PyBurn Studio

PyBurn Studio is a desktop disc authoring application built with Python and PyQt6. It burns and rips discs on both Linux and Windows, choosing the right engine for each job automatically. On Linux it drives the standard command-line disc tools (mkisofs/genisoimage, cdrecord/wodim, growisofs, cdrdao, ffmpeg, dvdauthor, cdparanoia, and friends). On Windows it burns and reads discs with its own built-in engine that talks to the drive directly (SPTI/MMC for writing, IOCTL for reading), with no external tools, and uses a WSL2 Linux environment only for the DVD and Blu-ray authoring steps that have no Windows equivalent. It shows real progress, a job queue, verification, and history.

What it does

• Burn data discs (CD, DVD, Blu-ray) from files and folders. On Linux an ISO is built by mkisofs and written by growisofs or cdrecord; on Windows the built-in engine builds an ISO9660/Joliet image in pure Python and writes it to the drive directly with SPTI/MMC commands, with no external tools.
• Author audio CDs from MP3/WAV/FLAC/OGG/M4A/AAC. On Linux via cdrdao with optional CD-Text; on Windows via the built-in SPTI/MMC engine (gapless Disc-At-Once Red Book audio) with ffmpeg decoding the tracks.
• Author video DVDs (transcode with ffmpeg, structure with dvdauthor) and Blu-ray BDMV discs (requires tsMuxeR).
• Rip audio CDs to MP3, FLAC, or WAV, with optional MusicBrainz metadata lookup. On Linux via cdparanoia; on Windows by reading the disc directly through the operating system (IOCTL) and encoding with ffmpeg.
• Queue multiple jobs and run them one at a time so the drive is never double booked, with a live progress bar, a global job log, and a persistent history you can retry from.
• Verify burns two ways: read the disc back and compare size plus a SHA-256 checksum for small images, or fall back to an isoinfo listing compare.

If a required tool is missing, the app can run the job in simulation mode so you can still exercise the interface. This is controlled in Settings.

Requirements

Runtime Python dependency:

• PyQt6 (pinned to 6.9.1 for the packaged build)

Optional Python dependency:

• requests (enables MusicBrainz lookups; the feature is disabled cleanly if it is not installed)

External command-line tools (install the ones you need for the disc types you plan to author):

• ISO creation: mkisofs or genisoimage, xorriso
• Burning: cdrecord or wodim, growisofs, cdrdao
• Media control: dvd+rw-mediainfo, dvd+rw-format, eject
• Verification: isoinfo, readom or readcd
• Audio and video: ffmpeg, ffprobe, cdparanoia, lame, flac
• DVD authoring: dvdauthor
• Blu-ray authoring: tsMuxeR (optional; the Blu-ray path needs it)
• Metadata: cd-discid (optional; needed for MusicBrainz)

Installing the external tools

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install genisoimage wodim dvd+rw-tools cdrdao ffmpeg \
  cdparanoia lame flac dvdauthor xorriso eject cd-discid

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install cdrtools dvd+rw-tools ffmpeg cdrdao cdparanoia \
  lame flac dvdauthor xorriso

Windows: most jobs need no external tools at all. Data discs, ISO burning, audio CDs, blanking, media info, eject, and CD ripping run through the built-in Windows engine: writing goes directly to the drive with SPTI/MMC commands (data and audio both burn this way, with an ISO9660/Joliet image built in pure Python for data), and reading uses IOCTL. ffmpeg is the only helper worth adding, and the app can download an official build for you from the Setup screen. Video DVD and Blu-ray authoring use a WSL2 Linux environment for the authoring step and then burn the result with the native Windows burner; the Setup screen installs WSL2 and the needed Linux tools for you (one Windows approval and one reboot are required, which Windows mandates for any feature install). See the Platform notes section below.

Running from source

python -m venv .venv
# Linux/macOS:
source .venv/bin/activate
# Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate

pip install PyQt6 requests
python pyburn_studio.py

Run the built-in self-test (no hardware or tools required):

python pyburn_studio.py --self-test

The self-test enqueues five simulated jobs (data, audio, rip, video DVD, Blu-ray) and confirms the queue runs them all to completion in order.

Building a single-file executable

The repository ships a reproducible build. Requirements are fully pinned in requirements.txt, the build creates its own virtual environment, and the PyInstaller recipe is the checked-in pyburn_studio.spec.

On Windows, double-click BUILD_EXE.bat. It verifies Python 3.13.12 through the py -3.13 launcher, creates .\venv, installs the pinned requirements, and produces dist\PyBurnStudio.exe as one file. Full instructions, including the manual PowerShell steps, are in Docs/BUILD_EXE.md.

How to use it

1. Open the tab for the kind of disc you want (Data, Audio, Video DVD, Blu-ray, or Rip CD).
2. Add files or folders. For data and media discs the capacity gauge shows how full the disc will be.
3. Set options (volume label, verify, auto-blank rewritable media, eject after burn, and so on). Global defaults live in Settings.
4. Click the Queue Job button. The job goes into the queue at the bottom and starts when the drive is free.
5. Watch progress in the Queue tab, open the job log for detail, and find finished jobs in the History tab, where you can show the log, export it, or retry the job.

Configuration and data locations

• Settings: ~/.pyburn_config.json
• History: ~/.pyburn_history.json
• Per-job logs: ~/.pyburn_logs/
• Temporary build files: the temp directory set in Settings (default ~/PyBurn_Temp)

Platform notes

• Linux is the primary platform. Optical drives appear as /dev/sr0 and the like. You may need your user in the cdrom group to access the drive.
• macOS works with the tools installed through Homebrew. Device paths differ (for example /dev/disk2).
• Windows is a first-class platform. Data discs, ISO, audio CD, blanking, media info, eject, and ripping run natively through the built-in Windows engine, with no external tools: writing goes straight to the drive using SPTI/MMC commands (for data, an ISO9660/Joliet image is built in pure Python first; audio is burned gapless in Disc-At-Once mode), and reading uses IOCTL. Video DVD and Blu-ray authoring run inside a WSL2 Linux environment and are then burned by the native Windows burner. The Setup screen reports what each feature can do, can download ffmpeg into a local tools folder, and can install WSL2 and its Linux tools for you. Installing WSL2 requires one Windows elevation approval and one reboot; everything else is automatic. If setup fails, the app writes a full log to pyburn_setup.log next to the program. The Windows build detects optical drives with a PowerShell CIM query (Win32_CDROMDrive) and falls back to the older WMIC only if that fails, because WMIC was removed from Windows 11 24H2.

License

PyBurn Studio is released under the GNU General Public License, version 3. See the LICENSE file for the full text.