Free online IT to FLAC converter

Source format: IT

IT is a tracker module format used by Impulse Tracker and compatible music players. It stores song data such as patterns, instruments, samples, effects, and sequencing information rather than a finished audio stream. IT files are common in the demoscene, retro game music, and tracker-based composition workflows. Because IT is a module format, it must be rendered by a tracker player or converter before it can be listened to as a standard audio file.

Target format: FLAC

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It is a compressed audio format that preserves the original audio data exactly while reducing file size. FLAC is widely supported by music players, media servers, and archival tools. It is a strong choice for preserving tracker music in a high-quality, editable-friendly form because it avoids the quality loss of MP3 or AAC.

How to perform the conversion

The best approach is to render the IT module to audio and save the result as FLAC. Since IT is not a recorded audio file, the conversion depends on a player or renderer that can interpret the module correctly.

1. Use a tracker-capable player or converter. Good desktop options include OpenMPT, foobar2000 with tracker support, or VLC for playback-based recording. For accurate rendering, OpenMPT is usually the best choice.
2. Open the IT file. In OpenMPT, use File → Open and select the .it module.
3. Check playback settings. Make sure the module plays correctly, because some IT files rely on specific tracker effects, sample loops, or instrument settings.
4. Export or render to FLAC. In OpenMPT, choose File → Export → Wave or the audio export option, then select FLAC as the output format if available. If the program exports only WAV, export to .wav first and then encode that WAV file to FLAC with a dedicated audio tool such as ffmpeg.
5. Example command-line conversion. If you have a rendered WAV file, you can create FLAC with ffmpeg -i input.wav output.flac. If your tracker player can render directly to WAV, this is often the most reliable workflow.
6. Verify the result. Open the FLAC file in a music player to confirm that the duration, loop behavior, and mix sound correct.

You can also convert the file on 101convert.com for free, without installing any software, if the site supports this format pair.

Notes on quality, compatibility, and limitations

IT to FLAC is not a simple format-to-format transcode in the usual sense, because IT is a music module and FLAC is a rendered audio container. The final sound depends on the tracker engine used for playback, including effect interpretation, resampling, interpolation, and channel mixing. Different players may produce slightly different results.

For best quality, render at a high sample rate such as 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, use stereo output unless the module is specifically multi-channel, and avoid unnecessary resampling steps. FLAC is lossless, so it will preserve whatever audio the renderer produces, but it cannot recover detail that was not rendered correctly from the IT module.

Some IT files use looping or pattern order tricks that can make the song appear endless in a player. If you want a fixed-length FLAC file, set an explicit render length or stop point during export.