/starsync

An app to sync iTunes into an Android MTP device

Primary LanguageRust

starsync

An app to synchronize MTP devices with iTunes libraries.

How to use

This app uses

  • sources of music, playlists, ratings, etc.
    Currently, the only supported source is the local iTunes instance
  • devices to sync content to, such as
    • connected MTP devices
    • every local disk (that aims at supporting syncing to SD cards, but one could also sync to C:\, even if that does not make much sense)
    • (for debugging purposes, in case the debug_folder Cargo feature is enabled) the C:\Users\Public\Documents\ folder, slightly more convenient than the root of C:.

Run the app with the starsync list-devices or starsync list-sources command to list available devices or sources.

To be usable, a device must first be initialized (this boils down to creating a starsync\ folder on its root and a default config file). This can be done with the starsync init $device $source command.
Initing a device ties it to the chosen source (this "tie" gets written in the config file into the device).

This folder can later be deleted by running starsync deinit.

Then, syncing a device with its source is as easy as starsync sync $source

What is synced

This app will sync various things, depending on how a device is configured. This can be chosen by manually editing the config file on the device.

  • selected playlists are synced.
    One of the valid playlists is "all the iTunes library". Its actual name depends on the current localization of iTunes.
  • song ratings are synced, by creating 5 specific playlists for the 5 possible ratings.

Starsync can perform reverse sync, i.e. mirroring into the source the changes that have been performed on the device since the last sync. This includes

  • playlist modifications (changes to the m3u files on the device)
  • ratings modifications (changes to the ratings playlists)

In case changes have been performed on both the device and the source, Starsync will seamlessy merge them and apply them both ways.

Android companion app

On Android, the Shuttle2 (S2) music app (or rather a fork of mine) is able to modify m3u playlist files whenever they are modified, and thus work out-of-the-box with Starsync.