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podkit

Tips & Next Steps

Now that you’ve completed your first sync, here are some common things you’ll want to do.

Setting Quality

podkit transcodes lossless files (FLAC, WAV, ALAC) to AAC. The default is high (~256 kbps VBR), but you can change it:

Terminal window
# Override quality for a single sync
podkit sync --quality medium


# Set quality when adding a device
podkit device add -d nano --quality medium --no-artwork


# Change quality on an existing device
podkit device set -d classic --audio-quality max --video-quality high


# Clear device quality (use global default instead)
podkit device set -d classic --clear-quality
PresetBitrateBest for
maxLossless or ~256 kbpsALAC on supported devices, otherwise same as high
high~256 kbps VBRGood quality, reasonable size (default)
medium~192 kbps VBRSaving space
low~128 kbps VBRMaximum compression

Set it permanently in your config or per device — see Audio Transcoding for full details.

Listing Media

See what’s on your iPod or in your collections:

Terminal window
# Music on your iPod
podkit device music


# Video on your iPod
podkit device video


# Music in a collection
podkit collection music


# Output as JSON
podkit device music --format json

Removing Content

By default, podkit sync only adds tracks. To remove tracks from your iPod that are no longer in your collection:

Terminal window
podkit sync --delete --dry-run   # Preview first
podkit sync --delete             # Then do it

To clear everything from a device:

Terminal window
podkit device clear              # Remove all content
podkit device clear --type music  # Remove only music
podkit device clear --type video # Remove only video

Syncing Specific Collections

If you have multiple collections, you can sync them selectively:

Terminal window
podkit sync -t music             # Sync only music (skip video)
podkit sync -t video             # Sync only video (skip music)
podkit sync -t music -c main     # Sync a specific collection

Setting Defaults

Set the default device and collections so you don’t need to specify them every time:

Terminal window
# Set default device
podkit device default -d classic


# Set default music collection
podkit collection default -t music -c main


# Set default video collection
podkit collection default -t video -c movies

Syncing to Different Devices

If you have multiple iPods registered:

Terminal window
podkit sync -d nano              # Sync to a specific device
podkit device info -d classic     # Check status of a specific device

See Managing Devices for setting up per-device quality and defaults.

Verbose Output

For debugging or just to see what’s happening:

Terminal window
podkit sync -v      # Verbose
podkit sync -vv     # More verbose
podkit sync -vvv    # Debug level

Troubleshooting

”iPod not found”

  1. Make sure the iPod is mounted (visible in Finder on macOS)
  2. Check the mount point: ls /Volumes/ (macOS) or lsblk (Linux)
  3. Try specifying the path directly: podkit sync --device /Volumes/IPOD
  4. On macOS with large iFlash cards, see macOS Mounting Issues

”Cannot read iPod database”

  1. The iPod may need initialization:
    Terminal window
    podkit device init --device /Volumes/IPOD
  2. Check if the iPod_Control folder exists: ls /Volumes/IPOD/iPod_Control/
  3. Try restoring the iPod with iTunes/Finder first

”FFmpeg not found”

  1. Install FFmpeg (see Installation)
  2. Verify it’s in your PATH: which ffmpeg
  3. Check it has AAC support: ffmpeg -encoders 2>/dev/null | grep aac

For more issues, see Common Issues.

Further Reading