No iTunes. No setup wizards. Just your music, on your iPod.
FLAC, OGG, WMA, MP3, AAC — drop in whatever you have. Non-native formats are automatically transcoded to ALAC or AAC, cached so repeat syncs are instant.
Every sync shows you exactly what's happening — adds, removes, metadata updates — with a checkbox on each item. Your database is snapshotted before anything writes.
Tracks are matched by acoustic fingerprint, not path or tags. Re-encode, re-tag, or change quality — your sync history follows without losing anything.
Search, subscribe, and download episodes right inside iOpenPod. Sync to your iPod without a separate app.
Sign in and your listening history scrobbles automatically every time you sync.
Browse and manage standard playlists. Smart playlists with rule-based filtering are supported too.
Listen on your iPod, plug it in. Play counts, ratings, and skip counts sync back to your PC library.
Don't need full sync? Drag files into the app and they land on your iPod — no fingerprinting, no setup.
Art is extracted from your files, resized, and written in the iPod's native RGB565 format automatically.
All supported and sorted into the correct categories on your iPod automatically.
Your iPod database is snapshotted before every sync. One click to roll back if something goes wrong.
Multiple themes including Catppuccin. Scales correctly on high-DPI and standard displays.
Every click-wheel iPod Apple ever made. Shuffle support coming soon.
| Device | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iPod 1G–5G, Mini, Photo | Fully supported | No hash required |
| iPod Classic (all gens) | Fully supported | Uses FireWire ID |
| iPod Nano 1G–2G | Fully supported | No hash required |
| iPod Nano 3G–4G | Fully supported | Uses FireWire ID |
| iPod Nano 5G | Fully supported | Needs one iTunes sync for HashInfo |
| iPod Nano 6G–7G | Fully supported | HASHAB via WebAssembly |
| iPod Shuffle | Coming soon | — |
Native builds for most users. Python package installs are also available.
| Platform | File | Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | iOpenPod-windows.zip | Extract, run iOpenPod.exe |
| macOS | iOpenPod-macos.tar.gz | Extract, right-click iOpenPod.app → Open |
| Linux (AppImage) | iOpenPod-Linux-x86_64.AppImage | chmod a+x then run |
| Linux (Arch) | iopenpod (AUR) | Available in the AUR |
| Linux (tarball) | iOpenPod-linux.tar.gz | Extract, run ./iOpenPod |
For technical users who prefer package managers. After install, launch iOpenPod with
iopenpod.
pipInstalls iOpenPod into your current Python environment.
Upgrade with python -m pip install --upgrade iopenpod.
pipxCreates an isolated app environment and exposes the iopenpod command.
Upgrade with pipx upgrade iopenpod.
uv toolIf you already use uv, this gives you the same isolated app-style install.
Upgrade with uv tool upgrade iopenpod.
Native downloads can update themselves from the app (except AUR). Package-manager installs should be upgraded with the same tool you used to install them.
Python package installs require Python 3.11+. If iopenpod is not on your PATH yet, run pipx ensurepath for pipx or uv tool update-shell for uv tool.
Optional: FFmpeg for transcoding and Chromaprint for fingerprinting.
Requires Python 3.11+ and uv.
uv sync installs all dependencies into a virtual environment automatically.
Download iOpenPod from the releases page or install it from PyPI with pip, pipx, or uv tool. Launch it, connect your iPod via USB, select your media folder, and click sync — no iTunes required.
No for most users. Precompiled binaries are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you prefer a Python-based install, you can also use pip, pipx, or uv tool.
Yes. iOpenPod automatically converts FLAC to Apple Lossless (ALAC) during sync, so your iPod plays them natively with no quality loss.
Yes. Precompiled downloads are available for all three platforms. Just extract and run.
No. iOpenPod shows you exactly what will change before writing anything, and backs up your database before every sync. Roll back with one click.
Yes. Drag and drop files into iOpenPod and they'll be added to your iPod directly — no sync configuration required.
No. iOpenPod reads the existing iTunesDB on your iPod and shows you everything already on it. You can browse, edit, and add tracks without touching what's already there. A sync will only change what you explicitly approve in the review step.
Make sure the iPod is mounted as a drive (visible in File Explorer or Finder) and not in disk mode lock. iOpenPod also has a manual folder picker if auto-detection misses it. If it's still not working, open an issue on GitHub with your iPod model and OS.
They're optional but recommended. Without FFmpeg, iOpenPod can't transcode non-native formats like FLAC or OGG — you'd be limited to MP3 and AAC. Without Chromaprint, fingerprint-based sync isn't available, though drag-and-drop still works.
iOpenPod takes a full snapshot of your iPod's database before every sync begins. If anything goes wrong, open the Backups panel and restore the previous snapshot with one click — your iPod goes back to exactly how it was.
Only when you explicitly trigger it: checking for updates, scrobbling to ListenBrainz, or searching for podcasts. Nothing is sent in the background. There's no telemetry.
Yes, with a caveat. The fingerprint-to-database mapping is stored in a file on the iPod itself, so the iPod carries its own identity. Each PC will re-fingerprint its local library on first sync, then match against what's already on the device.
No. iPod Touch runs iOS and uses a completely different sync protocol. iOpenPod is built specifically for the click-wheel iPods (Classic, Mini, Photo, Nano) that use the iTunesDB binary format.