Cue sheet

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Cue sheet commands

The following commands are detailed in the Appendix A of the CDRWIN User's Guide:

  • CATALOG – A 13-digit UPC/EAN code, also referred to as the Media Catolog Number (MCN). 12-digit UPC codes should be prefixed with a "0".
  • CDTEXTFILE – A path to a file containing CD-Text info.
  • FILE – A path to a file containing audio data, and to which subsequent commands apply.
  • FLAGS – Per-track subcode flag(s):
    • DCP - Digital copy permitted.
    • 4CH - Four channel audio.
    • PRE - Pre-emphasis enabled (audio tracks only).
    • SCMS - Serial Copy Management System (not supported by all recorders).
  • INDEX – Per-track index(es).
  • ISRC – Per-track ISRC(s).
  • PERFORMER – Per-disc or per-track performer name for CD-Text data.
  • POSTGAP – Amount of post-track silence to add.
  • PREGAP – Amount of pre-track silence to add.
  • REM – A remark/comment to be ignored.
  • SONGWRITER – Per-disc or per-track songwriter name for CD-Text data.
  • TITLE – Per-disc or per-track title for CD-Text data.
  • TRACK – Type of track to create, and to which subsequent commands apply.

Most often used

FILE
The FILE command specifies the file that the cue sheet is currently referencing. Valid file types are WAVE, MP3, AIFF, BINARY and MOTOROLA. Other formats, such as the lossless formats WavPack or FLAC, can also be used under the WAVE file type.
INDEX
A number between 00 and 99. Index points are specified in MM:SS:FF format, and are relative to the start of the file currently referenced. MM is the number of minutes, SS the number of seconds, and FF the number of frames (there are seventy five frames to one second). INDEX 01 commands specify the beginning of a new track. INDEX 00 commands specify the pre-gap of a track; you may notice your Audio CD player count up from a negative value before beginning a new track - this is the period between INDEX 00 and INDEX 01.
PERFORMER
At top-level this will specify the CD artist, while at track-level it specifies the track artist.
PREGAP
Used to specify the length of a track pre-gap, in MM:SS:FF format. Although the SCSI specs reserve the term pre-gap for the pause before a data track, in a cue sheet the PREGAP command can be used to create a pause before any kind of track, data or audio.
REM
Used to record comments in a cue sheet. This command is often used to store additional meta data to TITLE and PERFORMER, e.g.: the date or genre of the disc.
The following REM comments can be written to a disc's CD-Text section and read by an application such as cdrdao or ImgBurn:
REM UPC
The "UPC" is not necessarily the same as "CATALOG", and can be 12 or 13 digits in length.
REM DISCID
Although programs such as Exact Audio Copy use this to store the disc's CDDB1 value, other programs can extract the disc's true Disc ID, which is usually the disc's label-specific catalog number (see the example TOC file on the cdrdao page and the "DISC_ID" field for an example).
TITLE
At top-level this will specify the album name, while at track-level it specifies the track name.
TRACK
A number between 01 and 99, indicating the track number.

Quotation marks

The use of quotation marks around strings for PERFORMER, TITLE, etc., is standard practice, however, for programs such as ImgBurn, they are not mandatory.[1]

By omitting quotation marks, this allows the use of quotation marks within the string itself. For example: 

  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE Theme Of "Rome"
    PERFORMER Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
    ISRC GBAYE1001378
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

This does not, however, work for strings that need to display quotation marks at the beginning of the string, as ImgBurn only parses the text contained within the quotation marks.

Whitespace

Line breaks must be used between commands. Spaces or tabs can be used to indent; they're ignored but can make the file easier to understand when viewing or manually editing. Customarily, for audio CDs, all the commands which apply to a particular file are indented under the FILE command, and those which apply to a specific track are further indented under the TRACK command.

Examples

A standard single file cue sheet 

REM GENRE Alternative
REM DATE 1991
REM DISCID 860B640B
REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.95b4"
PERFORMER "My Bloody Valentine"
TITLE "Loveless"
FILE "My Bloody Valentine - Loveless.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Only Shallow"
    PERFORMER "My Bloody Valentine"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Loomer"
    PERFORMER "My Bloody Valentine"
    INDEX 01 04:17:52

The cue sheet above, created by EAC, shows the first two tracks of a standard single file cue sheet. Note the use of REM commands to record additional metadata, in the format REM <TAG> "<value>". The PERFORMER and TITLE commands at the top of the cue sheet detail the CD artist and album name respectively. The PERFORMER and TITLE commands at track-level specify the track artist and title.

