This tutorial will guide you in installing all of the required software (and in which order) to get iTunes to play .flac files. This works for iTunes version 7.4.1 and up (and Quicktime 7.2.0) running on OS X.
Update: I’ve added a 2nd, much easier way to accomplish the same thing (playing FLAC files in iTunes. And this method works using iTunes 7.6.2 or higher.
The original (longer) method can be found at the bottom of this post. But the new “updated” method really is much easier and faster.
Updated method to play FLAC files in iTunes
- Download and install Fluke. Fluke is actually an AppleScript, saved as an Application bundle, that includes all of the software used in the longer method
- Select one or more FLAC files, right-click (ctrl-click for single-button mouse folks), choose Open With and select Other….
- Navigate to Fluke, select it and click Open
- A window will pop up, some text will fly by, the window will close and you’ll be presented with the option to import the “items” (flac files) into iTunes. Click Yes
- And your FLAC files will be added to iTunes. That’s it – give them a play, set the tags etc. You’re done!
Longer method to play FLAC files in iTunes
- Exit out of iTunes and Quicktime if they’re open.
- Start by downloading xiph-qt-0.1.8.dmg. Unpack it and drag XiphQT.component to /Library/Components/ if you’d like it to be available to all users on your Mac, or /Users/your-user-name/Library/Components/ if you want it to just be available for you. If you’ve ever installed the Xiph QuickTime Component before, drag it to the trash before copying the new version over.
- Now download flac_import_0.5b1_p0.1.dmg. Open it up and drag FLACImport.component to /Library/QuickTime/ or /Users/your-user-name/Library/QuickTime/
- And finally, download set-OggS-0.1.dmg. Unpack it and drag Clear OggS.app and Set OggS.app to your Applications folder.
- Launch iTunes. You can try loading a .flac file now, but it likely won’t work quite yet. If it doesn’t, drag the flac (or multiple .flac files) and drop them on Set OggS.app. A window will pop up confirming that all of the .flac files have been ‘converted’.
- Now you should have no problem loading the flac files that have been through Set OggS.app into iTunes. You’ll have to tag them manually (tags aren’t carried over to iTunes) but at least they’re working!
wow, i can now say itunes is the best audio playback app for mac. thanks!
The second image under the original steps is the wrong one — you’re showing the same pic for Steps 2 and 3. The “enlarged” image link is fine, just not the smaller version above.
Brent – thanks for catching that, fixed.
Cheers!
Hi Ross,
I’m having a bit of trouble. I downloaded Fluke and installed as per the instructions. Then I followed the “Updated method to play FLAC files in iTunes”. The files are copied over to itunes. However, no matter which one I select an play I get nothing but some sort of complexed noise. It sounds terrible. Any thoughts? Software: Mac OS X 10.5.3, iTunes 8.0.2. The files are Linn Records, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Mozart Requiem, “Studio Master”, FLAC 24bit 96kHz. http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-mozart-requiem-sacd.aspx
Thanks, Chris
Dude, great stuff. Thanks so much for posting. Fluke is the shizzle.
Thanks a lot for the explanation!
In iTunes if I change the title to the album it changes, but once the song is played it reverts back to the prior title? Can you help?
Thank you very much for your software!!!!!
neither will work for 24 bit FLAC files. the xiph-qt component gets something wrong and the audio is shredded.
Impossible d’importer mes fichiers FLAC dans iTunes…. Quelqu’un pourrait-il m’aider ? J’ai la dernière version d’iTunes et j’ai correctement installé Fluke.
Merci d’avance pour votre aide
Gewoon even Apple Lossless versie aanmaken van je ‘fluked flacs’ in Itunes en vervolgens kun je:
1. Gewoon album art toevoegen
2. Gewoon afspelen op je Ipod
René
When your create a Apple Lossless version of your ‘fluked flac’, you will be able to add artwork and play it on your ipod keeping the lossless compression.
René
Did not work. Fluke works and then iTunes pops up, but nothing is added…
Thanks for making the Fluke file available. Seemed like I had to look forever to find info on how to convert flac files to AIFF files (downloaded 2 albums from Mindawn.com), but the installation & use of Fluke appears to be a better option. The only problem I had was that the graphic you used in Step 3 (Applications) did not show up the same on my Mac (OS X Version 10.4.11), so I had to figure that out first (still kind of new to Macs). Thanks again for the headache relief.
