# ClassicTunes

> A Mac app that does what iTunes did for classic iPods: it keeps a music library (music, podcasts, audiobooks, videos and photos), plays it on the Mac, and syncs it to click wheel iPods and other music players.

ClassicTunes is for people who still love their iPods: your library, your content, your device, your rules. Supported iPods range from the first iPod to the iPod classic, with the iPod nano 7th generation experimental.

- Availability: coming December 2026; not yet available to download or buy. To hear when it launches, email support@classictunes.app.
- Price at launch: US$14.99 plus any sales tax or VAT, paid once (not a subscription), with free updates for all of version 1.
- Free trial: 14 days with everything working; after it, syncing needs a license.
- A license works on 2 Macs at a time. Refunds within 14 days.
- Requirements: macOS 12 Monterey or later, on Apple silicon or Intel Macs.
- First version: 1.0.
- Made by Jack McConnell, an independent developer in the United Kingdom (Made with Fuel Ltd.). Support: support@classictunes.app

## Where it stands out

- Runs on macOS 12 Monterey and later, on Intel Macs too; most other iPod apps need macOS 14 or 15.
- A complete library app like iTunes, not a file copier: it plays music on the Mac and keeps playlists, play counts and ratings in sync with the iPod.
- Doesn't need Finder, the Music app or iTunes, and needs nothing else installed (format conversion is built in).
- Preview Sync shows every change before a sync, and snapshots can put an iPod back exactly as it was.
- Photos from the Photos app (iCloud Photos included), cameras and SD cards.
- Syncs Rockbox iPods and other music players and SD cards from the same library.
- AppleScript and Shortcuts for every feature.

## Not for

- Windows or Linux: ClassicTunes is Mac only.
- iPod shuffle, iPod nano 5th and 6th generation, and iPod touch: not supported.
- Apple Music subscription songs: copy-protected, so no iPod can play them.

## Website

- [Home](https://classictunes.app/): Sync music, podcasts, videos and photos to an iPod classic, nano or mini from any Mac with macOS 12 or later. No iTunes.
- [Features](https://classictunes.app/features): Everything ClassicTunes does: iPod syncing, a full music library, CDs, podcasts, audiobooks, videos, photos and more.
- [Buy](https://classictunes.app/buy): Buy ClassicTunes: $14.99 plus tax, for use on 2 Macs, with free updates for all of version 1.
- [Download](https://classictunes.app/download): Download ClassicTunes for Mac: macOS 12 Monterey or later, Intel and Apple silicon, with a 14-day free trial.
- [Support](https://classictunes.app/support): Get help with ClassicTunes: email support, get your license key sent again, and find answers to iPod sync problems.
- [What's new](https://classictunes.app/changelog): What's new in each version of ClassicTunes.
- [Privacy](https://classictunes.app/privacy): What ClassicTunes and this website do with your information.
- [Terms](https://classictunes.app/terms): The terms for buying and using ClassicTunes.
- [Accessibility](https://classictunes.app/accessibility): How the ClassicTunes website and app work for everyone, the settings you can change, and how to report a problem.
- [Press kit](https://classictunes.app/press): ClassicTunes press kit: description, icon, screenshots and contact.

## Documentation: Getting Started

- [Getting Started](https://classictunes.app/docs/getting-started.md): Install ClassicTunes, add your music, connect your iPod and run your first sync, checking it first with Preview Sync.
- [Trial and License](https://classictunes.app/docs/licensing.md): The 14-day free trial, buying a license, activating it on up to two Macs, and moving it to a new Mac.

## Documentation: Guides

- [Syncing an iPod on a Mac in 2026](https://classictunes.app/docs/ipod-on-a-mac.md): Every way to get music onto an iPod classic, nano or mini from a modern Mac, from Finder to ClassicTunes and the other apps, and which to choose.
- [When Finder Won't Sync Your iPod](https://classictunes.app/docs/finder-ipod.md): What to try when a classic iPod doesn't appear in Finder on your Mac, won't sync, is missing songs, or asks to be restored, and another way to sync it.
- [Apple Music Songs and Your iPod](https://classictunes.app/docs/apple-music-on-ipod.md): Why songs from an Apple Music subscription can't go on a classic iPod, how to tell them apart, and the ways to get music you can sync.
- [Copying Music Off an iPod](https://classictunes.app/docs/copy-music-from-ipod.md): Get the songs, playlists, play counts and covers on an old iPod back onto your Mac, without changing anything on the iPod.

