iPod Photo Extractor GitHub

Recover photos from your iPod Classic

Get the script

How to get photos off an iPod Classic

Step 1: Put the iPod in disk mode

Plug it into your computer. If it shows up as a drive, skip to step 2.

  1. Set the Hold switch on, then off.
  2. Hold Select (the centre button) and Menu for about 6 seconds, until the Apple logo shows.
  3. At once, hold Select and Play/Pause until the screen says Disk Mode.

Step 2: Paste this into Terminal

Open Terminal on your Mac, from Applications > Utilities. It needs Python 3.

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/theflyingcoders/ipod-image-extractor/main/ipod_photo_extractor.py python3 ipod_photo_extractor.py

Step 3: Find your photos

Open the extracted_photos folder in your home folder.

Questions about getting photos off an iPod

Where does an iPod Classic keep its photos?

In the Photos folder on the iPod. Small copies of each photo sit in .ithmb files in Photos/Thumbs, and the Photo Database says which copy belongs to which photo. If iTunes stored your full-size originals, they sit in Photos/Full Resolution.

What is an .ithmb file?

An .ithmb file holds the small versions of your photos that the iPod shows on its screen or on a TV. The F#### prefix in its name sets how the pixels are stored.

Can I get my original full-size photos back?

Only if iTunes stored them on the iPod. If you synced with full-resolution photos included, the originals are in Photos/Full Resolution and the script copies them as they are. If not, the biggest copy the iPod kept is up to 720×480.

Which iPods does it work with?

It targets iPods that store photos: the iPod Photo, iPod Video, iPod Classic and iPod Nano. Not every format has been checked on a real device, so open an issue on GitHub if a photo looks wrong.

Does it work on Windows?

The steps on this page are for a Mac. The script is plain Python 3 and reads whatever folder you give it, so it may work on Windows or Linux if the iPod shows up as a drive your computer can read. That is untested. To try it, download the script from GitHub and give it the iPod's drive letter or folder path.

Does the script write to my iPod?

No. It only reads from the iPod. It saves what it finds in an extracted_photos folder in the folder where you run it, which is your home folder if you follow the steps above.

Can it lose a photo?

A photo that is all one colour is skipped, because the script treats it as an empty slot. Cropping follows the Photo Database and is tested with made-up data only. If a photo looks cut off, run the script with --no-crop.