Symphex Music Downloader v1.4.0

Symphex Music Downloader v1.4.0

Cross-platform music downloader with smart metadata detection and enhancement

Features • Installation • Quick Start • What's New

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📋 Overview

Symphex is a powerful desktop application that downloads music from YouTube and Spotify with intelligent metadata detection, album art search, and advanced audio processing capabilities. Built with Avalonia UI for a native cross-platform experience.

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✨ What's New in v1.4.0

🎵 Enhanced Metadata Mode

• Download missing metadata - Drop files into the new mode to download missing artwork
• Improved Feedback - Clear status messages showing music and image file counts

🔧 How It Works

1. Drop music files that lack metadata or artwork
2. Symphex first searches online for metadata and artwork
3. Images are embedded into the music files with proper metadata

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Fixed nullable reference warnings in metadata enhancement service
• Improved error handling for image file loading
• Better null-safety for artist and title metadata extraction

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🎯 Features

Download Modes

🎵 Download Mode (Default)

• YouTube & Spotify Support - Paste links to download music
• Batch Processing - Download multiple tracks at once
• Smart Metadata Detection - Automatically fetches artist, title, album, genre, and year
• Album Art Search - Finds and embeds high-quality album artwork
• Format Selection - Choose from MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG, or Opus
• Quality Options - Select audio quality from 96 kbps to 320 kbps
• Artwork Sizing - Customize embedded artwork dimensions (300px - 1200px)

🎨 Resize Mode

• Bulk Image Resizing - Resize album art in multiple music files
• Drag & Drop - Simply drop files or folders
• Preserve Metadata - Keeps all existing tags intact
• Custom Dimensions - Set target artwork size
• Format Support - Works with MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG, Opus

🎵 Metadata Enhancement Mode (NEW in v1.4.0)

• Online Metadata Search - Automatically finds missing metadata
• Batch Enhancement - Process multiple files simultaneously
• Non-Destructive - Original files remain untouched, creates enhanced copies
• Comprehensive Logging - Detailed progress and error reporting

Audio Processing

• High-Quality Downloads - Up to 320 kbps audio quality
• Multiple Formats - MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG, Opus
• Smart Conversion - Automatic format optimization
• Metadata Embedding - Complete ID3 tag support
• Album Art Integration - Embeds artwork directly into files

User Experience

• Modern UI - Clean, intuitive Avalonia-based interface
• Real-Time Progress - Live download and processing status
• CLI Output - Detailed logging for troubleshooting
• Toast Notifications - Quick status updates
• Folder Management - Organized output directories
• Settings Persistence - Saves your preferences

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📥 Installation

Windows

Option 1: Standalone Executable

1. Download Symphex.exe from releases
2. Run the executable - no installation required

Option 2: Installer

1. Download Symphex-Setup.exe from releases
2. Run installer and follow prompts
3. Launch from Start Menu or Desktop

macOS

1. Download Symphex.pkg from releases
2. Open pkg and download the application
3. If macOS blocks the app:

   xattr -cr /Applications/Symphex.app 

Linux

AppImage (Recommended)

chmod +x ./Symphex.AppImage
./Symphex.AppImage

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo dpkg -i symphex_1.4.0_amd64.deb

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🚀 Quick Start

Download Mode

1. Launch Symphex
2. Paste a YouTube or Spotify link
3. Select audio format and quality
4. Click "Download My Music"
5. Files are saved to your Downloads folder

Resize Mode

1. Click "🎨 Resize Images" button
2. Drag and drop music files or folders
3. Set desired artwork size
4. Click "Start Processing"
5. Resized files saved to Resized folder

Metadata Enhancement Mode (NEW!)

