flac2mp3

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A clean Python script to recursively convert FLAC files to high-quality MP3 format using ffmpeg.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• ffmpeg installed and added to your system's PATH.

Features

• Recursive search for all .flac files in a given directory.
• High-quality Variable Bit Rate (VBR) MP3 encoding using libmp3lame (quality level -q:a 0).
• Clean handling of file and folder names containing spaces.
• Robust subprocess call handling.
• Multiple export modes:
  • In-place: Saves the .mp3 file next to its corresponding .flac file.
  • Save Directory Tree: Re-creates the source directory structure under a target folder.
  • Flattened: Exports all converted MP3s directly into a single folder.
  • Combined: Allows running both export modes simultaneously, converting once and copying the output file to avoid redundant work.
• Skip existing files: Optionally skip conversion if the output MP3 file already exists, useful for resuming interrupted batch conversions.

Usage

To run the script with default settings (recursively convert FLAC files in-place starting from the current directory):

python flac2mp3.py

You can optionally specify a target directory to scan and export options:

python flac2mp3.py [search_directory] [options]

Real Life Example

Converting all flacs from D:\Downloads to D:\mp3s with 4 parallel threads, saving directories tree:

python .\flac2mp3.py D:\Downloads\ --output-directory-save-directories-tree=D:\mp3s\ --parallel-run=4

Options

• --output-directory-save-directories-tree=<path> (or without -- prefix: output-directory-save-directories-tree=<path>)

  Exports MP3 files to <path> while recreating the subfolder structure.

• --output-directory-without-directories-tree=<path> (or without -- prefix: output-directory-without-directories-tree=<path>)

  Exports all MP3 files directly into <path>, flattening the subdirectories.

• --parallel-run=<number> (or without -- prefix: parallel-run=<number>)

  Number of concurrent audio conversions (default: 1).

• --skip-output-file-if-exists

  Skip conversion if the output MP3 file already exists.

Examples

1. In-place conversion

Convert all FLAC files under the current directory, saving the MP3s next to the original files:

python flac2mp3.py

2. Recreate directory structure elsewhere

Convert FLAC files from C:\Music\FLAC and export them to D:\Music\MP3 preserving the subfolder layout:

python flac2mp3.py C:\Music\FLAC output-directory-save-directories-tree=D:\Music\MP3

3. Flatten export directory

Convert FLAC files from C:\Music\FLAC and dump all generated MP3s into D:\Music\FlatMP3:

python flac2mp3.py C:\Music\FLAC output-directory-without-directories-tree=D:\Music\FlatMP3

4. Combine export modes

Convert FLAC files and save them to both a structured and a flat directory at the same time:

python flac2mp3.py C:\Music\FLAC output-directory-save-directories-tree=D:\Music\MP3 output-directory-without-directories-tree=D:\Music\FlatMP3

5. Concurrent conversions

Convert FLAC files in parallel using 4 concurrent threads:

python flac2mp3.py parallel-run=4

6. Skip already converted files

Resume an interrupted conversion, skipping files that were already converted:

python flac2mp3.py C:\Music\FLAC --output-directory-save-directories-tree=D:\Music\MP3 --skip-output-file-if-exists