Music Releases
Authored by Claude · Last updated AI generated documentation written by reading the source codeA release is a collection of audio tracks published as a single body of work — an album, EP, single, or other format — that has been indexed by Cardinal Media Server. Releases group tracks together and carry shared metadata such as artwork, genre, and artist attribution. Every track in Cardinal Music belongs to exactly one release.
Release metadata
Every release carries a set of metadata fields that describe it:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | The release name |
| Release type | The format of the release (album, EP, single, etc.) |
| Primary artist | The main credited artist (album artist) |
| Contributing artists | All artists with credits on the release, including the primary artist |
| Genres | One or more genre classifications |
| Tracks | All audio tracks belonging to the release |
| Disc count | Number of discs, derived from track disc numbers |
| Album artwork | Cover image, sourced from embedded tags or the filesystem |
Release types
Cardinal Media Server recognizes the following release types:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
album | Full-length studio album |
ep | Extended play, typically 3–6 tracks |
single | One or two tracks released together |
compilation | Collection of tracks from multiple artists or time periods |
soundtrack | Music composed for a film, game, or other production |
live | Recording of a live performance |
remix | Remixed versions of existing tracks |
dj-mix | Continuous DJ mix |
broadcast | Radio or broadcast recording |
demo | Demo or unreleased material |
Release type is read from embedded tags. If no type tag is present, the release type is left unset.
Metadata sources
Cardinal Media Server populates release metadata from three sources, in descending priority:
- Embedded tags — ID3, Vorbis comments, and equivalent tag formats read directly from the audio files. This is the highest-priority source for all fields except album artwork.
- Folder structure — Artist name, release name, release year, and disc/track numbers are inferred from the directory and filename when embedded tags are absent or incomplete. See Music indexing for the exact folder conventions.
- Filesystem stats — File creation and modification timestamps are stored and used internally.
Album artwork
Album artwork follows a different priority order from other metadata. A cover.jpg or folder.jpg image file placed in the same directory as the release's audio files takes priority over artwork embedded in the file tags. This makes it straightforward to update artwork without modifying the audio files themselves.
Supported image formats are .jpg, .png, and .gif.
When no artwork is found from either source, the release tile and detail page display a placeholder.
Related jobs
| Job | Description |
|---|---|
| Album art thumbnails | Generates thumbnails from album artwork at multiple sizes for display in the app |
Browsing releases
The Releases page displays every release in your library as a virtual scrolling grid. Each tile shows:
- Album artwork (220×275 px tile, artwork area 220×220 px)
- Release title
- Primary artist name
Clicking a tile opens the release detail page, which shows:
- Album artwork (340×340 px)
- Primary and contributing artists
- Genre(s)
- Track count and disc count
- Full track listing, grouped by disc and ordered by track number within each disc
Sorting and filtering
Use the toolbar at the top of the Releases page to control how releases are ordered.
Sort by:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Alphabetical by release title |
| Date added | When the release was indexed |
All sort options support ascending and descending order.
Library filter: If you have multiple libraries configured, the library switcher in the toolbar limits the release list to releases belonging to the selected library. See Libraries for more information.
Required capabilities
Browsing releases requires the MusicReleases.Read capability. Users without this capability will not see the Releases page or any release data.
See Role-Based Access Control for information on assigning capabilities to roles and roles to users.
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