The convert plugin lets you convert parts of your collection to a directory of your choice. It converts all input formats supported by FFmpeg to MP3. It will skip files that are already present in the target directory. Converted files follow the same path formats as your library.
First, enable the convert plugin (see Plugins).
To transcode music, this plugin requires the ffmpeg command-line tool. If its executable is in your path, it will be found automatically by the plugin. Otherwise, configure the plugin to locate the executable:
[convert]
ffmpeg: /usr/bin/ffmpeg
To convert a part of your collection, run beet convert QUERY. This will display all items matching QUERY and ask you for confirmation before starting the conversion. The -a (or --album) option causes the command to match albums instead of tracks.
The -t (--threads) and -d (--dest) options allow you to specify or overwrite the respective configuration options.
The plugin offers several configuration options, all of which live under the [convert] section:
Here’s an example configuration:
[convert]
embed: false
max_bitrate: 200
opts: -aq 4
dest: /home/user/MusicForPhone
threads: 4