1. Click "🎵 Enhance Metadata" button
2. Drop music files that need metadata
3. Click "Start Processing"
4. Enhanced files saved to Metadata folder

Pro Tip: When dropping files in Metadata Mode:

• Music files without artwork will get online-searched artwork
• If online search fails, your dropped images are used automatically
• Multiple images? The first one is used for all files

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⚙️ Settings

Download Settings

• Audio Format - MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG, Opus
• Audio Quality - 96, 128, 192, 256, 320 kbps
• Download Folder - Custom output location
• Album Art - Enable/disable artwork download
• Artwork Size - 300px to 1200px
• Thumbnail Options - Skip or customize thumbnail downloads

Advanced Options

• Artwork Selection - Manual artwork picker
• Batch Processing - Multiple downloads
• CLI Output - Detailed logging
• Auto-Update - Velopack integration

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💻 System Requirements

Requirement	Specification
OS	Windows 10/11, macOS 10.15+, Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+)
.NET Runtime	.NET 9.0 (included in installers)
Internet	Required for downloads and metadata search
Storage	~100 MB for app + space for downloads
Dependencies	yt-dlp (auto-downloaded on first run)

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🛠️ Technology Stack

Component	Technology
Framework	.NET 9.0
UI	Avalonia UI 11.3.12
MVVM	CommunityToolkit.Mvvm 8.4.0
Audio Tags	TagLibSharp 2.3.0
CLI Wrapper	CliWrap 3.10.0
Updates	Velopack 0.0.1298
Downloader	yt-dlp (external)

---

📚 Usage Examples

Download Single Track

1. Paste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
2. Format: MP3
3. Quality: 320 kbps
4. Click Download

Batch Download

1. Paste multiple links (one per line)
2. Select format and quality
3. Click Download
4. All tracks processed sequentially

Enhance Metadata

1. Enable Metadata Mode
2. Drop: song1.mp3, song2.mp3, artwork.jpg
3. Click Start Processing
4. Enhanced files in Metadata folder

Resize Album Art

1. Enable Resize Mode
2. Drop folder with music files
3. Set size: 600x600
4. Click Start Processing
5. Resized files in Resized folder

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🔒 Privacy & Security

• No Telemetry - Zero tracking or data collection
• Local Processing - All operations performed on your device
• No Account Required - Completely anonymous usage
• Open Source - Code available for review
• Safe Downloads - Uses official yt-dlp tool

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🐛 Troubleshooting

yt-dlp Not Found

• Symphex auto-downloads yt-dlp on first run
• Check CLI output for download progress
• Manually download from: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

Metadata Not Found

• Ensure file has basic tags (artist/title)
• Try renaming file to "Artist - Title.mp3" format
• Use local images as fallback in Metadata Mode

Download Fails

• Check internet connection
• Verify link is valid and accessible
• Try different quality/format settings
• Check CLI output for detailed errors

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💬 Support

• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 💭 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Email: [email protected]

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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⚖️ Disclaimer

Symphex is designed for downloading and managing music you have rights to. Users are responsible for complying with copyright laws and terms of service of content platforms. This tool is for personal use only.

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👥 Author

• @CyberNilsen

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• yt-dlp - Powerful download engine
• TagLibSharp - Audio metadata library
• Avalonia UI - Cross-platform UI framework
• Community - Thanks to all users and contributors

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Made with ❤️ for music lovers

Download Latest Release • View Documentation • Report Bug

Full Changelog: v1.3.1...v1.4.0

Blank window issue, trying to fix

Attempting to fix blank window issue

Symphex v1.3.0

Symphex v1.3.0 – Music Downloader

Cross-platform desktop app for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify with automatic metadata and album art. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

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🆕 What's New in v1.3.0

• Enhanced: Improved UI responsiveness and performance optimizations
• More featues: Added more features

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✨ Key Features

• Multi-source: YouTube, Spotify, search by "Song - Artist"
• High Quality: MP3 with embedded metadata and album artwork
• Batch Processing: Download multiple songs simultaneously
• Cross-Platform: Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Linux
• Theme Adaptive: Seamless light/dark mode support
• Auto-Setup: Automatically installs yt-dlp and FFmpeg

---

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download from releases
2. Extract and run Symphex
3. Paste URLs or search "Song - Artist"
4. Click download — files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

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🍎 macOS Users – Important Fix

If you get a "Symphex is damaged" error after downloading:

# Open Terminal and run:
xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine ./Symphex.app

Or try:

• Right-click the app → "Open" → "Open"
• System Preferences → Security & Privacy → "Open Anyway"

Why this happens: macOS marks downloaded files as "quarantined" for security. This command removes that flag so the app can run properly.

