1MKVPROPEDIT(1)                   User Commands                  MKVPROPEDIT(1)
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4

NAME

6       mkvpropedit - Modify properties of existing Matroska(TM) files without
7       a complete remux
8

SYNOPSIS

10       mkvpropedit [options] {source-filename} {actions}
11

DESCRIPTION

13       This program analyses an existing Matroska(TM) file and modifies some
14       of its properties. Then it writes those modifications to the existing
15       file. Among the properties that can be changed are the segment
16       information elements (e.g. the title) and the track headers (e.g. the
17       language code, 'default track' flag or the name).
18
19       Options:
20
21       -l, --list-property-names
22           Lists all known and editable property names, their type (string,
23           integer, boolean etc) and a short description. The program exits
24           afterwards. Therefore the source-filename parameter does not have
25           to be supplied.
26
27       -p, --parse-mode mode
28           Sets the parse mode. The parameter 'mode' can either be 'fast'
29           (which is also the default) or 'full'. The 'fast' mode does not
30           parse the whole file but uses the meta seek elements for locating
31           the required elements of a source file. In 99% of all cases this is
32           enough. But for files that do not contain meta seek elements or
33           which are damaged the user might have to set the 'full' parse mode.
34           A full scan of a file can take a couple of minutes while a fast
35           scan only takes seconds.
36
37       Actions that deal with track and segment info properties:
38
39       -e, --edit selector
40           Sets the Matroska(TM) file section (segment information or a
41           certain track's headers) that all following add, set and delete
42           actions operate on. This option can be used multiple times in order
43           to make modifications to more than one element.
44
45           By default mkvpropedit(1) will edit the segment information
46           section.
47
48           See the section about edit selectors for a full description of the
49           syntax.
50
51       -a, --add name=value
52           Adds a property name with the value value. The property will be
53           added even if such a property exists already. Note that most
54           properties are unique and cannot occur more than once.
55
56       -s, --set name=value
57           Sets all occurrences of the property name to the value value. If no
58           such property exists then it will be added.
59
60       -d, --delete name
61           Deletes all occurrences of the property name. Note that some
62           properties are required and cannot be deleted.
63
64       Actions that deal with tags and chapters:
65
66       -t, --tags selector:filename
67           Add or replace tags in the file with the ones from filename or
68           remove them if filename is empty.  mkvpropedit(1) reads the same
69           XML tag format that mkvmerge(1) reads as well.
70
71           The selector must be one of the words all, global or track. For all
72           mkvpropedit(1) will replace or remove all tags in a file. With
73           global only global tags will be replaced or removed.
74
75           With track mkvpropedit(1) will replace tags for a specific track.
76           Additionally the tags read from filename will be assigned to the
77           same track. The track is specified in the same way edit selectors
78           are specified (see below), e.g.  --tags
79           track:a1:new-audio-tags.xml.
80
81       --add-track-statistics-tags
82           Calculates statistics for all tracks in a file and adds new
83           statistics tags for them. If the file already contains such tags
84           then they'll be updated.
85
86       --delete-track-statistics-tags
87           Deletes all existing track statistics tags from a file. If the file
88           doesn't contain track statistics tags then it won't be modified.
89
90       -c, --chapters filename
91           Add or replace chapters in the file with the ones from filename or
92           remove them if filename is empty.  mkvpropedit(1) reads the same
93           XML and simple chapter formats that mkvmerge(1) reads as well.
94
95       Actions for handling attachments:
96
97       --add-attachment filename
98           Adds a new attachment from filename.
99
100           If the option --attachment-name has been used prior to this option
101           then its value is used as the new attachment's name. Otherwise it
102           is derived from filename.
103
104           If the option --attachment-mime-type has been used prior to this
105           option then its value is used as the new attachment's MIME type.
106           Otherwise it is auto-detected from the content of filename.
107
108           If the option --attachment-description has been used prior to this
109           option then its value is used as the new attachment's description.
110           Otherwise no description will be set.
111
112           If the option --attachment-uid has been used prior to this option
113           then its value is used as the new attachment's UID. Otherwise a
114           random UID will be generated automatically.
115
116       --replace-attachment selector:filename
117           Replaces one or more attachments that match selector with the file
118           filename. If more than one existing attachment matches selector
119           then all of their contents will be replaced by the content of
120           filename.
121
122           The selector can have one of four forms. They're explained below in
123           the section attachment selectors.
124
125           If the option --attachment-name has been used prior to this option
126           then its value is set as the new name for each modified attachment.
127           Otherwise the names aren't changed.
128
129           If the option --attachment-mime-type has been used prior to this
130           option then its value is set as the new MIME type for each modified
131           attachment. Otherwise the MIME types aren't changed.
132
133           If the option --attachment-description has been used prior to this
134           option then its value is set as the new description for each
135           modified attachment. Otherwise the descriptions aren't changed.
136
137           If the option --attachment-uid has been used prior to this option
138           then its value is set as the new UID for each modified attachment.
139           Otherwise the UIDs aren't changed.
140
141       --update-attachment selector
142           Sets the properties of one or more attachments that match selector.
143           If more than one existing attachment matches selector then all of
144           their properties will be updated.
145
146           The selector can have one of four forms. They're explained below in
147           the section attachment selectors.
148
149           If the option --attachment-name has been used prior to this option
150           then its value is set as the new name for each modified attachment.
151           Otherwise the names aren't changed.
152
153           If the option --attachment-mime-type has been used prior to this
