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CLI mode

Run TNT as a headless daemon that watches a directory.

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Beta testing the CLI mode

This function is currently in beta testing. Find the releases here .

CLI Mode

TNT can run as a headless daemon that watches a directory and processes audio files automatically. Launch it with flags instead of the GUI.

Basic usage

tnt -i /path/to/watch -o /path/to/output [options]

When started, TNT processes any existing audio files in the input directory, then watches for new files. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Examples

Normalize to EBU R128 with flat EQ and moderate dynamics:

tnt -i ./inbox -o ./processed -p:eq 1 -p:dyn 2 -lufs 1 -lufs-target-i -23 -lufs-target-tp -1

Tag files with ReplayGain without normalizing (FLAC output):

tnt -i ./inbox -o ./tagged -rg 1 -format flac

MP3 320kbps with broadcast dynamics and LUFS normalization:

tnt -i ./inbox -o ./out -format mp3 -br 320 -p:dyn 3 -lufs 1

Opus speech-optimized output with custom loudness target:

tnt -i ./inbox -o ./out -format opus -br 128 -speech 1 -lufs 1 -lufs-target-i -16 -lufs-target-tp -1

Flags

FlagDescriptionDefault
-iInput directory to watch (required)
-oOutput directory (required)
-formatOutput format: pcm, flac, opus, aac, mp3pcm
-srSample rate: 44100, 48000, 88200, 96000, 19200048000
-bdBit depth: 16, 24, 32, 64 (32/64 are float)24
-brBitrate in kbps (lossy codecs)256
-p:eqEQ preset: 0=off, 1=flat, 2=speech, 3=broadcast0/off
-p:dynDynamics preset: 0=off, 1=light, 2=moderate, 3=broadcast0/off
-lufsLUFS normalization: 1=on, 0=off1/on
-lufs-target-iIntegrated loudness target in LUFS-23
-lufs-target-tpTrue peak limit in dBTP-1
-rgReplayGain tag-only mode (no normalization): 1=on, 0=off0
-dyn-normDynamic normalization (dynaudnorm): 1=on, 0=off0
-speechOpus speech optimization: 1=on, 0=off0
-no-transcodeCopy codec without transcoding: 1=on, 0=off0
-compData compression level 010 (FLAC/Opus only)0
-phase-checkCheck for phase inversion before processing: 1=on, 0=off0
-workersNumber of parallel worker threads (0=auto: CPU cores − 1)0

About the -comp-flag

This flag is the amount of data compression you want for codecs that allow you to specify data compression level. It does not follow the encoder’s own data compression argument, but maps to that argument.

Range is from 0 (no data compression) to 10 (as much data compression as the encoder allows).

Notes

  • The processing pipeline is identical to the GUI: EQ, dynamic normalization, dynamics/compression, then loudness normalization — all at 192 kHz / 64-bit float internally.
  • When -rg 1 is set, files are measured and tagged with REPLAYGAIN_TRACK_GAIN, REPLAYGAIN_TRACK_PEAK, and REPLAYGAIN_REFERENCE_LOUDNESS but audio data is not normalized.
  • Logs are written to ~/.config/TNT/tnt-cli.log.
  • Running the binary without any flags launches the GUI as usual.
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