulk tag editing and file renaming from tags
- Scales to libraries with tens of thousands of songs
- Over 80 plugins, including MusicBrainz and Last.fm
Why people leave
- Latest macOS builds are only unofficial
- No streaming-service integration beyond SoundCloud and radio
- No mobile apps
- Interface is functional rather than modern-looking
Quod Libet vs foobar2000, Strawberry and Tauon
From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.
| Attribute | Quod Libet | foobar2000 | Strawberry | Tauon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Open source | Free | Open source | Open source |
| Verified price | — | — | — | — |
| Free plan | Free app | Free app | Free app | Free app |
| Open source | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | No | No | No |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS | Linux, Windows, macOS | Linux, Windows, macOS |
Top Quod Libet alternatives
See all 6- 1foobar200079.8
A lightweight, highly customisable player with deep tagging and format support.
- 2Strawberry68.8
A modern open-source player for large local libraries with a more familiar interface.
- 3Tauon67.0
An open-source player with a fresh design that still handles large local collections.
- 4
MusicBee61.8A feature-rich free library manager for Windows with auto-tagging and device sync.
- 5
Elisa59.4KDE's simple, polished player if you want less configuration.
Why people left Quod Libet
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
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Reviews
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Quod Libet: common questions
What is Quod Libet?
Quod Libet: Open-source music player and library manager with regex search and strong tag editing. Best for linux users with big local music libraries who care about tags and powerful searching. Available for Linux, Windows and macOS.
Is Quod Libet free?
Yes. Quod Libet is free, open-source software.
Is Quod Libet open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at quodlibet/quodlibet.
What platforms does Quod Libet run on?
Quod Libet is available for Linux, Windows and macOS.
What are the best alternatives to Quod Libet?
The highest-ranked Quod Libet alternatives right now are foobar2000, Strawberry and Tauon. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.
Quod Libet vs foobar2000: what's the difference?
Quod Libet is free and open source; foobar2000 is free to use. Quod Libet is open source and foobar2000 is not. Only Quod Libet runs on Linux. Only foobar2000 runs on Android and iOS.