Local Folder Import

The Local Folder Import plugin scans your local music directory recursively and imports audio files into Kombiner. Unlike the streaming import plugins, it reads metadata directly from the files themselves — ID3 tags, Vorbis comments, FLAC tags, and other standard embedded formats — so no internet connection is required to run it.

This is the only import plugin that does not use browser automation. It operates entirely on your local filesystem.

Configuration

The plugin scans the Music Library Path configured in Settings → Library. The extensions setting lets you narrow the scan to specific formats if needed.

Configure the plugin in Settings → Plugins → Local Folder Import → Configure.

What Data Is Imported

All fields are read from the embedded tags inside each audio file. No external lookup is performed.

BPM and key without enrichment: Local Folder Import is the only import plugin that can populate BPM and key fields directly, provided those values are already embedded in the file’s tags. It also runs analysis on the audio stream to fill in missing tag data.

Incremental Scanning

The plugin uses a cursor to avoid re-processing files on every run:

• After each scan, the plugin saves a last scan timestamp as a cursor value.
• On subsequent runs, it only processes files whose modification time is newer than the stored timestamp.
• Files that haven’t changed since the last scan are skipped entirely.

This makes repeat runs very fast — only new or recently modified files are touched. The initial scan of a large library may take a few minutes, but all subsequent runs complete in seconds.

If you re-tag a file with an external tool, the modified timestamp on the file changes, causing the plugin to pick it up and re-import the updated metadata on the next run.

Tips

• Embed good metadata before importing. Kombiner reads exactly what is in the file tags. Tools like beets, Mp3tag, Kid3, or your DJ software can be used to clean up and standardize tags before import.
• BPM and key tags give you a head start. If your DJ software has already analyzed your files and written BPM and key back to the tags, those fields will be populated in Kombiner immediately on import, saving enrichment time.
• The extensions list controls which files are scanned. If you have lossless files in formats not in the default list (e.g. .dsf, .dff for DSD), add them to the extensions setting.
• Re-tagging updates automatically. If you update a file’s tags with an external tool, the file’s modification time changes, and the next scheduled run will pick up the new metadata.

Troubleshooting

Tracks are missing titles or artists. The audio file does not have the relevant tags embedded. Use a tag editor (Mp3tag, Kid3, beets) to add the missing metadata to the file, then re-run the plugin.

BPM and key fields are empty even though the file has been analyzed. Some DJ software writes BPM and key to non-standard tag fields. Kombiner reads the standard fields (TBPM, TKEY, INITIALKEY, etc.). If your software uses a custom field, use a tag editor to copy the values into the standard fields before importing.

The scan takes a long time on every run. This usually means the plugin is not saving its cursor between runs. Check Settings → Plugins → Local Folder Import logs for cursor errors. Also verify that the music folder path in Settings → Library has not changed since the last run — a path change causes the plugin to treat all files as new.

Files with special characters in their paths are skipped. This is a known edge case on some systems. Ensure the file path uses only standard characters and try again. If the issue persists, check the plugin logs for the specific error.

Duplicate tracks appear for the same file. Each local file is keyed by its absolute file path. Duplicates should not appear under normal conditions. If you moved a file to a new location, Kombiner will update the file path in the database and treat it as the same track.