With iTunes being one of the most popular media players, many users have accumulated large libraries of music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and more over the years. As libraries grow in size, some users may want to delete their entire iTunes library and start fresh. Thankfully, iTunes makes it possible to completely delete everything in your library if needed.
Quick Answers
Here are quick answers to some common questions about deleting your iTunes library:
Can you delete your entire iTunes library?
Yes, it is possible to completely delete your entire iTunes media library, including all music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and more purchased or imported into iTunes.
How do you delete an entire iTunes library?
To delete your entire iTunes library, you need to go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced and click the “Reset” button. This will delete your entire media library, playlists, and other data from iTunes.
Does deleting an iTunes library delete the files?
No, deleting your iTunes library does not delete the original media files from your computer or external drives. It only deletes their links and information from within iTunes.
Can you recover a deleted iTunes library?
Unfortunately no, once you delete your iTunes library, there is no way to recover it. The only way is to re-add your media files to iTunes manually to rebuild your library.
Deciding If You Should Delete Your iTunes Library
Before deleting your entire iTunes library, it’s important to consider both the pros and cons to determine if it’s the right choice for you.
Pros of Deleting an iTunes Library
- Removes unused, old, and duplicate tracks.
- Frees up disk space used by the library database files.
- Fixes issues caused by a corrupted library.
- Lets you rebuild a clean library from scratch.
- Encourages you to re-evaluate your media collection.
Cons of Deleting an iTunes Library
- Permanently deletes all metadata, playlists, play counts, ratings, and other library data.
- Requires manually re-adding all media files to iTunes.
- Loss of playlists, play history, and other personal data.
- Time-consuming process of rebuilding your library.
- Risk of accidentally deleting important media files.
Overall, deleting your iTunes library should only be done if you absolutely want to start fresh and rebuild your library from scratch. It is a permanent process, so be sure you are ready to lose all existing library data and invest time re-adding media.
Backing Up iTunes Before Deleting
Prior to deleting your iTunes library, it’s highly recommended to make backups of your important data just in case you need it later on. Here are some things you may want to backup:
Media Files
Make sure the original media files (music, movies, etc.) are backed up on an external hard drive or cloud storage. Deleting the iTunes library will not affect the actual files stored elsewhere.
Playlists
Export important playlists you have created as .m3u files to save the list of songs. You can import these again later.
iTunes Media Folder
Make a copy of the “iTunes Media” folder where your media is stored. This will make re-importing faster if needed.
Library Database File
The file “iTunes Library.itl” contains your library data. Back this up in case you want to restore after deleting the library.
Taking the time to fully back up key components of your iTunes library will give you a safety net in case you ever want to reaccess something from the deleted library.
How to Delete Your iTunes Library on Windows
If you use iTunes on a Windows PC, here are the steps to completely delete your iTunes media library:
- Open iTunes on your computer.
- Go to Edit > Preferences in the top menu bar.
- Click on the Advanced tab in the preferences window.
- Look for the “Reset” button and click it.
- A message will appear asking you to confirm the reset. Click “Reset” again.
- iTunes will now delete your entire media library data, playlists, and other information.
Once completed, your iTunes library will be empty with no music, movies, playlists, or other data. You can now begin adding media files to rebuild your library from scratch.
How to Delete Your iTunes Library on Mac
For Mac users, here are the steps to delete your entire iTunes media library:
- Open iTunes on your Mac computer.
- Go to iTunes > Preferences in the top menu bar.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Look for the “Reset” button and click it.
- A prompt will appear asking you to confirm reset. Click “Reset” again.
- iTunes will delete your full library, playlists, history, and other data.
Once it finishes, your iTunes library will be empty. You can then add new media to iTunes to build your library again from zero.
Rebuilding Your iTunes Library
After deleting your entire iTunes library, you’ll need to add media back to iTunes to build a new one. Here are some tips for rebuilding your iTunes media library from scratch:
Re-Import Your Media Files
Add all your music, movies and other media files back to iTunes so they appear in your library again. You can re-import files from your backup media folders.
Rebuild Playlists
Create new playlists and add songs back to them. Use your exported .m3u playlist files to easily see song lists.
Update Metadata
Any metadata like song details, ratings, play counts, etc. will need to be updated by editing each media file.
Re-Sync Devices
Sync your iPhones, iPods and other devices to transfer media from the rebuilt library.
Set New Preferences
Double check all your iTunes preferences and settings to customize your new library.
Rebuilding your library from the ground up will take some time but gives you a chance to re-evaluate your media collection.
Alternative Options to Deleting iTunes Library
Instead of fully deleting your iTunes library, consider some of these alternative options:
Clean Up Library
Use built-in tools like “Find Unused Files” or “Find Duplicate Files” to clean up your library without deleting it entirely.
Create New Library
Add your media files into a newly created library, leaving the old one intact as backup.
Delete Portions
Only delete certain media types (like movies) or delete based on dates to remove portions of the library.
Hide Items
Use the “Hidden” status to select unwanted tracks and hide them from view without removing.
Using selective removal methods instead of deleting your whole library allows you to maintain data, playlists, and other information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you recover an iTunes library after deleting?
Unfortunately no, once you delete an iTunes library, there is no built-in way to recover it. Apple does not provide any way to restore deleted data. Your only option is to use your backups to manually rebuild the library.
What happens when you delete an iTunes library?
Deleting your iTunes library erases all metadata, playlists, play history, ratings, and other library data. It does not delete or alter the original media files stored outside iTunes. You have to re-import each file to rebuild the library.
Does deleting iTunes library delete music files?
No, your actual media files like music, movies, audiobooks, etc. are not deleted when you delete your iTunes library. iTunes only stores links to media files along with library data, which get erased. The original files remain untouched.
Is it safe to delete iTunes library?
Deleting your entire iTunes library is normally safe as long as you have backups of your important media files and playlists. However, permanently erasing all library data is risky and can lead to loss of data if proper backups are not made.
How much space does iTunes library take up?
The amount of disk space used by your iTunes library depends on the size of your media collection. Audio like music takes up about 5MB per song. Video files like movies use about 1GB per hour. The library database itself tends to use 500MB or more. Large libraries can use over 100GB.
Conclusion
Deleting your entire iTunes library is a drastic but sometimes necessary step in order to start fresh. Be sure to carefully consider the pros and cons, back up important data, and properly understand the steps before proceeding. With a bit of work, you can successfully delete and rebuild your iTunes media library. Just be sure you are fully committed, as the deleted data cannot be recovered.