## Documentation: Your Library

- [Your Library](https://classictunes.app/docs/library.md): Add music from files, folders and the Music app, browse it by album, artist or song, edit song details with Get Info, and remove what you don't want.
- [Artwork](https://classictunes.app/docs/artwork.md): Where album covers come from, how to choose your own, find missing covers online, replace small covers with larger ones, and how artwork reaches your iPod.
- [Tidying Up Your Library](https://classictunes.app/docs/tidying-up.md): Fix album details from Apple and MusicBrainz, merge duplicates and split albums, label discs, find stray files and songs iPods can't play.
- [Importing CDs](https://classictunes.app/docs/cds.md): Import CDs with details and covers from MusicBrainz, check every track against AccurateRip, play a CD without importing, and re-import damaged songs.
- [Several Libraries](https://classictunes.app/docs/libraries.md): Keep separate libraries for different people or iPods, switch between them, and move a library to another folder or drive.
- [Metadata Backups](https://classictunes.app/docs/metadata-backups.md): Save your songs' details, play counts, ratings and artwork to a file, restore them later, and use the backups made before every big change.

## Documentation: Playback

- [Playing Music](https://classictunes.app/docs/playback.md): Play songs, videos, podcasts and audiobooks on your Mac, with Up Next, shuffle and repeat, the equalizer, AirPlay and the Play key.
- [Playlists](https://classictunes.app/docs/playlists.md): Make playlists and smart playlists, add and arrange songs, import and export .m3u playlists, and keep On-The-Go playlists made on the iPod.
- [Listening History](https://classictunes.app/docs/history.md): See every song you've played to the end in ClassicTunes, with when you played it, and play, search, sort and tidy the list.
- [Podcasts](https://classictunes.app/docs/podcasts.md): Subscribe to podcasts by searching or pasting a feed, download and play episodes, sync them to an iPod, and import or export OPML.
- [Audiobooks](https://classictunes.app/docs/audiobooks.md): Listen to audiobooks with chapters, your place kept and your choice of speed, combine files into one book, and sync them to an iPod.
- [Videos](https://classictunes.app/docs/videos.md): Add movies, TV shows, music videos and home videos, play them on your Mac, set each one's kind, and sync them to an iPod in a format it plays.
- [Photos](https://classictunes.app/docs/photos.md): Import photos from cards, cameras and folders, browse the Photos app's library, and choose the photos and videos each iPod gets.
- [Scrobbling to ListenBrainz](https://classictunes.app/docs/scrobbling.md): Send what you play on your Mac, your iPod and Rockbox to ListenBrainz, including what's playing now, with plays kept while offline.

## Documentation: iPods

- [Connecting an iPod](https://classictunes.app/docs/connecting.md): Plug in an iPod, read its page, choose which library it belongs to, and rename, eject or forget it.
- [Syncing an iPod](https://classictunes.app/docs/syncing.md): Choose what goes on each iPod, sync it, fill its free space, and understand what a sync changes, keeps and reads back.
- [Preview Sync](https://classictunes.app/docs/preview-sync.md): See exactly what a sync will add, convert, remove and change on your iPod, and how much space is left, before anything on it changes.
- [Snapshots](https://classictunes.app/docs/snapshots.md): Save a complete copy of your iPod, get offered one before risky syncs, and restore the iPod to exactly how it was.
- [iPod tools](https://classictunes.app/docs/ipod-tools.md): Rockbox support, click wheel and Rockbox games, importing from an iPod, diagnostics, and the other tools on an iPod's page.
- [Supported iPods](https://classictunes.app/docs/supported-ipods.md): Every iPod model and how well ClassicTunes supports it, from the original iPod to the iPod nano 7th generation, with what each one can sync.

## Documentation: Music Players

- [Music players](https://classictunes.app/docs/music-players.md): Sync your library to music players that aren't iPods, such as the Shanling Q2, Innioasis Y1, Tangara, FiiO Echo Nano, a Rockbox player or any SD card.

## Documentation: Automation

- [AppleScript](https://classictunes.app/docs/applescript.md): Script ClassicTunes with AppleScript, with example scripts and a complete reference to its dictionary of classes, properties, commands and enumerations.
- [Shortcuts](https://classictunes.app/docs/shortcuts.md): Every ClassicTunes action in the Shortcuts app, what each one takes and gives back, and the items you can pick from.

## Documentation: Reference

- [Settings](https://classictunes.app/docs/settings.md): Every tab and setting in ClassicTunes' Settings window, what each one does, and which ones belong to each library.
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://classictunes.app/docs/keyboard-shortcuts.md): Every keyboard shortcut in ClassicTunes, grouped by menu, plus the keys that work in album grids, photos, Get Info and the player.
- [Updates](https://classictunes.app/docs/updates.md): How ClassicTunes checks for and installs new versions, how to check by hand, and why an update never interrupts a sync.
- [Privacy and safety](https://classictunes.app/docs/privacy-and-safety.md): What stays on your Mac, exactly what ClassicTunes sends over the internet and when, and the safeguards that protect your iPod and your library.

## Documentation: Help

- [Troubleshooting](https://classictunes.app/docs/troubleshooting.md): What to do when an iPod doesn't appear, gets ejected, won't sync or eject, when songs are missing from the iPod, and other common problems.
- [FAQ](https://classictunes.app/docs/faq.md): Answers to common questions about ClassicTunes, from which Macs and iPods it works with to what happens to the music already on your iPod.

## Optional

- [Everything on this site, as one file](https://classictunes.app/llms-full.txt)