---

📄 License

MIT License — Personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

---

⭐ Star this repo if Symphex helps you download music!

Symphex v1.2.3 – Music Downloader

Symphex v1.2.3 – Music Downloader
Cross-platform desktop app for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify with automatic metadata and album art. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

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🆕 What's New in v1.2.3

• Fixed: Occasional download timeouts — downloads now complete reliably even under slower network conditions

---

✨ Key Features

• Multi-source: YouTube, Spotify, search by "Song - Artist"
• High Quality: MP3 with embedded metadata and album artwork
• Batch Processing: Download multiple songs simultaneously
• Cross-Platform: Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Linux
• Theme Adaptive: Seamless light/dark mode support
• Auto-Setup: Automatically installs yt-dlp and FFmpeg

---

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download from releases
2. Extract and run Symphex
3. Paste URLs or search "Song - Artist"
4. Click download — files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

---

🍎 macOS Users – Important Fix

If you get a “Symphex is damaged” error after downloading:

# Open Terminal and run:
xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine ./Symphex.app

Or try:

• Right-click the app → “Open” → “Open”
• System Preferences → Security & Privacy → “Open Anyway”

Why this happens: macOS marks downloaded files as “quarantined” for security. This command removes that flag so the app can run properly.

---

📄 License

MIT License — Personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

---

⭐ Star this repo if Symphex helps you download music!

v1.2.2

Symphex v1.2.2 - Music Downloader

Cross-platform desktop app for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify with automatic metadata and album art. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

🆕 What's New in v1.2.2

• Fixed: Light mode visibility issues - input bar and UI elements now properly visible
• Improved: Enhanced button hover effects for both light and dark Windows themes
• Enhanced: Better UI contrast and readability across all system themes

✨ Key Features

• Multi-source: YouTube, Spotify, search by "Song - Artist"
• High Quality: MP3 with embedded metadata and album artwork
• Batch Processing: Download multiple songs simultaneously
• Cross-Platform: Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Linux
• Theme Adaptive: Seamless light/dark mode support
• Auto-Setup: Automatically installs yt-dlp and FFmpeg

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download from [releases](https://github.com/CyberNilsen/Symphex/releases)
2. Extract and run Symphex
3. Paste URLs or search "Song - Artist"
4. Click download - files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

🍎 macOS Users - Important Fix

If you get a "Symphex is damaged" error after downloading:

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal)
2. Navigate to your app (drag the app to Terminal to auto-fill the path, or type manually):

   cd /path/to/where/you/extracted/

3. Remove quarantine attributes:

   xattr -cr Symphex.app

4. Run the app - it should now work normally!

Why this happens: macOS marks downloaded files as "quarantined" for security. This command removes that flag so the app can run properly.

Alternative methods:

• Right-click the app → "Open" → "Open" (instead of double-clicking)
• System Preferences → Security & Privacy → "Open Anyway"

📄 License

MIT License - Personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

---

⭐ Star this repo if Symphex helps you download music!