TRACK 02's INDEX 01 entry does not state that the track is 4m 17.693s long, but that the beginning of the track is 4m 17.693s into the file (so TRACK 01 was in fact 4m 17.693s long). If TRACK 02 was 3m long exactly, TRACK 03's INDEX 01 value would be 07:17:52.

Also note the file reference specifying a relative path to the file (references can also be absolute) and the file type: WAVE.

A single-file cue sheet with a TRACK 01 INDEX 00 hidden track

PERFORMER "Bloc Party"
TITLE "Silent Alarm"
FILE "Bloc Party - Silent Alarm.flac" WAVE
 TRACK 01 AUDIO
   TITLE "Like Eating Glass"
   PERFORMER "Bloc Party"
   INDEX 00 00:00:00
   INDEX 01 03:22:70
 TRACK 02 AUDIO
   TITLE "Helicopter"
   PERFORMER "Bloc Party"
   INDEX 00 07:42:69
   INDEX 01 07:44:69

The cue sheet above shows the first two tracks of a single file cue sheet for a disc with a hidden track at the start. Note that TRACK 01 INDEX 01 starts at 03:22:70 (3m 22.933s) instead of 00:00:00 as in the first example, and most cue sheets. The INDEX 00 index on TRACK 02 displays the more usual behaviour, being two seconds before INDEX 01.

As the INDEX 00 is on TRACK 01 you will not normally see the usual countdown from a negative value that you might see from an INDEX 00 command on a subsequent track. To listen to this track on a Audio CD player you will need to start the disc playing and press rewind, to rewind, essentially, from 3m 22s into the disc back to the true beginning.

Also note that the file referenced is FLAC, but the WAVE files type is used. For MP3 files the file type "MP3" should be used, for AIFF you should use "AIFF", but for all other types "WAVE" is used.

Multiple files with corrected gaps

FILE "The Specials - Singles - 01 - Gangsters.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Gangsters"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
FILE "The Specials - Singles - 02 - Rudi, A Message To You.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Rudi, A Message To You"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 00 00:00:00
    INDEX 01 00:00:28

This multiple file cue sheet, created by EAC, has gaps prepended to the next track. This method allows users to retain gaps, but by prepending the gap to the next track each track may begin with silence, which makes playback less satisfactory. This is a very uncommon way to rip CDs, even though it is more in line with the disc's actual track layout.

Multiple files with gaps left out

FILE "The Specials - Singles - 01 - Gangsters.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Gangsters"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
FILE "The Specials - Singles - 02 - Rudi, A Message To You.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Rudi, A Message To You"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    PREGAP 00:00:28
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

This multiple file cue sheet, created by EAC, has removed the gaps, but artificially recreates silence between tracks using the PREGAP command. This is fine if the gap was silence, but unsatisfactory if it contained audio.

Multiple files with gaps (Noncompliant)

FILE "The Specials - Singles - 01 - Gangsters.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Gangsters"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Rudi, A Message To You"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 00 02:47:74
FILE "The Specials - Singles - 02 - Rudi, A Message To You.wav" WAVE
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

This multiple-file cue sheet, created by EAC, has gaps appended to the previous track, and is a favourite among users who rip to track files but wish to retain gap information. This format allows the user to retain gaps, but in a position in the track file that does not hinder playback. Unfortunately, this format is non-compliant; this type of rip, despite its popularity, was not supported by the original DAO and CDRWIN software for which cue sheets were designed. Applications that adhere to the cue sheet specification, like foobar2000, will not be able to read it. Of course, EAC will read these cue sheets, as will the CD burning application Burrrn.

Note that INDEX 00 of TRACK 02 is set while still referencing the first FILE.

Single file version of the cue sheet used above

FILE "The Specials - Singles.wav" WAVE
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Gangsters"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    TITLE "Rudi, A Message To You"
    PERFORMER "The Specials"
    INDEX 00 02:47:74
    INDEX 01 02:48:27

For reference, the cue sheet used in the examples above is in single file format.
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