Did work on itunes 8
I have used the slow method to put these components in place on my Mac (10.4). However, my end goal is slightly different.
I have all of my music as flacs stored on an Ubuntu machine running RhythmBox. RhythmBox provides a DAAP share just like iTunes. I am able to connect to that share and play an mp3 or wave file as expected.
After following the directions, I hoped that iTunes would be able to play the flacs as well (it has always displayed them). It fails to play anything nor does the progress bar move across the song.
It is (obviously) not feasible to run the ogg application on the flacs.
Can you offer any further advice or links or whatever? This is one of the final pieces of the puzzle.
REMEMBER TO SHUTDOWN ITUNES FIRST BEFORE ADDING TRACKS. won’t work otherwise.
Works good for itunes 8.2 as well. Thanks a lot!
nice – works great – urawesome
I love you! thanks a lot
not afraid of flacs anymore now 
Is there a fluke version for Windows? Please help. Thank you. =)
YES!!! thank you!
Hi,
All this is very nice, but Fluke means I can’t do this on Windows. Is there a way I can make iTunes play .flac files in Windows?
same with what the person say above
For those wondering, Apple will most likely never include support FLAC or other open formats themselves. The reason for this is that they’d open themselves up to numerous patent lawsuits as the target with the most $$$. Instead, they can develop their own, or license others and get better legal protection. They’ll also continue to allow plug-ins as a way of partially making up for this…since they don’t hate these formats, they just don’t want the legal risk.
Apple does have a lossless codec that FLAC files can be losslessly transcoded into. When this is done, you can then play them in iTunes, as well as your iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, etc…
A FREE and very handy tool for transcoding audio files is Max:
http://sbooth.org/Max/
worked great once i remembered to quit iTunes. i did, however, get pretty annoyed when it imported the album in alphabetical, not sequential, order. and since iTunes won’t allow you to move songs around without making a playlist (again, annoying) do you have a suggestion on how to “fix” this ? thanks!
Didn’t work for me. I’m on Leopard 10.5.7 and iTunes 8.1.1. : (
Didn’t work for me on lastest OSX & itunes. It says its imported but the tracks jsut aren’t there in itunes
Try a program called xACT
On a mac… drop all the flac tracks with TOAST in audio mode… save disk image on the same folder as the album. Then right click the disk image file and select the option MORE and from the submenu MOUNT IT.
Itunes will open and recognize the file as an album… that way you can listen to it in a CD kinda like experience or import them to mp3…
cheers
Tried all of the steps in the longer version, and everything worked OK, but my flac files still won’t drag/drop to iTunes (using 7.5). I’ve tried to open/close it, then drag/drop again. I’ve tried to open iTunes by right-clicking the flac files and selection the program. Within iTunes, I’ve tried importing the files. Nothing. Can’t drag/drop anything from Set OggS (0.1), so I’m stumped. Please advise. Thanks!
Apparently the updated method works fine, I´m using Leopard & iTunes 8.2, but strange things happen when I add album art to the files, sometimes the pictures remain but sometimes they “dissappear”. Any suggestions?
Thanks
I’m sure someone has asked this already but I use itunes on windows XP professional and was wondering how I could get it to play flac files
I’m sure someone has asked this already but I use itunes on windows XP professional. Is there a way of playing flac files with itunes run on windows xp?
Fluke works great transfering flac to itunes but they only play on the cumputer speakers. Streaming to Airport Express does NOT work for any of the files added to the itunes lib thru fluke…. Any ideas?
I appreciate the help, although you forgot the most important step in the “short method” directions…. which is of course, the first step:
1.Exit out of iTunes and Quicktime if they’re open.
just spent 15 frustrated minutes before i figured that one out:)
Of course, that could be because apple has turned me into an iZombie!
(or I’m just a dumb-ass)
I tried using Fluke the short method you mention, but after the “do you want to import to itunes” window, the files never appeared in itunes. Why? What else do you suggest?
Has anyone had success with fluke in iTunes 9.0.1 and Snow Leopard 10.6.1?
(I haven’t, and I’m wondering if it’s a version conflict or operator error…)
A quick question before i start using on of these methods: will i also be able to import art work on the files in iTunes? Heard that FLAC files don’t allow this; which would be a bummer…
Thanks!
It’s just ridicolous that you have to use arcane trciks like this just to play a FLAC.