154           option then its value is set as the new MIME type for each modified
155           attachment. Otherwise the MIME types aren't changed.
156
157           If the option --attachment-description has been used prior to this
158           option then its value is set as the new description for each
159           modified attachment. Otherwise the descriptions aren't changed.
160
161           If the option --attachment-uid has been used prior to this option
162           then its value is set as the new UID for each modified attachment.
163           Otherwise the UIDs aren't changed.
164
165       --delete-attachment selector
166           Deletes one or more attachments that match selector.
167
168           The selector can have one of four forms. They're explained below in
169           the section attachment selectors.
170
171       Options for attachment actions:
172
173       --attachment-name name
174           Sets the name to use for the following --add-attachment or
175           --replace-attachment operation.
176
177       --attachment-mime-type mime-type
178           Sets the MIME type to use for the following --add-attachment or
179           --replace-attachment operation.
180
181       --attachment-description description
182           Sets the description to use for the following --add-attachment or
183           --replace-attachment operation.
184
185       --enable-legacy-font-mime-types
186           Enables the use of legacy MIME types for certain types of font
187           attachments. For example, 'application/x-truetype-font' will be
188           used for TrueType fonts instead of 'fonts/ttf'.
189
190           This affects both adding new attachments and replacing existing
191           attachments, but only if the new MIME type isn't specified. Other
192           existing attachments aren't changed.
193
194           The affected MIME types are 'font/sfnt', 'font/ttf' and
195           'font/collection' which are all mapped to
196           'application/x-truetype-fonts' and 'font/otf' which is mapped to
197           'application/vnd.ms-opentype'.
198
199       Other options:
200
201       --disable-language-ietf
202           Normally when the user requests changes to the 'language' track
203           header property, mkvpropedit(1) will apply the same change to the
204           new LanguageIETF track header element in addition to the legacy
205           Language element. If this option is used, the change is only
206           applied to the legacy Language element.
207
208           This option does not affect changes requested via the
209           'language-ietf' track header property.
210
211       --normalize-language-ietf mode
212           Enables normalizing all IETF BCP 47 language tags to either their
213           canonical form with mode 'canonical', to their extended language
214           subtags form with mode 'extlang' or turns it off with mode 'off'.
215           By default normalization to the canonical form is applied.
216
217           In the canonical form all subtags for which preferred values exist
218           are replaced by those preferred values. This converts e.g.
219           'zh-yue-jyutping' to 'yue-jyutping' or 'fr-FX' to 'fr-FR'.
220
221           For the extended language subtags form the canonical form is built
222           first. Afterwards all primary languages for which an extended
223           language subtag exists are replaced by that extended language
224           subtag and its prefix. This converts e.g. 'yue-jyutping' back to
225           'zh-yue-jyutping' but has no effect on 'fr-FR' as 'fr' is not an
226           extended language subtag.
227
228           This normalization is only applied to elements that are actually
229           changed:
230
231           •   When editing track headers only those track language elements
232               that are set via edit specifications are affected. Languages of
233               tracks that aren't edited aren't changed. Editing a track but
234               setting only properties other than the language won't affect
235               the language either.
236
237           •   When editing chapters all language elements of all chapter
238               elements are affected as existing chapters are always fully
239               replaced.
240
241           •   When editing tags only the language elements of the tags that
242               are actually replaced are affected. For example, when you
243               replace global tags then existing track tags aren't affected.
244
245           The best way to normalize all existing language tags in a file is
246           to remux it with mkvmerge(1) and set its
247           '--normalize-language-ietf' option to the desired mode.
248
249       --command-line-charset character-set
250           Sets the character set to convert strings given on the command line
251           from. It defaults to the character set given by system's current
252           locale.
253
254       --output-charset character-set
255           Sets the character set to which strings are converted that are to
256           be output. It defaults to the character set given by system's
257           current locale.
258
259       -r, --redirect-output file-name
260           Writes all messages to the file file-name instead of to the
261           console. While this can be done easily with output redirection
262           there are cases in which this option is needed: when the terminal
263           reinterprets the output before writing it to a file. The character
264           set set with --output-charset is honored.
265
266       --ui-language code
267           Forces the translations for the language code to be used (e.g.
268           'de_DE' for the German translations). Entering 'list' as the code
269           will cause the program to output a list of available translations.
270
271       --abort-on-warnings
272           Tells the program to abort after the first warning is emitted. The
273           program's exit code will be 1.
274
275       --debug topic
276           Turn on debugging for a specific feature. This option is only
277           useful for developers.
278
279       --engage feature
280           Turn on experimental features. A list of available features can be
281           requested with mkvpropedit --engage list. These features are not
282           meant to be used in normal situations.
283
284       --gui-mode
285           Turns on GUI mode. In this mode specially-formatted lines may be
286           output that can tell a controlling GUI what's happening. These
287           messages follow the format '#GUI#message'. The message may be
288           followed by key/value pairs as in
289           '#GUI#message#key1=value1#key2=value2...'. Neither the messages nor
290           the keys are ever translated and always output in English.
291
292       -v, --verbose
293           Be verbose and show all the important Matroska(TM) elements as
294           they're read.
295
296       -h, --help
297           Show usage information and exit.
298
299       -V, --version
300           Show version information and exit.
301
302       @options-file.json
303           Reads additional command line arguments from the file options-file.
304           For a full explanation on the supported formats for such files see
305           the section called "Option files" in the mkvmerge(1) man page.
306

