Working with Track Ratings

taglib-wasm provides a unified API for reading and writing track ratings that works consistently across all audio formats.

Quick Start

import { RatingUtils, TagLib } from "taglib-wasm";

const taglib = await TagLib.initialize();
const file = await taglib.open("song.mp3");

// Read rating (normalized 0.0-1.0)
const rating = file.getRating();
if (rating !== undefined) {
  console.log(`Rating: ${RatingUtils.toStars(rating)} stars`);
}

// Set rating (4 out of 5 stars)
file.setRating(0.8);
file.save();

file.dispose();

Understanding Ratings

Normalized Scale (0.0-1.0)

All ratings in taglib-wasm use a normalized 0.0-1.0 scale:

Value	Meaning
0.0	Unrated or 0 stars
0.2	1 star
0.4	2 stars
0.6	3 stars
0.8	4 stars
1.0	5 stars

This normalized representation allows consistent handling across formats that use different native scales.

Format Storage

Format	Storage Location	Native Scale
MP3 (ID3v2)	POPM frame	0-255 (POPM)
FLAC/OGG (Vorbis)	RATING comment	0.0-1.0
MP4/M4A	Custom atom	Varies

taglib-wasm automatically converts between these formats.

Rating Interface

interface Rating {
  /** Normalized rating value (0.0-1.0) */
  rating: number;
  /** Optional rater identifier (email address) */
  email?: string;
  /** Optional play counter */
  counter?: number;
}

AudioFile Methods

Reading Ratings

// Get the primary rating (undefined if no rating set)
const rating = file.getRating();

// Get all ratings (supports multiple raters)
const ratings = file.getRatings();
// Returns: Rating[]

Writing Ratings

// Set a single rating
file.setRating(0.8);

// Set rating with rater identifier
file.setRating(0.8, "user@example.com");

// Set multiple ratings
file.setRatings([
  { rating: 0.8, email: "user1@example.com" },
  { rating: 0.6, email: "user2@example.com" },
]);

RatingUtils API Reference

Import the utilities:

import { RatingUtils } from "taglib-wasm";

POPM Conversion (ID3v2)

The POPM (Popularimeter) frame is used by ID3v2 tags in MP3 files. It uses a 0-255 scale with specific values for star ratings.

// Normalized to POPM
RatingUtils.toPopm(0.8); // 196

// POPM to normalized
RatingUtils.fromPopm(196); // 0.8

Standard POPM values (Windows Media Player convention):

Stars	POPM Value	Normalized
0 (unrated)	0	0.0
1	1	0.2
2	64	0.4
3	128	0.6
4	196	0.8
5	255	1.0

Access the mapping directly:

RatingUtils.POPM_STAR_VALUES; // [0, 1, 64, 128, 196, 255]

Star Rating Conversion

// Normalized to stars (default 5-star scale)
RatingUtils.toStars(0.8); // 4
RatingUtils.toStars(0.8, 10); // 8 (10-star scale)

// Stars to normalized
RatingUtils.fromStars(4); // 0.8
RatingUtils.fromStars(8, 10); // 0.8

Percentage Conversion

// Normalized to percentage
RatingUtils.toPercent(0.8); // 80

// Percentage to normalized
RatingUtils.fromPercent(80); // 0.8

Linear Conversion

For direct linear conversion without star-level quantization:

// Normalized to raw 0-255 (linear)
RatingUtils.fromNormalized(0.8); // 204 (Math.round(0.8 * 255))

// Raw 0-255 to normalized (linear)
RatingUtils.toNormalized(204); // 0.8

Validation

// Check if rating is valid (0.0-1.0 range)
RatingUtils.isValid(0.8); // true
RatingUtils.isValid(1.5); // false
RatingUtils.isValid(NaN); // false

// Clamp to valid range
RatingUtils.clamp(1.5); // 1.0
RatingUtils.clamp(-0.5); // 0.0

Examples

Display Ratings in Different Formats

const rating = file.getRating() ?? 0;

console.log(`Stars: ${RatingUtils.toStars(rating)}/5`);
console.log(`Percent: ${RatingUtils.toPercent(rating)}%`);
console.log(`POPM: ${RatingUtils.toPopm(rating)}`);

Import Ratings from Another System

// From a 10-star system
const tenStarRating = 7;
const normalized = RatingUtils.fromStars(tenStarRating, 10);
file.setRating(normalized);

// From percentage
const percentRating = 75;
file.setRating(RatingUtils.fromPercent(percentRating));

Batch Update Ratings

import { TagLib } from "taglib-wasm";

const taglib = await TagLib.initialize();

const files = ["track1.mp3", "track2.mp3", "track3.mp3"];
const ratings = [0.8, 0.6, 1.0]; // 4, 3, 5 stars

for (let i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
  const file = await taglib.open(files[i]);
  file.setRating(ratings[i]);
  file.save();
  file.dispose();
}

Format-Specific Notes

MP3 (ID3v2 POPM)

• Supports multiple ratings via different email identifiers
• Play counter is stored alongside rating
• Uses non-linear POPM scale (WMP convention)

FLAC/OGG (Vorbis Comments)

• Rating stored in RATING comment field
• Uses native 0.0-1.0 scale (no conversion needed)

MP4/M4A

• Rating support varies by player/tagger
• Some use custom atoms, others use iTunes-style metadata