X FLAC Encoder is a free Windows GUI for the official FLAC reference encoder. Convert WAV, MP3, AAC, OGG, M4A, OPUS, ALAC, DSD, and 20+ other formats to lossless FLAC with batch processing, parallel workers, ReplayGain tagging, cover art, and a hi-res-aware pipeline.
Every workflow you need from a FLAC encoder, in one tool. Switch between operations with a single click - the queue, settings, and output paths follow you across modes.
Convert any audio source to lossless FLAC. Compression levels 0 through 8, optional MD5 verify pass, ReplayGain tagging, and cuesheet embedding.
Extract bit-perfect WAV from any FLAC or OGG-FLAC file. Original bit depth and sample rate are preserved, with optional foreign-metadata recovery.
Verify FLAC files against their stored MD5 fingerprints. Catches bit rot, transfer errors, and silent storage corruption across an entire library at once.
Drop in anything that ffmpeg can read - X FLAC Encoder transparently decodes the source to PCM at the correct bit depth, then hands it to flac.exe for lossless compression. WAV and FLAC inputs skip the decode step entirely.
Every feature exists for a reason. No bloat, no upsells, no telemetry. Just a fast, accurate FLAC encoder with the controls audiophiles actually need.
Optional MD5 verify pass decodes the freshly-written FLAC and compares it against the source. Catches storage and RAM errors before they become silent corruption.
Detects source bit depth via ffprobe and routes 24-bit and 32-bit masters through the matching PCM codec. Your studio masters survive the round-trip without truncation.
Encode multiple files at once. flac.exe is single-threaded per file, so a configurable worker pool gives near-linear speedup on multi-core CPUs - perfect for ripping a whole album at once.
Compute and embed track-mode ReplayGain during encoding, or run album-mode across a folder so a full album shares matching album_gain values. Volume-leveling without re-encoding.
Full Vorbis comment editor with copy-from-source mode that pulls metadata via mutagen. Embed JPEG or PNG cover art and .cue sheets for image-style album encodes.
Every option you change updates a live flac.exe command preview, so you always see exactly what will run. Save your favorite settings as JSON presets and reload them later.
Drop files or whole folders straight into the queue. Per-file progress bars, source bit depth, output size estimates, and parallel worker status, all visible at a glance.
No paid tier, no premium upgrades, no telemetry. Built on the official FLAC reference encoder and ffmpeg - both open source, both rock-solid. Your audio never leaves your machine.
Built and tested on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11. Taskbar progress integration, dark UI matched to system theme, and a clean uninstaller that leaves zero registry junk.
X FLAC Encoder is a thin, focused GUI on top of best-in-class open-source tools. We don't reinvent the encoder - we polish the workflow around it.
The classic FLAC Frontend tool hasn't seen a meaningful update in over a decade. X FLAC Encoder picks up where it left off with a faster engine, more input formats, and a UI built for modern Windows.
| Feature | X FLAC Encoder | FLAC Frontend |
|---|---|---|
| Native Windows 10 / 11 build | ✓ 64-bit, current | ~ .NET 2.0/4.0 era |
| Dark UI | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Drag-and-drop queue | ✓ Files & folders | ✓ Files only |
| Non-WAV input (MP3, AAC, OGG, etc.) | ✓ 20+ formats via ffmpeg | ✗ WAV only |
| Hi-res 24-bit / 32-bit aware | ✓ Auto-detected | ~ Manual only |
| Parallel batch encoding | ✓ Configurable workers | ✗ Sequential |
| ReplayGain (track + album) | ✓ Both modes | ~ Track only |
| Cover art embedding | ✓ JPEG / PNG | ✗ No |
| Cuesheet embedding | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Tag editor (Vorbis comments) | ✓ Built-in + copy-from-source | ~ Limited |
| Live command preview | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Taskbar progress integration | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
Yes. X FLAC Encoder is 100% free for personal and commercial use. No paid tier, no subscriptions, no telemetry. It is built on the official FLAC reference encoder (BSD-licensed) and FFmpeg (LGPL/GPL), both of which are open source. The GUI itself is distributed by xcodecpack.com at no cost as part of the X Codec Pack ecosystem.
Anything FFmpeg can decode - which is essentially every audio format in common use. The full list includes WAV, MP3, AAC, M4A, OGG Vorbis, OPUS, ALAC (Apple Lossless), APE (Monkey's Audio), WavPack, AIFF, WMA, MKA, plus DSD (DSF/DFF) which is converted to PCM during decode. Video files (MP4, MKV, MOV, etc.) are also accepted - the audio track is extracted automatically.
Yes. The decoder pipeline probes each source's bit depth via ffprobe and selects the matching PCM sample format (pcm_s16le, pcm_s24le, or pcm_s32le) for the intermediate WAV. A 24-bit FLAC master that you re-encode at compression level 8 stays 24-bit through the entire round-trip - no silent truncation to 16-bit. FLAC supports up to 32-bit/655 kHz, and X FLAC Encoder honors the full range.
FLAC Frontend is a wrapper around flac.exe that hasn't been meaningfully updated since around 2013. It accepts WAV input only, runs files sequentially, has no dark mode, no drag-and-drop folders, no album-mode ReplayGain, and no cover art support. X FLAC Encoder accepts 20+ input formats via ffmpeg, runs files in parallel, has a hi-res-aware decode pipeline, embeds cover art and cuesheets, and ships a modern dark UI. See the comparison table above for the full breakdown.
ReplayGain is a metadata standard that records how loud a track is so that media players can equalize playback volume across your library without re-encoding. X FLAC Encoder supports both modes: track-mode (each file gets its own gain value) and album-mode (every track in an album shares the same album_gain so the relative dynamics between songs are preserved). Enable it if your media player respects ReplayGain tags - foobar2000, MPD, mpv, Roon, and most modern players do.
FLAC's compression levels (0 through 8) are all lossless - the decoded audio is always bit-identical to the source. The level only affects how hard the encoder works to find the smallest representation. Level 0 is fastest with files about 5-7% larger, level 8 takes longer but squeezes out a few more percent. For most users, the default level 5 is the sweet spot. Level 8 is worth it for archival masters where the storage savings compound over a large library.
Yes. Switch to "Decode FLAC to WAV" in the Operation selector and the same queue, output template, and parallel-worker engine handle the reverse direction. The output is bit-perfect against the original PCM - any lossless codec round-trip preserves the audio exactly. You can also use "Test FLAC integrity" to verify the MD5 fingerprints stored inside your FLAC files without writing any output.
The current build targets 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Older Windows versions are not actively tested - the executable may run on Windows 7/8 if all dependencies are present, but we don't ship official builds for those platforms. macOS and Linux users can run the underlying flac and ffmpeg command-line tools directly, or use the Python source from xcodecpack.com.
No. X FLAC Encoder is a local, offline desktop application. flac.exe and ffmpeg.exe both run on your machine - nothing is uploaded, no internet connection is required, and no telemetry is collected. Your music never leaves your computer.
Free download, no signup, no ads in the app. Includes flac.exe, metaflac.exe, ffmpeg.exe, and the X FLAC Encoder GUI.
Download X FLAC Encoder 1.0