MusicBrainz Picard 3.0 brings new plugin system, Apple Silicon support and UI enhancements

MetaBrainz has officially announced the release of MusicBrainz Picard 3.0, the latest major version of the popular open-source music tagger that syncs local files with data from the MusicBrainz database. The update arrives after approximately three years of development beginning in late 2023, representing a substantial technical rebuild that includes a migration to Qt6 and a completely redesigned plugin architecture.

Among the headline features is a fully reworked release matching algorithm designed to improve how Picard associates audio files with releases and recordings following a lookup operation. The team has implemented an extensive test framework to prevent future regressions in matching performance. Users also gain access to new metadata capabilities including ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) extraction from CDs and the ability to submit ISRCs back to MusicBrainz, alongside full support for synced lyrics through a new %syncedlyrics% tag. Additionally, the release brings native macOS ARM64 support for Apple Silicon machines, expanding accessibility for modern Mac users. Further tagging enhancements include composer artist IDs, genre and folksonomy tag variables, broadcast dates, and ISWC information for recordings with linked works.

For power users, the release introduces export and import functionality for option profiles, enabling configuration backups or sharing while automatically excluding sensitive authentication data, a feature that can also be accessed via the new picard-cli command line utility. The UI receives several refinements, and portions of the codebase have been rewritten to support static typing and increase test coverage, positioning the software for easier maintenance and future development. Picard 3.0 is now available for download from the official Picard website, with the MetaBrainz team directing users to the changelog for a complete breakdown of improvements and bug fixes.