Inside foobar2000
1 / 3Main player window with album library, playlist and spectrum — official foobar2000 screenshot
foobar2000: installing it and shaping it to your library
foobar2000 is a music player for people with a real collection. It starts instantly, handles tens of thousands of tracks without slowing down, plays lossless formats such as FLAC natively and can be reshaped into almost any layout you want. Out of the box it looks plain. That is the point: you add only what you use.
foobar2000 downloads for Windows
The download page lists three builds of the stable release:
- 64-bit (x64) for any current PC.
- 32-bit (x86) for old 32-bit Windows.
- ARM for Arm-based Windows laptops.
foobar2000 needs Windows 7 or newer. Preview builds are listed separately for people who want to test upcoming versions.
During setup you can choose a portable installation, which keeps foobar2000 and all its settings in one folder. It is handy on a USB stick or if you want to try it without touching the rest of the system.
The same site offers foobar2000 for macOS, Android and iOS. This listing covers Windows.
Setting up your library
- Open File, Preferences, Media Library and add the folders that hold your music.
- foobar2000 scans them and keeps watching for changes.
- Open Library, Album List to browse by artist and album, or simply type in the search box to filter.
Tags drive everything. If albums appear split or misnamed, fix the tags (right-click, Properties) and the library sorts itself out.
Make it yours
- Layout. View, Layout, Enable layout editing lets you split the window into panels: album art, playlists, a library tree, lyrics and more.
- Components. Official and third-party components add features such as extra formats, visualisations and online services. Install them under File, Preferences, Components. Add one at a time, so you know which one causes a problem.
- ReplayGain. Select tracks, right-click and scan for ReplayGain so loud and quiet albums play at a similar volume.
Converting music
Right-click tracks and choose Convert to turn FLAC into MP3 or AAC for a phone, for example. foobar2000 does not ship the encoders themselves. Download the Free Encoder Pack from the same site first, then the converter works.
Where it might not suit you
foobar2000 rewards tinkering. If you want a polished library app that looks good immediately, with podcasts and device syncing built in, MusicBee is a friendlier start. It is also freeware rather than open source, released under its own licence.
Common questions
Is foobar2000 free?
Yes. It is free to download and use under the foobar2000 licence. It is not open source.
Can foobar2000 play FLAC?
Yes, natively, along with most common lossless and lossy formats.
Why does Convert not work?
The encoders are missing. Install the Free Encoder Pack from the foobar2000 download page and try again.
Can I run foobar2000 from a USB stick?
Yes. Choose the portable installation in the setup program and install it to the stick.
- Best for
- Playing and organising a large local music collection, especially lossless files.
- Good to know
- It is freeware, not open source; converting to MP3 and other formats needs the separate encoder pack.
More for music lovers
Our guide to free music library software compares foobar2000 with other players and taggers. For editing audio, see Audacity.
