MusicBrainz API
Official vendor OpenAPI document · agent-readyMediaAudio Processingbasic25 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Look up music metadata for artists, releases, recordings, and works in the open MusicBrainz database. Returns MBID-keyed entities suitable for music tagging, discography lookups, and catalog reconciliation.
Use for: I need to look up an artist's discography by name, Find all releases for a given album using the release group MBID, Search for a recording by its ISRC code, Retrieve the canonical MBID for a track
Not supported: Does not stream audio, sell music, or generate AI audio - use for music metadata lookup and reconciliation only.
The MusicBrainz API exposes the open MusicBrainz music metadata database, providing canonical identifiers and rich relationships for artists, releases, recordings, works, labels, and more. It supports lookup by MBID, browse queries that filter by linked entities, and full-text search across the catalog. Identifier-based lookups via Disc ID and ISRC make it the reference source for music tagging, library reconciliation, and discography research.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the MusicBrainz API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the MusicBrainz API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
1
Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fmusicbrainz.org%2Fmusicbrainz" | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Fmusicbrainz.org%2Fmusicbrainz" | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with MusicBrainz API.
Look up an artist, release, recording, or work by MusicBrainz Identifier (MBID)
Search the catalog with full-text queries against artist name, release title, or ISRC
Browse releases linked to an artist, label, or release group
Resolve recordings from a CD's Disc ID or a track's ISRC code
Retrieve label, area, event, instrument, place, series, and genre records by MBID
List all genres tracked in MusicBrainz for taxonomy alignment
Pull relationship data between entities, such as recordings linked to a work
Use Cases
Patterns agents use MusicBrainz API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Music Library Tagging
Enrich a digital music library with canonical MusicBrainz identifiers and metadata. The MusicBrainz API resolves recordings via /isrc/{isrc} or /recording/{mbid}, returning artist, release, and work links that downstream taggers write into ID3 fields. Using MBIDs as the primary key keeps the library consistent across renames and re-releases.
For each ISRC in a track list, call GET /isrc/{isrc} and write the returned artist name and recording MBID back to the library record.
Disc ID Resolution
Identify a physical CD from its Disc ID and pull the matching release with full tracklist. The /discid/{discid} endpoint returns the linked releases, which a ripping or cataloguing tool can use to populate track titles and artists without manual entry. This is the same pattern used by major desktop music players for CD recognition.
Compute a disc ID from the CD's TOC, call GET /discid/{discid}, and return the matching release MBID with its track list.
Artist Discography Browsing
Build an artist page that shows every release group, recording, and label associated with the artist. The browse pattern queries the lookup endpoints with includes so a single call returns linked discography data. This collapses dozens of round trips that would otherwise be needed to assemble a full artist profile.
Resolve an artist name to its MBID via /artist search, then call GET /artist/{mbid} with inc=release-groups+recordings to render the full discography.
Catalog Reconciliation Across Sources
Reconcile track listings from streaming services, store catalogs, or label feeds against MusicBrainz canonical IDs. Search endpoints accept artist and title strings; lookups by MBID then anchor each external record to a stable identifier. Reconciliation reduces duplicate inventory, mismatched royalties, and incorrect recommendations downstream.
Search the recording endpoint with a streaming track's artist+title, then store the top-scoring MBID against the streaming track ID for future lookups.
AI Agent Music Knowledge Lookup
Give a Jentic-driven agent a verified source of music metadata so its answers cite canonical entities rather than approximations. The agent searches Jentic for 'look up music artist metadata', loads the schema for /artist/{mbid}, and queries MusicBrainz directly. Jentic handles digest authentication and the User-Agent requirement that MusicBrainz enforces.
Through Jentic, search for 'look up an artist by MBID', load GET /artist/{mbid}, and return the artist's name, country, and active years for a research agent.
Key Endpoints
25 endpoints — the musicbrainz api exposes the open musicbrainz music metadata database, providing canonical identifiers and rich relationships for artists, releases, recordings, works, labels, and more.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/artist/{mbid}
Look up an artist by MBID
GET
/release/{mbid}
Look up a release by MBID
GET
/recording/{mbid}
Look up a recording by MBID
GET
/release-group/{mbid}
Look up a release group by MBID
GET
/work/{mbid}
Look up a work by MBID
GET
/discid/{discid}
Resolve a CD by Disc ID
GET
/isrc/{isrc}
Resolve recordings by ISRC
GET
/genre/all
List all genres
GET
/artist/{mbid}
Look up an artist by MBID
GET
/release/{mbid}
Look up a release by MBID
GET
/recording/{mbid}
Look up a recording by MBID
GET
/release-group/{mbid}
Look up a release group by MBID
GET
/work/{mbid}
Look up a work by MBID
GET
/discid/{discid}
Resolve a CD by Disc ID
GET
/isrc/{isrc}
Resolve recordings by ISRC
GET
/genre/all
List all genres
Why Jentic?
What agents get from Jentic-routed access to this vendor.
Setup
Wiring the MusicBrainz API by hand means setting a compliant User-Agent, handling its digest auth for authenticated calls, and respecting its rate limits yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the MusicBrainz API from the API Directory, store the identifying credential once, and your agent calls it.
Permission scoping
Every listed operation is a read-only metadata lookup, so limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as fetching an artist by MBID or resolving an ISRC. You choose which lookup operations are in scope, and nothing beyond those reads is reachable.
Credential isolation
Your MusicBrainz User-Agent and any digest credential are stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. They never enter the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'look up an artist' or 'resolve an ISRC to a recording', and Jentic returns the matching MusicBrainz operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using MusicBrainz API through Jentic.
What authentication does the MusicBrainz API use?
MusicBrainz exposes most read endpoints publicly and applies HTTP Digest authentication only for write or rate-sensitive operations. A descriptive User-Agent header is mandatory on every request. Through Jentic, the User-Agent and any required digest credential are managed in the vault and applied at execution time.
Can I look up a song by its ISRC with the MusicBrainz API?
Yes. GET /isrc/{isrc} returns recordings registered against that ISRC, including the linked artists and releases. This is the most reliable identifier-based lookup when you have ISRC codes from a streaming service or label feed.
What are the rate limits for the MusicBrainz API?
MusicBrainz enforces an average of one request per second per IP for the public endpoints and asks clients to set a unique User-Agent. Heavier or commercial workloads are expected to run a local mirror via the official database dump rather than hammering the public API.
How do I match a CD to a release through Jentic?
Through Jentic, search for 'look up CD by disc id', load the GET /discid/{discid} operation, and submit the disc ID computed from the CD's table of contents. Jentic returns the release MBID and tracklist that you can write back to your library.
Is the MusicBrainz API free to use?
Yes. MusicBrainz data is released under open licenses and the public API is free for non-commercial use. Commercial users are encouraged to support the MetaBrainz Foundation or run a local mirror; check the MusicBrainz licensing page for current terms.
How do I retrieve the full discography for an artist?
Resolve the artist name to an MBID, then call GET /artist/{mbid} with the inc parameter set to release-groups, recordings, or works to pull linked entities. Browsing by release-group MBID via GET /release-group/{mbid} returns each individual release of an album.
Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the MusicBrainz API?
Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which MusicBrainz operations and credentials the agent may use. Every listed operation is a read-only metadata lookup, so you can scope the agent to just the ones it needs, such as GET /artist/{mbid} to fetch an artist or GET /isrc/{isrc} to resolve a recording, and leave endpoints like /discid/{discid} or /release-group/{mbid} out of scope. Nothing beyond the reads you allow is reachable.
GET STARTED