Naming films

Credenza works out which film a file is from its name, and then looks that title and year up on TMDB. A clear title and a year are all it needs; everything else in a name is tidied away.

The short version

Give each film a folder named Title (Year), and put the file inside it:

Films/
├── Blade Runner 2049 (2017)/
│   └── Blade Runner 2049 (2017).mkv
├── Heat (1995)/
│   └── Heat (1995).mkv
└── The Matrix (1999)/
    ├── The Matrix (1999).mkv
    └── Extras/
        └── Making of.mkv

A flat folder of files works just as well:

Films/
├── Blade Runner 2049 (2017).mkv
├── Heat (1995).mkv
└── The Matrix (1999).mkv

Always include the year. It tells apart films that share a title, such as Insomnia (1997) and Insomnia (2002), and it’s what lets Credenza accept a match on TMDB when several films have the same name.

Supported file types

By default the scanner collects .mkv, .mp4, .m4v, .avi, .mov, .ts and .webm. You can change the list under Settings → Server → Scanning → Video file types. Anything else in a library folder is ignored.

How a name is read

Credenza takes the title and year from the name like this:

• The year is the last four-digit year in the name, from 1900 to 2039, with or without brackets. The title is everything before it, and anything after it is ignored. Heat (1995), Heat 1995 and Heat.1995.1080p.BluRay all read as Heat, 1995.
• Release details are dropped. The title stops at the first word that looks like a release detail, such as 1080p, 2160p, 4K, BluRay, WEB-DL, REMUX, x264, HEVC, HDR, DTS, Atmos, PROPER, REPACK, EXTENDED or UNRATED. A release group on the end, like -SPARKS, is removed too.
• Anything in square or curly brackets is removed, such as [1080p], [YTS.AM] or {edition-Directors Cut}.
• Dots and underscores become spaces, but only when the name has no spaces of its own. That’s why S.W.A.T. (2003) keeps its dots and The.Matrix.1999 becomes The Matrix.
• Numbers that are part of a title are kept, as long as the real year comes after them: Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and 2012 (2009) both read correctly.

So these all name the same film:

The Matrix (1999).mkv
The Matrix 1999.mkv
The.Matrix.1999.1080p.BluRay.x264-GROUP.mkv
The Matrix (1999) [1080p] [YTS.AM].mkv

When sorting, a leading The, A or An is moved to the end, so The Matrix is filed under M.

Caution

If a word in a film’s own title is also a common release tag, the title can be cut short. A film called Dual is one example. Give it a TMDB id or fix it with Fix match… (see Fixing matches).

Folder name or file name

For each file, Credenza looks at the file name and at the folder directly above it:

• If that folder has a year in its name, the folder wins. This lets a tidy folder name rescue a file named the.matrix.1080p.x264-grp.mkv.
• Otherwise the file name is used, which is what makes bucket folders like Films/Action/Heat (1995).mkv work.
• If the file name says nothing useful, the folder is used even without a year. Names like movie, film, video, main, title, index, cd1, disc 1 or a bare number count as saying nothing.

Only the folder directly above the file is read. Folders higher up are free to be anything.

Pointing a file at a TMDB film

If a film won’t match, or matches the wrong film, you can name its TMDB id in the file or folder name:

The Matrix (1999) [tmdbid-603]/
    The Matrix (1999).mkv

Credenza accepts [tmdbid-603], [tmdb-603], {tmdb-603} and [tmdb=603], in any capitalisation. The number is the one in the film’s address on themoviedb.org. The marker is removed from the title, and the film is matched to that TMDB entry on the next scan. IMDb ids aren’t read.

You can also pick the right film in the app without renaming anything. See Fixing matches.

Several copies of one film

Every file that reads as the same title and year is filed under one film. That’s how a 1080p and a 4K copy, or two editions, end up together:

Films/
└── Alien (1979)/
    ├── Alien (1979) - Theatrical.mkv
    └── Alien (1979) - Directors Cut 2160p.mkv

Credenza doesn’t know about editions, and there’s no choice of version when you press play. The largest file plays. To play a different one, unlink the others from the film’s Files list. See Scanning.

Films split into parts, like cd1 and cd2, part1 and part2 or disc1 and disc2, are also filed as one film. Only one part plays, so join them into a single file.

Two films with the same title and no year are also filed as one, which is one more reason to always include the year.

Extras, trailers and samples

Put bonus material in a folder the scanner skips. By default those are Extras, Featurettes, Behind the Scenes, Deleted Scenes, Trailers and Samples, in any capitalisation, and you can change the list under Settings → Server → Scanning → Folders to skip.

Files named sample, or ending in -sample, are always skipped.

A trailer or featurette left loose inside a Title (Year) folder is treated as another copy of that film. It won’t play instead of the film, since it’s smaller, but it will be listed among the film’s files.

Renaming later

A film’s identity is its title and year as read from the file and folder names. If you rename a file or folder so it reads as a different title or year, the next scan files it as a new film and the old entry is left with file missing. Remove the old one once you’re happy (Fixing matches).

Renaming in a way that reads the same, like adding a TMDB id or tidying release details, keeps the same film.