Adding libraries

A library is one kind of media and the folders it lives in. Credenza plays only what a library’s scan has found, so adding libraries is the first thing to do after first run.

Libraries live at Settings → Server → Libraries. Changes there take effect straight away; nothing needs a restart.

Library types

Every library has one Type, and the type decides how its files are read:

Type	Holds	How files are arranged
Movies	Films	One film per file, or per folder. See Naming films.
TV Shows	Series, seasons and episodes	A folder per show. See Naming shows and anime.
Anime	Series, seasons and episodes	Exactly like TV Shows, including fansub-style names.
Games	Console games (ROMs)	One console per library. See Organising ROMs.

Anime and TV Shows are read the same way. The difference is how you browse them: an anime library gets its own “recently added” row on the dashboard and its own tab on Needs matching, so it doesn’t mix with your other shows.

A Games library also asks for a System: NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance. The system decides which file types the scan collects, so you need one games library per console. See Games.

Add a library

1. Go to Settings → Server → Libraries and press Add library.
2. Fill in the Name, which is how the library appears in the app. Every library needs a different name.
3. Choose the Type, and for Games, the System.
4. Under Folders, type an absolute path or press Browse… to pick one. Press Add another folder to add more.
5. Press Create and continue. The library is created and its first scan starts straight away.
6. On the Access step, tick the accounts that should see this library, then press Save and finish. You can also press Skip for now and decide later.

The library’s row then shows the scan’s progress. See Scanning for what happens next.

Choosing folders

A library can have as many folders as you like. That’s useful when one kind of media is spread across several drives, such as films on two disks.

Credenza checks your folders when you save:

• The path must be absolute, like /srv/media/films, and the folder must exist and be readable by the server.
• Add the outermost folder only. A folder can’t sit inside another folder of the same library, because the files inside it would be found twice.
• Each folder belongs to one library. A folder can’t be the same as, inside or around a folder that another library already uses. If you want films and shows separated, give each its own folder that neither library shares.

Paths are the server’s, not your computer’s

The folder has to be the path as the server sees it, not as your own computer sees it. That’s why Browse… opens a Choose a folder dialog that lists the server’s own disks. Open a folder to look inside it, press Up to go back, and press Use this folder when you’re in the right place.

If you run Credenza in Docker, that means the path inside the container. The Compose file on the installation page mounts your media at the same path on both sides, such as /srv/media:/srv/media, so the path you see on the host is also the one you type into Credenza. If you mount it somewhere else, use the container side.

Tip

Leave your media mount writable if you can. Credenza writes small match files beside your media to remember matches you corrected by hand (see How matching works). On a read-only mount everything else still works; only those files can’t be written.

Edit a library

Press a library’s row to open it. The panel shows its kind, its folders (Roots), how its last scan went and its schedule. The ⋮ menu on the row (or the list at the bottom of the panel on a phone) holds everything else you can do:

Action	What it does
Edit…	Change the name, type, system and folders.
Access…	Choose which accounts can see this library.
Refresh metadata	Ask the metadata provider again about everything in the library. See How matching works.
Write match files	Write a match file beside every matched item. See How matching works.
Delete…	Delete the library.

Edit…, Refresh metadata, Write match files and Delete… are unavailable while the library is scanning. Wait for the scan to finish and try again.

If you remove a folder from a library, the next scan marks everything that came from it as file missing. Remove those items once you’re sure you don’t want them back (see Fixing matches).

How often a library scans by itself isn’t on this page. It’s under Settings → Server → Scanning; see Scanning.

Delete a library

Choose Delete… from the library’s menu and confirm with Delete. Credenza tells you how many items the library holds before you confirm.

Deleting a library:

• Leaves your files alone. Nothing on disk is moved or deleted.
• Removes everything scanned into it: every film, show, episode or game, and with them everyone’s watch history and progress, and for games, everyone’s saves.
• Keeps what the providers said. Credenza remembers the details it downloaded, so if you add the same folders back, the new library fills in its details without asking TMDB again.
• Keeps hand-corrected matches only if match files were written. Matches you corrected and details you edited come back after a re-add when their match files are beside the media.

Caution

Deleting a library can’t be undone. If you only want to move it to another folder, Edit… its folders instead.

Who can see a library

Administrators see every library. Everyone else sees only the libraries they’ve been given, so a new library is invisible to other accounts until you tick them on its Access step or under Access… later. Unticking someone hides the library from them without touching their other libraries.

You can also choose a person’s libraries from their profile under Settings → Server → Users. See Accounts and access.