Search code examples
ffmpegmp3id3

How to remove ID3 audio tag image (or metadata) from mp3 with ffmpeg


FFMPEG is really a great tool. I know it can edit ID3 tags and even remove all tags in a row :

ffmpeg -i tagged.mp3 -map_metadata -1 untagged.mp3

But even after that, there's still the cover image.

I don't know how to remove it using ffmpeg. I know there's other soft out there that can do the job - like eyed3 - but what's the point to install it if ffmpeg can do it too, in one line, while encoding the audio ?


Solution

  • Strip metadata tags and remove album cover image

    ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -map 0:a -c:a copy -map_metadata -1 output.mp3
    
    • -map 0:a Includes only audio (omits all images). See FFmpeg Wiki: Map for more details.
    • -c:a copy Enables stream copy mode so re-encoding is avoided.
    • -map_metadata -1 Omits all metadata.