Symphex v1.2.1 - macOS Fixes & UI Improvements

Symphex v1.2.1 - Music Downloader

Cross-platform desktop app for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify with automatic metadata and album art. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

🆕 What's New in v1.2.1

• Fixed: macOS "Open Downloads" folder issue
• Improved: Window centering and responsive sizing
• Enhanced: Better UI scaling for different screens

✨ Key Features

• Multi-source: YouTube, Spotify, search by "Song - Artist"
• High Quality: MP3 with embedded metadata and album artwork
• Batch Processing: Download multiple songs simultaneously
• Cross-Platform: Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Linux
• Auto-Setup: Automatically installs yt-dlp and FFmpeg

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download from [[releases](https://github.com/CyberNilsen/Symphex/releases)](https://github.com/CyberNilsen/Symphex/releases)
2. Extract and run Symphex
3. Paste URLs or search "Song - Artist"
4. Click download - files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

🍎 macOS Users - Important Fix

If you get a "Symphex is damaged" error after downloading:

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal)
2. Navigate to your app (drag the app to Terminal to auto-fill the path, or type manually):

   cd /path/to/where/you/extracted/

3. Remove quarantine attributes:

   xattr -cr Symphex.app

4. Run the app - it should now work normally!

Why this happens: macOS marks downloaded files as "quarantined" for security. This command removes that flag so the app can run properly.

Alternative methods:

• Right-click the app → "Open" → "Open" (instead of double-clicking)
• System Preferences → Security & Privacy → "Open Anyway"

📄 License

MIT License - Personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

---

⭐ Star this repo if Symphex helps you download music!

v1.2.0

Symphex v1.2.0 Latest

A simple, elegant desktop application for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

What's New in v1.2.0

• Batch Processing: Multiple Spotify links now download 8 songs simultaneously for faster processing
• Improved Performance: Significantly reduced download times for playlists and albums
• Fixed Download Folder Bug: On MacOS there was a bug when opening the folder, but in theory it should be fixed now.

Features

• Multi-Platform: Download from YouTube, Spotify, and other supported platforms
• High-Quality MP3: Automatic metadata and album art embedding
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Auto-Dependencies: Automatically downloads yt-dlp and FFmpeg
• Clean Interface: Modern dark-themed GUI
• Smart Matching: Automatically finds YouTube matches for Spotify content
• Batch Downloads: Process multiple songs concurrently

Installation

1. Download from [releases](https://github.com/CyberNilsen/Symphex/releases)
2. Extract and run the executable
3. Dependencies install automatically on first launch

Usage

1. Paste YouTube/Spotify URLs or search by "Song - Artist"
2. For multiple links, paste them all at once for batch processing
3. Preview detected song info
4. Click download
5. Files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

System Requirements

• Windows: 10 or later
• macOS: 10.15 or later
• Linux: Modern distros with .NET 6.0+

License

MIT License - for personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

Built with [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp), [FFmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/), and [Avalonia](https://avaloniaui.net/)

v1.1.0

Symphex v1.1.0

A simple, elegant desktop application for downloading music from YouTube and Spotify. Built with Avalonia UI and C#.

What's New in v1.1.0

• Spotify Support: Now accepts Spotify track, album, and playlist URLs
• Settings Page: New settings panel for updating the program
• Smart Matching: Automatically finds YouTube matches for Spotify content

Features

• Multi-Platform: Download from YouTube, Spotify, and other supported platforms
• High-Quality MP3: Automatic metadata and album art embedding
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Auto-Dependencies: Automatically downloads yt-dlp and FFmpeg
• Clean Interface: Modern dark-themed GUI

Installation

1. Download from [releases](https://github.com/CyberNilsen/Symphex/releases)
2. Extract and run the executable
3. Dependencies install automatically on first launch

Usage

1. Paste YouTube/Spotify URLs or search by "Song - Artist"
2. Preview detected song info
3. Click download
4. Files saved to ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/

System Requirements

• Windows: 10 or later
• macOS: 10.15 or later
• Linux: Modern distros with .NET 6.0+

License

MIT License - for personal use only. Respect copyright laws.

---

Built with [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp), [FFmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/), and [Avalonia](https://avaloniaui.net/)

v1

Symphex Music Downloader

A simple, elegant desktop application for downloading music from YouTube and other supported platforms. Built with Avalonia UI and C#, Symphex provides a clean interface for converting online videos to high-quality MP3 files with proper metadata.

