The iTunes library doesn’t have a practical size limit. As long as you have space on your drive, you can keep adding media files.
That’s not entirely a good thing. If you’re not paying attention, your iTunes library can quickly take up more than its fair share of drive space. Moving your iTunes library from its original location to another internal or external drive can free up some room. It can also give you more space to grow your collection.
How to Move Your iTunes Library to a New Location
This process retains all your iTunes settings, including playlists, ratings, and all media files. However, for iTunes to retain everything, you must let it organize the music folder.
These instructions apply to iTunes on Macs with macOS Mojave (10.14) or earlier. Apple removed iTunes and replaced it with the Music app on Macs with the release of macOS Catalina (10.15).
- Before you begin, make a current backup of your Mac, or at the least, a current backup of iTunes. The process of moving your iTunes library includes deleting the original source library. If something should go wrong and you don’t have a backup, you could lose all your music files.
- Launch iTunes.
- From the iTunes menu, select Preferences.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Click the box next to Keep iTunes Media folder organized to add a check mark to it.
- Early versions of iTunes may call this item “Keep iTunes Music folder organized.”
- Click OK.
- If you’re moving your library to an external drive, make sure it’s plugged into your Mac and turned on.
- Return to the Advanced preferences in iTunes and click the Change button next to iTunes Media folder location.
- In the Finder window that opens, navigate to the location where you want to create the new iTunes Media folder.
- Click the New Folder button.
- Enter a name for the new folder and click the Create button.
- Click Open to choose the folder you just created.
- In the Advanced preferences window, your new folder will appear under the iTunes Media folder location heading. Click OK to save your changes.
- iTunes asks if you want to move and rename the files in your new iTunes Media folder to match the Keep iTunes Media folder organized preference. Click Yes.
- iTunes can move the original library media files for you. Letting iTunes perform this task keeps all the playlists and ratings intact. To begin, select File > Library > Organize Library in iTunes.
- Older versions of iTunes call this setting “Consolidate Library.”
- In the Organize Library window that opens, place a check mark next to Consolidate Files and click OK.
- iTunes copies all your media files from the old library location to the new one you created.
After iTunes finishes copying your library to its new location, delete the original folder by going to Users > [your account] > Music > iTunes and moving the iTunes Media folder to the trash.
If you don’t want iTunes to be in charge, the process of moving your media folder will still work, but metadata items, such as playlists and ratings, won’t carry over.
Before you begin, make a current backup of your Mac, or at the least, a current backup of iTunes. The process of moving your iTunes library includes deleting the original source library. If something should go wrong and you don’t have a backup, you could lose all your music files.
Launch iTunes.
From the iTunes menu, select Preferences.
Click the Advanced tab.
Click the box next to Keep iTunes Media folder organized to add a check mark to it.
Early versions of iTunes may call this item “Keep iTunes Music folder organized.”
Click OK.
If you’re moving your library to an external drive, make sure it’s plugged into your Mac and turned on.
Return to the Advanced preferences in iTunes and click the Change button next to iTunes Media folder location.
In the Finder window that opens, navigate to the location where you want to create the new iTunes Media folder.
Click the New Folder button.
Enter a name for the new folder and click the Create button.
Click Open to choose the folder you just created.
In the Advanced preferences window, your new folder will appear under the iTunes Media folder location heading. Click OK to save your changes.
iTunes asks if you want to move and rename the files in your new iTunes Media folder to match the Keep iTunes Media folder organized preference. Click Yes.
iTunes can move the original library media files for you. Letting iTunes perform this task keeps all the playlists and ratings intact. To begin, select File > Library > Organize Library in iTunes.
Older versions of iTunes call this setting “Consolidate Library.”
In the Organize Library window that opens, place a check mark next to Consolidate Files and click OK.
iTunes copies all your media files from the old library location to the new one you created.
Don’t delete the original iTunes folder or any files or folders it contains, other than the iTunes Media or iTunes Music folder. If you delete anything else in the iTunes folder, you may lose your history, ratings, or playlists.
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