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gtkpod is a free, open source software project hosted at Sourceforge and published under the GNU General Public License. It provides a graphical user interface that enables users of Linux and other Unix operating systems to transfer audio files onto their iPod, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod photo or iPod mini music players. Although it does not support the same advanced media/jukebox capabilities that iTunes has, gtkpod is, in essence, an iTunes for Unix. As of version 0.99.8, album art and videos are also supported.
Most mp3 players permit users to browse and access their audio content via interfaces which are closely integrated with the underlying filesystems. iPods, on the other hand, employ a proprietary database file for managing all the metadata associated with their audio content. Because of this, an iPod cannot recognize or play files that have been copied directly into the low-level filesystem and instead requires the use of the iTunes software provided by Apple for updating its music database. Unfortunately, Apple has not released versions of iTunes for any operating systems other than Microsoft Windows or Mac OS; hence the need for gtkpod.
To update an iPod's music database, gtkpod merely requires the iPod's filesystem to be accessible through the global Unix file hierarchy. As a convenience, gtkpod can mount and unmount the iPod filesystem automatically once the corresponding mount points have been properly configured. Because gtkpod simply updates the proprietary iTunes database and copies the songs to the filesystem without making any assumptions about what kind of device it is connected to, it can potentially be used in non-iPod music storage contexts as well.
The latest version 0.99.8 was released on September 24 2006.
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