EDIT SELECTORS

308       The --edit option sets the Matroska(TM) file section (segment
309       information or a certain track's headers) that all following add, set
310       and delete actions operate on. This stays valid until the next --edit
311       option is found. The argument to this option is called the edit
312       selector.
313
314       By default mkvpropedit(1) will edit the segment information section.
315
316   Segment information
317       The segment information can be selected with one of these three words:
318       'info', 'segment_info' or 'segmentinfo'. It contains properties like
319       the segment title or the segment UID.
320
321   Track headers
322       Track headers can be selected with a slightly more complex selector.
323       All variations start with 'track:'. The track header properties include
324       elements like the language code, 'default track' flag or the track's
325       name.
326
327       track:n
328           If the parameter n is a number then the nth track will be selected.
329           The track order is the same that mkvmerge(1)'s --identify option
330           outputs.
331
332           Numbering starts at 1.
333
334       track:tn
335           If the parameter starts with a single character t followed by a n
336           then the nth track of a specific track type will be selected. The
337           track type parameter t must be one of these four characters: 'a'
338           for an audio track, 'b' for a button track, 's' for a subtitle
339           track and 'v' for a video track. The track order is the same that
340           mkvmerge(1)'s --identify option outputs.
341
342           Numbering starts at 1.
343
344       track:=uid
345           If the parameter starts with a '=' followed by a number uid, the
346           track whose track UID element equals the given uid will be
347           selected. Track UIDs can be obtained with mkvinfo(1).
348
349       track:@number
350           If the parameter starts with a '@' followed by a number number, the
351           track whose track number element equals this number will be
352           selected. Track numbers can be obtained with mkvinfo(1).
353
354   Notes
355       Due to the nature of the track edit selectors it is possible that
356       several selectors actually match the same track headers. In such cases
357       all actions for those edit selectors will be combined and executed in
358       the order in which they're given on the command line.
359

ATTACHMENT SELECTORS

361       An attachment selector is used with the two actions
362       --replace-attachment and --delete-attachment. It can have one of the
363       following four forms:
364
365        1. Selection by attachment ID. In this form the selector is simply a
366           number, the attachment's ID as output by mkvmerge(1)'s
367           identification command.
368
369        2. Selection by attachment UID (unique ID). In this form the selector
370           is the equal sign = followed by a number, the attachment's unique
371           ID as output by mkvmerge(1)'s verbose identification command.
372
373        3. Selection by attachment name. In this form the selector is the
374           literal word name: followed by the existing attachment's name. If
375           this selector is used with --replace-attachment then colons within
376           the name to match must be escaped as \c.
377
378        4. Selection by MIME type. In this form the selector is the literal
379           word mime-type: followed by the existing attachment's MIME type. If
380           this selector is used with --replace-attachment then colons within
381           the MIME type to match must be escaped as \c.
382

