LRC Subtitle Format

What this format can express

Text styling: Plain text only
On-screen positioning: No
Karaoke timing: No
Line breaks inside a cue: Yes
Timeline: Start time only — end times are derived
Timing resolution: 10 ms
Timing stored as frame numbers: No
Right-to-left text: Yes

Examples

A typical LRC file, and what is read out of it

File

[ti:Sample Song]
[ar:Some Artist]
[length:00:41.00]
[offset:+250]
[00:12.00]First line of the song.
[00:15.30]Second line.
[00:15.30]Second line, translated.
[00:18.00]
[00:21.50]Final line.

What it holds

4 cues, 5 lines of text

  [00:12.00]
    First line of the song.
  [00:15.30]
    Second line.
    Second line, translated.
  [00:18.00]
    (no text)
  [00:21.50]
    Final line.

Outside the cues:
  metadata   [ti:Sample Song] [ar:Some Artist] [length:00:41.00] [offset:+250]
  offset     +250 ms, kept as read — the times below are the ones written in the file
  no end times — every line runs until the next timestamp

The right-hand side is not a converted file — it is what this site reads out of the left-hand side, and what every conversion of that file starts from.

An awkward LRC file, and what is still read out of it

File

[ar:Some Artist]
[0:05.5]Leading zero omitted, one decimal.
[00:07]Second with no centiseconds.
[00:03.00]Out of order.
[00:07.00][00:09.00]Repeated chorus line.
[00:12.00]

What it holds

5 cues, 6 lines of text

  [00:03.00]
    Out of order.
  [00:05.50]
    Leading zero omitted, one decimal.
  [00:07.00]
    Second with no centiseconds.
    Repeated chorus line.
  [00:09.00]
    Repeated chorus line.
  [00:12.00]
    (no text)

Outside the cues:
  metadata   [ar:Some Artist]
  no end times — every line runs until the next timestamp

Real files arrive with a byte-order mark, Windows line endings, a stray line before a timecode, or a timecode that cannot be read at all. None of it throws: whatever cannot be understood is reported rather than dropped in silence.

Convert LRC Lyrics to another format

Each of these runs entirely in your browser. The labels say what that direction costs before you open it.

LRC to ASS

Convert LRC to ASS in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to CSV

Convert LRC to CSV in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to JSON

Convert LRC to JSON in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to MICRODVD

Convert LRC to MICRODVD in your browser — dropped: timing, frame rate.

Timing
Frame rate

LRC to SBV

Convert LRC to SBV in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to SMI

Convert LRC to SMI in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to SRT

Convert LRC to SRT in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to SSA

Convert LRC to SSA in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to TTML

Convert LRC to TTML in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

LRC to TXT

Convert LRC to TXT in your browser — dropped: timing, line breaks.

Timing
Line breaks

LRC to VTT

Convert LRC to VTT in your browser — dropped: timing.

Timing

Converting into this format

LRC Lyrics is one of the subtitle formats this site handles, and this page is its reference: what it can store, what it cannot, and a page for every format you can convert it to.

The table above is the whole of it — there is no hidden feature list. When a row says no, that is exactly what is lost by converting into LRC, and each conversion page linked below says so before you open a file.

Every one of those conversions runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed, which matters for material under an NDA, a patient record or a broadcast embargo.

Frequently asked questions

What is an LRC file?

`.lrc` is what music players use to show lyrics in time with a song: a bracketed timestamp and then the line. Phone players and desktop players alike read it.

Does LRC store styling?

No — it stores cues, and a cue is text with two times on it. A lyrics player draws the line in its own font and colour, and nothing in the file says otherwise.

Does a cue have an end time?

No. A line starts at a timestamp and stays until the next one begins, so an end is implied rather than stored. Converting into LRC therefore drops the ends, and every conversion page says so before you open a file.

Which format should I convert LRC to?

Nothing on this site takes everything an LRC file holds, so there is no free direction — each conversion page names its own list of losses. Pick the target by which of those lists you can live with, not by which format you have seen most often.

Can I open an LRC file in a text editor?

Yes. Yes. An `.lrc` file is a bracketed timestamp and a line of words, repeated — simple enough that people write them by hand for songs that have none.