[Macworld]

Post your comments for What are all those iTunes files? here

[mosley]

In my "previous iTunes Libraries" I have 11 data files, some dated, some with just "iTunes 3" as title. Putting aside the "don't-fix-what-ain't-broke" rule is there a way to consolidate all this data into one file without re-linking the individual songs?

[psycolemming]

As far as I understand it this is very simple; delete all but the most recent of the library files. At various points in the iTunes upgrade cycle it will recreate your library file to allow for new features etc., this new file then serves its job as your iTunes library. All the previous files are kept for the sake of back-up, restoration to a previous version etc. and are not necessary for the general running of iTunes.

To put it simply; by deleting all the files in the previous libraries folder you handily consolidate all that data into one file. This is because your present library file is not kept here.

[kirkmc]

Yes, the Previous Libraries folder contains "just-in-case" stuff that you would only want to use if you have a problem when upgrading to a new version of iTunes, but right away. Once you've changed anything in your library, those previous libraries are out of date.

[mosley]

Thanks to you both. That's 10Mb of space I have reclaimed!

[canadrian]

Good article. Sadly though, it didn't address the files in that folder I AM curious about. :)
My iTunes folder contains, in addition to the files addressed in this article:
sentinel
Temp File
Temp File.tmp
Temp File 1
Temp File 1.tmp
Temp File 2.tmp
Temp File 3.tmp
Temp File 4.tmp
Temp File 5.tmp
Temp File 6.tmp
Temp File 6.tmp Extras.itdb
Temp File 6.tmp Genius.itdb
Temp File 7.tmp
Temp File 8.tmp
Temp File 9.tmp
Temp File 10.tmp
Temp File 11.tmp
Temp File 12.tmp
Temp File 13.tmp
Temp File 14.tmp
Temp File 15.tmp
Now obviously I didn't really need to list out all the temp files, but it was to illustrate a point: what are all these temp files iTunes keeps creating, and do I need them? I mean, there are a lot of them, and they range in size from 7.1mb to 35mb. And WTF is "sentinel"?

[beiju]

In the interest of complete and utter completeness, allow me to add that the iTunesHelper is what opens iTunes when you connect your iPod, if that is enabled.
If you were wondering why iTunesHelper showed up in your login items whenever you checked that box, and why that box became unchecked whenever you removed iTunesHelper from your login items, there actually is a good reason.

[drdrbpb]

I seem to have more files than mentioned above, and would appreciate an explanation. I have "iTunes Library" (which has music notes in the icon), "iTunes Library.xml" (which has text type icon), and "Library.xml" (which also has a text icon), all on an outboard hard drive with the iTunes folder. The "Library.xml" folder is 66.5mb while the "iTunes Library.xml" is 64.9mb. What is the difference between these 2 files, and why? More puzzling is that on my boot drive, I have all of the files mentioned above and in the article, except the "Library.xml", but with minimal size (apparently produced by iTunes on install). Because I use several SqueezeBoxes, with the SqueezeCenter (SlimServer) functions, I need the "Library.xml" file for it to recognize my playlists (it didn't work with the "iTunes Library" file. I get this file (updated as needed) by choosing "File-Library-Export Library" in the file menu of iTunes, and then put the resultant "Library.xml" in a separate "Playlists" folder in the music folder on the boot drive (for safety, I also copy this "Library.xml" to the iTunes folder on the outboard drive). While its overly complex (and I don't quite understand it), this solution came about with a lot of trial and error, along with help from Logitech support.

[xAirbusdriver]

First, thanks for the info! I plan on removing all the 'old' .ipa files as well as the old library files. I always use the "Compress..." option in Finder for these types of 'removals,' keeping the zip files, "just in case!"
AFAIK, an app or the OS is supposed to delete any and all ".tmp" files, either when the app quits or at OS Start Up.

[kirkmc]

I'd delete all the temp files... Sounds like something's fishy.

[kirkmc]

drdrbpb:
You ask for an explanation, but you seem to provide it yourself... Your situation is indeed unique (ie, not a standard iTunes usage situation), and you need to create another file, Library.xml. QED.

[bastion]

xAirbusdriver said:

First, thanks for the info! I plan on removing all the 'old' .ipa files as well as the old library files. I always use the "Compress..." option in Finder for these types of 'removals,' keeping the zip files, "just in case!"

AFAIK, an app or the OS is supposed to delete any and all ".tmp" files, either when the app quits or at OS Start Up.

Not quite. A well-behaved app will, by definition, delete any transient files on exit, at the latest. Sometimes things go wrong, though, and there was no exception handler in place that included cleanup duties. In that circumstance, even an otherwise well-behaved app can leave stuff behind. And, of course, some programmers are just lazy and rely on the next part....

The OS doesn't delete arbitrary temp files left behind because it can't tell that a given file is a temp file. What it can do, on each login, is move the contents (if any) of a specific folder used for temp files to the trash. That's the recovered items folder you may see from time to time in there.

[bastion]

It's worth noting that the default names of the iTunes library and XML files has changed a few times over the years. New versions of iTunes will (usually) happily continue to use files with the older names, but if you were to recreate them from scratch they'd have different names.

[mschmitt]

The CD Info.cidb file is not just what was looked up in Gracenote. It is where the Mac stores the volume name and track info for a CD. Gracenote is just one way the information gets there.
When you use iTunes to edit the name and track info for a CD (not the imported tracks!), this is where that info is stored. It is not stored in iTunes.
The significance is that if you make all your track edits to the CD, then when if you re-import the CD later your information will still be there.