LANGUAGE HANDLING

384       mkvpropedit(1) mostly tries to do the right thing by default. Therefore
385       changes to the language property will cause mkvpropedit(1) to apply the
386       same change to both the new "LanguageIETF" element as well as the old
387       "Language" element similar to how mkvmerge(1) applies the language to
388       both elements. For example, when using mkvpropedit movie.mkv --edit
389       track:2 --set language=zh-TW the "LanguageIETF" element will be set to
390       zh-TW and the old "Language" element to chi.
391
392       Additionally there's a new track header property named language-ietf
393       that can be set or removed. Changes to this property only apply to the
394       new "LanguageIETF" track header element. A caveat is that the old
395       "Language" track header element is a mandatory element in Matroska —
396       meaning even if it isn't present in the file it still has an implied
397       value. When the user only sets the language-ietf property but not the
398       language property, mkvpropedit(1) will therefore add the old "Language"
399       element in certain cases & set it to und (meaning "undetermined") as
400       the user didn't specify a value for it.
401
402       When reading XML chapter or tag files mkvpropedit(1) works like
403       mkvmerge(1) does.
404
405       The creation of the new elements can be disabled completely with the
406       command-line option `--disable-language-ietf` which operates on all
407       three new elements.
408
409       You can chose the normalization method applied to extended language
410       sub-tags with the parameter --normalize-language-ietf.
411

EXAMPLES

413       The following example edits a file called 'movie.mkv'. It sets the
414       segment title and modifies the language code of an audio and a subtitle
415       track. Note that this example can be shortened by leaving out the first
416       --edit option because editing the segment information element is the
417       default for all options found before the first --edit option anyway.
418
419           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --edit info --set "title=The movie" --edit track:a1 --set language=fre --edit track:a2 --set language=ita
420
421       The second example removes the 'default track flag' from the first
422       subtitle track and sets it for the second one. Note that
423       mkvpropedit(1), unlike mkvmerge(1), does not set the 'default track
424       flag' of other tracks to '0' if it is set to '1' for a different track
425       automatically.
426
427           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --edit track:s1 --set flag-default=0 --edit track:s2 --set flag-default=1
428
429       Replacing the tags for the second subtitle track in a file looks like
430       this:
431
432           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --tags track:s2:new-subtitle-tags.xml
433
434       Removing all tags requires leaving out the file name:
435
436           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --tags all:
437
438       Replacing the chapters in a file looks like this:
439
440           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --chapters new-chapters.xml
441
442       Removing all chapters requires leaving out the file name:
443
444           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --chapters ''
445
446       Adding a font file (Arial.ttf) as an attachment:
447
448           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --add-attachment Arial.ttf
449
450       Adding a font file (89719823.ttf) as an attachment and providing some
451       information as it really is just Arial:
452
453           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --attachment-name Arial.ttf --attachment-description 'The Arial font as a TrueType font' --attachment-mime-type application/x-truetype-font --add-attachment 89719823.ttf
454
455       Replacing one attached font (Comic.ttf) file with another one
456       (Arial.ttf):
457
458           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --attachment-name Arial.ttf --attachment-description 'The Arial font as a TrueType font' --replace-attachment name:Comic.ttf:Arial.ttf
459
460       Deleting the second attached file, whatever it may be:
461
462           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --delete-attachment 2
463
464       Deleting all attached fonts by MIME type:
465
466           $ mkvpropedit movie.mkv --delete-attachment mime-type:application/x-truetype-font
467

EXIT CODES

469       mkvpropedit(1) exits with one of three exit codes:
470
4710 -- This exit code means that the modification has completed
472           successfully.
473
4741 -- In this case mkvpropedit(1) has output at least one warning,
475           but the modification did continue. A warning is prefixed with the
476           text 'Warning:'. Depending on the issues involved the resulting
477           files might be ok or not. The user is urged to check both the
478           warning and the resulting files.
479
4802 -- This exit code is used after an error occurred.
481           mkvpropedit(1) aborts right after outputting the error message.
482           Error messages range from wrong command line arguments over
483           read/write errors to broken files.
484

TEXT FILES AND CHARACTER SET CONVERSIONS

486       For an in-depth discussion about how all tools in the MKVToolNix suite
487       handle character set conversions, input/output encoding, command line
488       encoding and console encoding please see the identically-named section
489       in the mkvmerge(1) man page.
490

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

492       mkvpropedit(1) uses the default variables that determine the system's
493       locale (e.g.  LANG and the LC_* family). Additional variables:
494
495       MKVPROPEDIT_DEBUG, MKVTOOLNIX_DEBUG and its short form MTX_DEBUG
496           The content is treated as if it had been passed via the --debug
497           option.
498
499       MKVPROPEDIT_ENGAGE, MKVTOOLNIX_ENGAGE and its short form MTX_ENGAGE
500           The content is treated as if it had been passed via the --engage
501           option.
502

SEE ALSO

504       mkvmerge(1), mkvinfo(1), mkvextract(1), mkvtoolnix-gui(1)
505

WWW

507       The latest version can always be found at the MKVToolNix homepage[1].
508

AUTHOR

510       Moritz Bunkus <moritz@bunkus.org>
511           Developer
512

NOTES

514        1. the MKVToolNix homepage
515           https://mkvtoolnix.download/
516
517
518
519MKVToolNix 80.0                   2023-10-29                    MKVPROPEDIT(1)
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