Features

• Easy-to-use Interface: Clean, modern dark-themed GUI with intuitive controls
• Smart Song Detection: Automatically extracts song title, artist, and album information
• High-Quality Album Art: Searches iTunes and Deezer APIs for proper album artwork
• Automatic Metadata: Embeds song information directly into MP3 files
• Cross-Platform Support: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Auto-Installation: Automatically downloads required dependencies (yt-dlp and FFmpeg)
• Search Support: Enter URLs directly or search by song title and artist
• Progress Tracking: Real-time download progress with visual feedback

Screenshots

The application features a split-panel design:

• Left Panel: Download controls and progress tracking
• Right Panel: Live preview of detected song information and album art

System Requirements

• Windows: Windows 10 or later
• macOS: macOS 10.15 or later
• Linux: Modern distributions with .NET 6.0+ support

Installation

Option 1: Download Release

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Extract the archive to your desired location
3. Run the Symphex executable
4. Dependencies (yt-dlp and FFmpeg) will be downloaded automatically on first use

Option 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/symphex.git
cd symphex
dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet run

Dependencies

Symphex automatically manages these dependencies:

• yt-dlp: For downloading audio from various platforms
• FFmpeg: For audio processing and metadata embedding

On first launch, the application will automatically download these tools. Linux users may need to install FFmpeg via their package manager:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ffmpeg

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg

Usage

1. Launch Symphex: Start the application
2. Enter URL or Search:
   • Paste a YouTube URL, or
   • Type "song title - artist" to search
3. Preview: The right panel shows detected song information
4. Download: Click the download button
5. Enjoy: Files are saved to your Music/Symphex Downloads folder

Supported Input Formats

• Direct YouTube URLs
• YouTube Music URLs
• Search queries (e.g., "Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen")
• Most platforms supported by yt-dlp

Output Details

• Format: MP3 (highest quality available)
• Metadata: Title, artist, album, date, embedded album artwork
• Filename: Song Title - Artist Name.mp3
• Location: ~/Music/Symphex Downloads/ (customizable)

Technical Details

Built With

• Framework: Avalonia UI (.NET 6+)
• Architecture: MVVM pattern with CommunityToolkit.Mvvm
• Audio Processing: yt-dlp + FFmpeg pipeline
• Metadata APIs: iTunes Search API, Deezer API

Key Components

• MainWindowViewModel: Core application logic and download orchestration
• TrackInfo: Data model for song metadata and artwork
• Auto-dependency management for cross-platform tool installation
• Smart filename sanitization and metadata cleaning

Configuration

The application automatically configures itself, but you can customize:

• Download folder location
• Audio quality settings (in code)
• Metadata sources and search strategies

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"yt-dlp not available"

• The app should auto-download yt-dlp. If this fails, manually download it to the tools/ folder

"No song found"

• Try different search terms or use a direct URL
• Ensure the video/song is publicly available

Missing album art

• The app searches multiple sources but may not find artwork for obscure releases
• YouTube thumbnails are used as fallback

Linux FFmpeg issues

• Install FFmpeg via your package manager: sudo apt install ffmpeg

Log Files

Check the application output for detailed error information and debugging.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built on the excellent [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) project
• Uses [FFmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/) for audio processing
• Metadata sourced from iTunes and Deezer APIs
• UI built with [Avalonia](https://avaloniaui.net/)

Disclaimer

This software is for personal use only. Please respect copyright laws and only download content you have the right to access. The developers are not responsible for any misuse of this software.

Pre release

Pre release of symphex is out! Some known issues is the gui is known to break, issues can appear on linux and mac since those operating systems are not tested as rigerousley as windows. If you have ffmpeg and yt-dlp in system path instead of installing directly from the program at least on windows then you wont get album art. GUI thread freezes when downloading ffmpeg. on Linux it says that ffmpeg and yt-dlp are in system path but they are actually not.